These rainy spring days have really got me daydreaming of summer. This bright citrus project seemed appropriate, very bright and sunny.

I brought an assortment of sliced citrus fruits to class and let each student choose one. Students drew from observation in pencil, then outlined in black crayon. I think students were surprised at the complexity of the slices, all the different shapes and how they fit together.

Painting an object that is more or less different values of the same color is more challenging than you would think. Students really had to think about the subtle value changes in the fruit slice. Older students worked on blending the paint from dark to light and adding texture in the fruit sections.

After we painted the citrus, students consulted the color wheel to find the complimentary color for their fruit. They painted the background in the complimentary color. Students could see how great complimentary colors look together. These are so bright and vibrant! Summer is almost here. 🙂