Autumn Trees

This week we've been doing a unit study about autumn (more about that in another post), and sweet serendipity brought a post from that artist woman to my inbox this morning.  Since our day was already dishevelled by an orthodontist appointment, I decided we'd make an art afternoon of it and try our hand at her fall trees. Here, the DC are waiting oh-so-patiently-and-respectfully for me to give them their instructions:

Here we've finished our watercolour skies and grounds, after a little lesson about horizons and the "rule of thirds" :

Next came the india ink-blown tree:

It really was fun seeing those branches sprawl out with each breath!

I confess the thought of getting out more paint for the fall leaves had me weary, so when I found my daughter's stash of these, we improvised the project a bit:

They weren't quite as effective as "proper" paint because they didn't cover the ink -- but they were neater and easier to use. These are the final results . . .

By DD8:

By DS3:

By DS11:

By Yours Truly:

I kept blowing and blowing (with the hair dryer!) the ink trying to get it to dry -- only to realize that it actually was dry -- just glossy where it was a bit thick.

Pretty cute, don't you think?

Are there any favourite fall art activities that you and/or your children enjoy?