I introduced the students to the artwork by artist Henri Rousseau.
Henri Rousseau was a post-impressionist painter in France. Although he did many types of paintings, he is well-known for his works of jungle animals.
Here are a few images of his work:
Students began by creating a colorful border of repetitive shapes and colors using construction paper crayons to have an interesting border for their drawings.
Next, each student selected a photograph of a rainforest animal and challenged themselves to do a realistic drawing of it. This was a tough drawing challenge and the students did an awesome job of showing perseverance. The students focused on the shapes, colors, and texture of the animal. They used colored pencils for this.
These drawings turned out amazing. I want to take them all home and hang them on my walls forever....