MyLeoNes™

Nature can inspire art — Art, 4–6

You can look closely at a leaf, shell or stone and use what you notice to make art. Nature gives you ideas without telling you exactly what to copy.

Look, then make

Nature is full of shapes, colours and marks that can give you an idea for a picture, print or model. You might notice the spiral of a shell, the veins in a leaf or the rough edge of a stone, then make your own version. Your artwork does not have to look exactly like the real thing.

Why look at nature?

When artists want a new idea, they need something interesting to notice, not a blank page that tells them nothing. Looking closely at nature gives them shapes and details to choose from. The problem it solves is deciding what to make: you can start with one small discovery and change it into your own artwork.

A leaf becomes a picture

First, put a maple leaf on the table and trace its outside shape. Next, look at its five points and draw the lines running from the middle to the edge. Then choose three colours: green for the leaf, yellow for the lines and blue for the space around it. You used real details, but made a picture that is yours.

It need not be a copy

A common mistake is trying to make the artwork look exactly like the leaf, flower or stone. That seems sensible because you began by looking at a real object, but looking is only the starting point. You can enlarge one part, change the colours or turn a round stone into a made-up creature.

Ideas outside the classroom

You can use this way of looking when you decorate a card, make a pattern for wrapping paper or invent a character. A walk can become a collection of ideas: notice a feather, a pine cone or a puddle, then remember one shape or colour. You do not need to take anything from nature to use what you saw.

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