Grade 4 Mixed Media Banyan Tree Art Project

I've done this project now with two different classes, and I absolutely love how it turns out!

We began this art project during Earth Week this year. We looked at images of Banyan trees and researched where they grow. After the students had some background information, we set on creating our own.

I encouraged the students to pull their branches off the edge of the page, and fill in the background with bright colours to highlight the silhouette of the tree. We talked about negative space and how we could bring the tree to life by colouring the backgrounds.

My students used chalk and oil pastels for the colours, and tempera paint for the tree itself. I suggest drawing out the shape of the tree first in pencil, filling in the background, and then painting as the last step. This will prevent any smudging of the black paint.

They are colourful and bright and add so much to our classroom display :)

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