DAY FOUR: PAINT AND PAINTING

We started off the day by learning to make oil paint. We learned what was used to create different colors and then put that to use and made some ourselves. There were two different ways that we could do this. One way was more true to the Italian Renaissance, using dried bugs, spices, and chalk, and the other was easier and had a wider range of colors, using powder pigments. To make the paint, we crushed up the bugs, spices, and chalk in a mortar and pestle (or just used the powder pigments) and combined them with oil. 

A student's hands mix paint materials on a table full of paint mixtures and art supplies. 

After we made the paint, we combined it with what we learned at the museum yesterday and used it in our own Renaissance paintings! We painted on wood instead of canvas so that it would be more like we were real Renaissance artists. Students made a wide range of paintings. This continued throughout the day, with the option to work on continuing the architecture puzzles from Tuesday. 

A student leans over her wooden art board and uses reds and yellows to paint an image of a human. 

It was so interesting to learn about the Renaissance artists, go see their art, and then paint how they did.