"Contrast is a very basic principle of my work, but I use a mixture of color harmonies and color contrasts to activate effects." -Bridget Riley, Painter, (1931-Present)
Op Art, short for optical art, is a style of abstract art that gives the illusion of movement through conflicting lines, patterns, and colors. Eighth-grade artists learned how to portray optical illusions using these elements and principles of art. The art history inspiration for this unit was the British artist, Bridget Riley, who is best known for her black and white abstract paintings using repetition of lines and shapes.
"Shattered Shades" is an optical illusion painting project developing perspective, color theory, value, and repetition. The students took notes on the unit vocabulary and learned illusion techniques including how to create a sphere from a circle and drawing a vanishing point with one-point perspective. Through a guided practice activities, we experimented with multiple optical illusion techniques.
The students prepared three different drafts to choose from for the final painting, shading in every other section to anticipate the final effect of the illusions. They took careful steps to measure straight lines with a ruler, draw smaller lines together to portray depth with perspective, and experiment with unorthodox, overlapping designs. It was important to me at this stage of the project that each student developed their own ideas and not be persuaded to replicate my sample designs. To achieve individuality in the projects, I demonstrated an optical illusion technique for the class on the document camera and then turned off the screen so that they could create a design of their own. Some people really liked a technique that they had learned so much that they applied it in their own final drafts.
When the final designs were complete, we reviewed color theory and mixing tints, tones, and shades on a monochromatic value scale. Instead of completing an optical illusion in purely black and white like the artist Bridget Riley, the students were asked to choose two contrasting colors on a limited color palette and demonstrate a monochromatic scale of the value changes in paint.
During the painting review days, the students were given time to practice value scales of different colors to see which combinations would complement each other. They also practiced mixing shades of a secondary color like orange by adding red instead of black to make it darker and adding yellow instead of white to make it a lighter value.
They were ready to apply their skills to the final piece. In light pencil, the students marked every other section with a small dot to remember which areas to paint first and then they mixed values of one color in their palettes to outline and paint each section.
This process requires an incredible amount of patience and concentration to achieve a precise and detailed design. Over the course of the project, my students became took more care and ownership in the execution of their work as they saw the illusions develop from shattered lines to shaded values.
When they had refined the edges and values of their first color, it was time to mix tints, tones, and shades of their second color on the final painting.
Since they no longer needed guided demonstrations on the document camera, the students were given a choice to work in the classroom or outside in the courtyard every day that there was nice weather. Surprisingly, I would have about six kids choose to work at their desks and the other seven distance themselves outside. Some kids will beg to work outside no matter the weather. There were days that it was windy, overcast, and beginning to rain and still they would ask me if they could work outside! Despite their persistent requests, we stuck to a no rain, 50 degrees and up rule for outdoor art time.
As the optical illusions filled up with their last sections of paint, students used sharpie markers outlining each section to clean up the edges and emphasize the overall design that they had drawn in pencil. It was satisfying for me to see the students take pride in their work after it had all come together. They had dedicated quite a bit of time and effort into the "Shattered Shades" project to get to the final outcome.
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