Pete Cromer Inspired Watercolour Collage

In this lesson students explore the work of Pete Cromer. Students create their own watercolour collage work inspired by Cromer’s use of colour and shape. Students draw their design, create their watercolour paper and then cut out the pieces to use in their composition.

Lesson 1

Students explore the work of Pete Cromer. Students discuss the use of colour, shape and layers in his work. How do students think the work was created? What materials were used? Students draw their own design for a Cromer inspired work which uses simple shapes and bright colours. Students may use a reference image for their work and try and think of ways to simplify the forms. Students must think of their reference in layers and turn these layers into simple shapes.

Lesson 2

Students use watercolour paints on watercolour paper to use in their collage. Students can explore various watercolour techniques while creating their papers. Students must think about the colours they are using in their collage and how much paper they will need to create for each colour.

Lesson 3

Students use their watercolour papers and cut out the shapes they will need for their collage. Students can start by cutting out their largest shapes and move to their smallest. While cutting out the shapes students can start placing them in the composition and making changes to their design as they see fit.

Lesson 4

Students finish cutting out the pieces for their composition and place them together. Make any changes needed and then take a picture to reference when sticking everything together. Students paste all their pieces together and choose a background to display their work on.

Reflection:

Students discuss the changes they made to their composition while putting their cut-out pieces together. How did they create layers and how does their work relate to Cromer’s? How is it different?

Extension:

Students can explore different options for display such as displaying on different shapes and analysing different colours. Students can also create large collages as a collaboration.

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