Lessons:
A-4 Kevin Peterson
Polar Bear
Overview
- Discuss Polar Bear by Kevin Petersen.
- Learn about imagery and typeface.
- Create graffiti wall art.
Reflection
- Who lives in the house that you created?
- What colors and objects did you add to describe mood of the house?
- What is the title of your artwork?
Polar Bear by Kevin Peterson, 2012, oil on panel, photo credit: Street Art News (December 2014 Interview)
Discussion Presentation
Discussion Questions
Where is the polar bear?
A fictional city on an overpass that seems to go on forever towards the vanishing point, a point beyond the edge of the canvas where the diagonal lines meet. A polar bear in the city makes us think about the relationship between nature and man-made habitats.
What different styles of graffiti text do you see?
Urban graffiti (tagging a name) ramped up after the invention of spray paint. By the mid 1960’s, graffiti changed from simple line letters to an art form that was shown in art galleries and museums.
What is the polar bear looking at?
The polar bear is gazing off in the distance. Peterson is known for very detailed paintings that show animal fur and urban structural textures, like rust. This style of art is called photorealism or hyperrealism.
Biography
- Kevin Peterson (KEH•vin PEE•ter•sun) is an American artist from Elko, Nevada.
- Hand-held spray paint was invented in 1949 and graffiti was first displayed as an art form in 1963.
- Peterson explores journeys and learning how to exist within a broken world. His young subjects often walk alongside wild animals in an unexpected alliance.
- Subway and bubble became an art form in the mid-1970s, moving from the streets to galleries and museums.
- He is both a graffiti artist and painters. His paintings started with his kid’s friends or people around his neighborhood.
Project
Materials
- sketch paper
- 9×12 sky blue paper
- 6×12 white paper
- drawing pencil
- ruler
- scissors
- white glue
- black permanent marker
- watercolors
- watercolor brush
- water container
- paper towels
- How to Draw Graffiti handout
Warm Up & Brainstorm
- 10-minute sketch: use How to Draw Graffiti handout.
Project Directions
One-Point Perspective Graffiti Wall
1. Add horizon line andvanishing point.
Draw horizon line ~3 in. (half way) from bottom of 6×12 white paper. Draw a dot at paper’s edge on the horizon line.
2. Create wall.
Place ruler on vanishing point and pivot other end of ruler like a clock hand. Draw orthogonal lines for the top/bottom of the wall and for the height of the graffiti.
3. Add wall background.
Cut out wall from white paper and glue onto 9×12 sky blue paper.
4. Add graffiti text and art.
Draw graffiti and optional art on white wall.
Tip: verticals are parallel to the paper edge. Outline graffiti with a black permanent marker.
5. Color the background.
Paint the graffiti, wall, and environment.
6. Give artwork a title.
Pre-Lesson Preparation
- No prep required.
Day of Lesson Setup
- Demo using How to Draw Graffiti handout.
- Demo using a ruler to draw wall in one-point perspective (horizon line, vanishing point pivot for orthogonal lines).
- Demo activating watercolors: add a few drops of clean water to each color well to soften them.
- Tip: vertical things (like vertical sides of bricks or edge of the wall) are parallel to the edge of the paper.
- Tip: horizontal things (like top and bottom of bricks and wall) are diagonal lines.