With their distinct bright red coloring, cardinals make a wonderful subject for an art project. Since I have a wide variety of ages in my classes right now, I taught two different versions of this lesson. For the younger students, I did a guided directed drawing for the cardinal. The older students drew from photographs of cardinals. Most drew with pencil, some younger ones drew with black crayon. They all used tempera paint. I challenged the older students to look for the different colors of red in the birds and value changes in the branches. We also worked on blending techniques to show the glow of the moon/sun in the background. I love how students found a way to infuse this project with their own style.
