Children will learn about illustrator Catherine Rayner as they create value studies of bunnies using watercolor paints.
By: Misty Buck [Misty is a K-12 art teacher in New Mexico]
Watercolor Bunnies
Catherine Rayner is an award winning Illustrator and children’s author based in the UK. This lesson will introduce children to her work.
What We Used:
- Watercolors (Blick liquid watercolors)
- Watercolor paper (an 80 lb sulphite paper will also work well)
- Pencils
- Paintbrushes (#8 round)
- Black Sharpie markers
- Examples of Catherine Rayner’s artwork
- Catherine Rayner’s books (Harris Finds His Feet is about a bunny)
What We Did:
I began my lesson by talking to the students about realistic versus representational art. I spoke with them about the art of illustration and what books might be like if there were no pictures.
After showing them images of Catherine Rayner’s work I told them we were going to create a representational painting of a bunny using two different values of watercolors.
I had the students follow me as I directed them in drawing their bunnies with pencil.
The first graders learned about VALUES of a color.
They used lighter shade of brown and a darker shade of brown to paint their bunnies.
I used Blick liquid watercolors to create the two different shades they used.
They used a number 8 round brush to paint their drawings.
Finally, they added some details with sharpie (some went a bit overboard). 🙂
Note: I was VERY inspired by this lesson from MAKE.
About the Art Teacher:
Misty Buck is a happy wife, mom to four kids here and one angel baby, and a K-12 art teacher at a classical charter school in rural NM. Her blog – L’il Buck’s Creations features lots of art lesson ideas for children. You can follow Misty on Instagram at @new_mexico_art_teacher
Recommended Books:
