Paint Like an Impressionist

I love having students do something totally unexpected (to them, that is). When they are use to filling in shapes solid with smooth, long brushstrokes painting like an Impressionist is completely different. The Impressionists are a group of artists who worked in France over 100 years ago. The best known artist of this group is Claude Monet. The Impressionists developed a new way of painting using small quick brush marks. Up close the paintings can look blurry, but when you stand back the entire image is revealed.  The 2nd graders took a shot at painting like an Impressionist through their landscape artwork.