Vincent Van Gogh's painting, "Starry Night" (1889), is one of the most recognized pieces of artwork in the world. It can be seen everywhere imaginable on coffee mugs, t-shirts, canvas bags, posters, etc...that the painting's fame has almost surpassed that of its creator. People are drawn to the universal beauty of a dreamlike scene with brush strokes that bend around an unusual tree, contrasting swirls of spirals through sparkling stars and a glowing moon that illuminates the sleepy town below. Each small mark is intentional and layered with multiple colors that blend together as a complete painting when viewed from a distance to re-create the artist's impression of the landscape. Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is an iconic example of Post Impressionism that continues to inspire people today.
In the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade art classes, students were given the opportunity to redesign this famous painting with a winter or holiday theme. We studied Van Gogh's painting and had group discussions to determine which specific details were essential for capturing the composition of "Starry Night" and what elements of the artwork could be altered while still holding true to the essence of the original.
Some of the students' online research revealed some creative interpretations of the original artwork...
Each art student in grades 6th-8th designed their own version of a "Starry Night: Winter ReMix" in colored pencil for an individual assignment. The top 10 drawings from all the middle school art classes were selected and the students voted on their favorite design. The student results were too close to call so I shared the ReMix designs with the Middle and High School Staff for a final vote.
I made a color copy of the winning design and gridded it so that each student would be given a section of the artwork to paint as a contribution to the middle school mural. Prior to painting their final piece, the students reviewed color theory to mix their own colors and practiced blending impressionist brush strokes on the night sky of a coloring page template.
I numbered and cut each section from the color photo copy of the group design and gave each student small piece to study in close detail. They could also refer to the projected image on the screen to see what was around their section and how it connected to the rest of the image.
Students painted the large sections of color in the background of their sections and then layered colors on top of what they had painted the previous day so that they could emphasize the mark making with brush strokes.
By focusing on just one section at a time, there is less pressure for the students to complete a full painting all on their own. It's an opportunity to plunge into the task at hand and be expressive with colors and brush strokes.
The back of each painting was labeled with their name and grid number so that the final mural could be reassembled in the display case. The students really enjoyed the painting process and working together to see the larger image come together.
Ta-dah! New Buffalo Middle School's winter fantasy of a "Starry Night" is finally revealed for all to admire.
I took the students on a gallery walk by the display case to study the painting up close to find their section and then view it from across the room as the complete mural. The students were proud and pointed out their sections to each other.
To cap off the winter festivities, we cut paper snowflakes and hung them in the hallways to celebrate a job well done.
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