Art

Art is taught either weekly or in blocks depending on the topic being covered. The topics are cross-curricular and have clear links to the creative curriculum. Skills are taught and refined explicitly.

The children start school with different levels of prior knowledge and experiences. EYFS allows them to play and experiment with materials in a child led manner. They then develop their understanding of colour, materials and artistic techniques. Children are provided with a rich variety of art based experiences.

As a school, we endeavour to provide an education that inspires and is well rounded. The teaching of art offers a diverse range of experiences and ensures that their education is well rounded.

The Journey

At Shepherd Primary our interest in Art begins in Early Years with Nursery and Reception. Art is broken down into several different areas.

First is painting and Nursery will be working towards painting faces that show emotion using a variety of colours. In Reception they will be working towards painting self-portraits using different colours to express different feelings.

The next area is drawing and in Nursery they will be developing the skills needed to create a portrait of themselves. In Reception they will be working towards producing a drawing of their family which includes the different features by drawing different shapes and straight lines. In Early years both Nursery and Reception will have the opportunity to use their hands to shape and craft their own sculptures.

When the children move into Year 1, they will cover a wide range of areas in art. The first area is drawing, and they will all produce a firework picture showing they can mix primary colours using different brushes. The next area is drawing and in Year 1 they will be learning about the artist Roy Lichtenstein and they will learn to produce a drawing in his signature style. The next area is sculpture. The focus is on artist Marcus Cornish and the children will get the opportunity to design and create their own version of Paddington Bear.

Year 2 will learn about the artist Pablo Picasso when looking at the area of painting and they will learn to mix colours to create several paintings. Year 2 will create a collage in the style of Pablo Picasso. The next area is drawing and they will learn the skills needed to create a London skyline, one from 1666 and one from the present day. Year 2 will then create a plant sculpture using clay, based on artwork by Dale Chihuly.

In Year 3 children will develop the skills needed to draw and create mosaic art in the style of Antoni Gaudi. Year 3 will then develop the drawing and sculpting skills needed to create sculptures of reclining figures. This will be inspired by the works of Henry Moore. Next, they will move onto painting plants in the style of renowned artist Yayoi Kusama.

Year 4 will make a study of architect Stephen Wiltshire and will recreate perspective drawings based on this. Then, using water colour and the artist Richard Bosman for inspiration, Year 4 will develop their painting skills by learning how to paint volcanoes and various water images. Finally, they will develop their metal-working skills to create their own Bronze Age brooches.

Year 5’s initial focus will be on painting. They will do an artist study of L. S. Lowry, and then use water colour to create their own paintings of people and buildings. Next, they will develop their drawing and painting skills by creating botanical work inspired by William Morris. Lastly, they will carry on the botanical theme by creating a sculpture using ceramics.

Year 6 will learn how to sketch Poppies in detail and will make their own sculpture of a Poppy.  Next, they will look closely at the artist Andy Warhol to create their own portraits. Lastly, Year 6 will focus on painting local landscapes in the style of Leonid Alfremoy.