Objectives:
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To learn about Persian Miniature paintings.
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To create a miniature painting.
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To learn the vocabulary related to the use of art media in the classroom.
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To acquire technical skills in painting.
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To increase verbal skills through the sharing ideas, listening to directions, and explaining our finished products.
Materials:
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1. poster paints, a variety of colors
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2. a variety of small and medium round and flat brushes
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3. a color-wheel, to help instruct in the mixing of colors
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4. small paint containers, such a mini-muffin pans or pans borrowed from the art department
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5. heavy white paper, poster or watercolor, relatively small squares or rectangles
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6. fine, black felt tipped pens
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7. metallic gold paint or markers
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8. paper and pencils for initial sketches
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9. examples of Persian Miniatures
Procedure:
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1. Show students examples of the art, reviewing its characteristics.
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2. Provide practice in using the paints. Show how to mix colors, how to apply the paints, how to make a “wash” by thinning the paint with water. Allow time for experimentation with colors and brush strokes. Caution the students to allow time for adjacent colors to dry so they won’t run together.
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3. Students select a story to illustrate and make a sketch. Explain that just as the Persian miniatures illustrated poems, stories or historical events, the students will select a fairy tale, poem or even a special event in their own life to portray. Make a pencil sketch to include very precise details, as shown in the samples.
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4. Choose your best sketch and draw it lightly on poster paper.
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5. Use “washes” of paint for the largest parts of the background.
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6. Paint the smaller areas of your picture. Paint the smallest details with very small brushes and possibly thin black felt pens.
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7. Now the fun -- highlight selected details with the metallic gold paint, using small brushed or gold markers.
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8. Create a decorative border to surround your picture. Decorate it with arabesque or geometric designs, and use more gold paint for a finishing touch.
Conclusion:
Students can display and tell about their paintings, explaining the story behind their creations.
Notes: Begin the lesson by showing examples of Miniature paintings. There are examples in several of the resource books, but for many wonderful examples, use an illustrated art book such a Falk’s
Treasures of Islam
or
Islam and Muslim Art
by Alexandre Popadopoulo. It would also be worth showing how artists immersed in the art of other cultures also produce art with many similarities to the miniatures Carmen Lomas Garza, a Mexican artist and illustrator of children’ s books, is an excellent example as her paintings are scenes showing meticulous detail in figural depictions and in nature, using vibrant colors. Like the miniatures, her painting is flat, with no attempt made to create the illusion of depth. Her paintings show life in all its tiniest detail, just as in many of the Persian miniatures. The students will be encouraged to include such details in their own paintings.
Tempera paints, also known as poster paints, is a good choice of paint to use for these paintings. It is a water-based paint and usually is opaque, although it can be thinned with water. When very thin, it becomes a “wash” and is used to cover relatively large background areas with light color. Because they are water-based, the bright colored tempera or poster paints mix and clean up easily. They are readily available through your school’s art department. It is desirable to have a variety of small containers to store paint hues that can be saved to continue the lesson over a period of days.
