New
New
Year 1
How has water been depicted by artists, makers and designers
I can make different colours to depict water using watercolour paint.
New
New
Year 1
How has water been depicted by artists, makers and designers
I can make different colours to depict water using watercolour paint.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Artists use lots of different colours to depict water.
- At different times of year and different times of day, water can be different colours.
- Artists can use watercolours to depict water, adding black, white and water to change the colour of their paint.
Keywords
Colour - colour is what we see when light hits an object and reflects back to our eyes. There are many different hues of colour, such as blue, yellow and red
Water - water is a clear, wet liquid that we drink, wash with, and see in rivers, lakes, and oceans
Depict - to show or represent something through pictures, words, or actions
Common misconception
Artists always depict water using the colour blue.
Remind children that artists can use blue to represent water, but they can use lots of other colours as well.
The photographic images from this lesson can be adapted by using images that children are familiar with in thier local area, such as a pond in a local park, a river or the sea.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Watercolour paints
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Starter quiz
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4 Questions
Q1.
Which of the following is used to make a painting?
a spoon and fork
a pencil and crayons
a ball and string
Q2.
Which word best describes this artwork?
drawing
sculpture
Q3.
Which colours can you see in this artwork?
purple
pink
Q4.
Artists always paint water as blue.
True
Exit quiz
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4 Questions
Q1.
Which of these colours could represent water?
Q2.
When an artist something, it means to represent it using words, pictures or actions.
buys
uses
Q3.
In which image has the watercolour paint been mixed with the most water?
Q4.
When an artist mixes black with a colour, the colour becomes darker.
False