Fall Collage Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, we make a fun, colorful painted paper collage celebrating autumn, using Faber Castell’s Acrylic Tube Paint Set. This premium quality paint set comes with 12 brilliant and intermixable colors, perfect for anyone wanting to take up painting.

Recommended Materials:

Acrylic Tube Paint Set

medium and large flat brushes

scissors, Exacto knife

Stiff white paper or watercolor paper

palette or bowls for paint mixing

water for rinsing brushes

paper towel

Sketching

I begin by sketching out a simple idea of the direction I want to go with
this design. I know how much this image will change and evolve once I get
going with my paint and scissors, but for now I need something basic to
keep me on track.

Painting the papers

Here I have used several colors to mix and make lovely blends of fall color.
I paint leaving visible brush strokes going in different directions, make
areas of light and dark, and create texture by dry-brushing one color over
another. I think about the kinds of colors I will need in the design; the grey
of the metal pail, orange for pumpkins, the yellow/brown of the sunflowers.
I am not exactly sure what else I’ll want to include in the design, so I paint
these other beautiful fall colors too, to inspire me.

Tip: Use a background paper size a little larger than what you really need. That way, you can build your design more comfortably and have the freedom to trim your final piece to suit the art.

Building

I decide to give the art a white background as opposed to any other color. This will give the overall art a modern, clean, fresh look. I began this collage by cutting out and positioning the foundation of the design which is the bucket, the pumpkins and the sunflower. I cut the shapes out by making myself stencils out of stiff paper, and then positioning them over the parts of the painted paper that I want. I use a white pencil and lightly draw around the stencil, then cut out the shape I’ve created on the painted paper. I cut freehand the sunflower petals to give them the irregular fun shapes.

Tip: Keep cut pieces loose throughout the design process so you have the flexibility to move them around ALOT! Glue pieces later, only when you are sure of their placement. (Also, just use a little glue in case you do have to
pull a piece up.)

Details

I continue to add the berry branches, pumpkin stems and colorful leaves. I
find the best parts of my painted paper and cut all of this freehand giving it
a spontaneous imperfect, folk art-y look.

I felt something interesting and lively was needed in front of the pail, so I
thought a crow could serve as a nice dark accent. I kept him simple, in
basically 2 pieces. I made a wing out of the part of the painted paper that
contrasts nicely with the plain black of the rest of his body. I never planned
for a berry in his mouth; it is a small fun detail that just evolved from
playing around with the position of the berry branches above his head.

The idea for the sprig of Chamomile flowers came towards the end of
designing this, offering a nice pop of white accent among all the fall color
and tying it to the white of the background.

Finally, I trim the size of the finished art; it is 17x12.

What better way to celebrate the season then with a fun colorful collage!
Baskets, gourds, acorns, leaves, pies, turkeys, scarecrows, apples, bon
fires, squirrels, harvest moons and hayrides can all be inspiration for the
beginning of a beautiful design.

Enjoy the season, and have fun making art!