Cactus Drawing

Art project by Mrs. Sarah, 2020

Hi, everyone! We are going to do some art lessons online while we stay healthy at home. Please try this assignment. If you try more than twice and it is too frustrating, that’s okay, and instead you can draw something you like. Spend 30 minutes or more on your project—this is something that should not be scribbled and completed in 5 or 10 minutes. If you finish early, add details!

Due date: for now, we will have this due when we come back to school in April. If the date changes for returning to school, I will email parents and ask you to submit this in another way.

If you have questions, I will check my school email account each day. Reach me at art@strosecv.com

The project is designed for Kinder, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades but students through 8th grade can do it.

Students in grades 4-8 can do this project, or you can choose to do the Still life project posted on this website. If you are a student in grades 4-8, you can do this project but add details and shading to make the cactus more realistic.

Supplies needed:

• 1 piece of paper (blank paper is best but if you only have lined paper, that is okay to use) • Pencil and eraser • Crayons, marker or colored pencil IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THEM AT HOME. Do NOT go to the

store for art supplies. Just do a drawing in pencil at home if you do not have crayons/markers. (It is best if you have 3 or more colors for sky. You also will need one or more shades of green. Last, you need black or a dark color for details.)

Instructions:

1. Turn your paper so that it is in Portrait format (it looks tall rather than wide). 2. Put your hand and arm onto the paper so that your hand fits on the paper and part of your arm is

also on the page. (Your fingers can go off the page at the top a little bit if you like.)

3. Trace your hand and arm with pencil (go lightly!). 4. Take your hand off the paper and see if you like how the tracing looks. If you want to adjust any

lines, you can do this with pencil. 5. We are coloring our sky to look like a sunset, so the darkest colors will be at the top and the

lightest will be at the bottom of your paper. Color the bottom of your page with a horizontal stripe (going left to right) in a light color. It could be yellow, orange or pink.

6. Add a slightly darker color above your first stripe of color.

7. Repeat with a slightly darker color above that. You are adding colors (each darker than the last), all the way to the top of the paper.

8. Once your sky is colored, color your cactus with green. If you have more than one shade of green, this is great but it is not necessary.

9. Add cactus needles all over your cactus. Use black or another dark color for this.

If you are a student in K-3, you are finished! (I know you already put your name and grade on the back, right?)

But if you want an added challenge, you can add a few cactus flowers or a barrel cactus to your art.

Students in grades 4-8, please add a few more details. See below.

(PS—Is your name and grade on the back?)

10. If you draw a cactus flower, glue it to your cactus (or tape it if you do not have glue). 11. Add a simple barrel cactus on the ground, if you like. The shape is a tall half-circle.

Good job. You finished your desert cactus scene.

If you haven’t already put your name and grade on the back, why not??!! Do that now.

See you next time.