Wetland wilderness.

Enduring Ideas

We can learn about wetlands by studying them onsite, through environmental study, and through works of art created by artists who have represented them throughout time. We can share our knowledge and feelings by making art about these water environments, by becoming aware, and working to protect some of these natural resources.

Art Exemplars

* Billy Hassell, Cypress Stumps, 1995. Oil on canvas, www.conduitgallery.com

* Gabor Peterdi, Angry Wetland, 1984. Oil on canvas, www.janehaslemgallery.com

Lesson Overview

Students learn about wetlands by going on a field trip to one or by studying and viewing photographs. They learn about artists by comparing or contrasting two paintings of wetlands. Finally, students will express their own ideas in a drawing.

Artistic Behaviors

* Gaining practice drawing freely with oil pastels, with wetlands as subject matter.

* Learning about artists who use art to express their feelings about their wetland environment.

Materials

* oil pastels

* colored construction paper 9 x 12" (23 x 30.5 cm) or 12 x 18" (30.5 x 46 cm)

* photographs of wetlands

Guiding Inquiry

* Why did Hassell use such bright colors: pinks, oranges, and violets? (His colors are very bright and flat, with little shading, and are combined in order to give a heightened impact. They depict the paradise of the wetland landscape crushed by the government clearing.)

* What is the artist trying to convey in this painting? (The devastation of wetlands cleared for a highway. The wetlands were later rejuvenated, as shown by the new vegetation and returning birds. The swamp is being reclaimed symbolically, with the crow and blue heron as symbols of death and life. The stumps will soon be covered with new plant growth.)

* Would you call Hassell's work realistic? Why or why not? (The birds and foliage are realistic but the composition and colors are flat, abstract without concern for perspective.)

* What would lead you to think that the artist cares or does not care about the environment? (The choice of subject indicates a concern for disappearing wetlands.)

* Contrast Hassell's work with Angry Wetland by Gabor Peterdi. What are the differences in color, line, texture, style, subject matter, or mood between Peterdi's painting of wetlands and Hassell's painting?

* What do you think is Hassell's purpose: to draw what he sees, or to convey a deeper environmental message? (His message is an environmental concern for the disappearing natural landscape and ecological destruction.)

Guiding Expression

Show photographs or slides of wetland areas and discuss environmental aspects of the area. If possible, arrange a field trip to a local pond or wetland, even in a city park.

Distribute a handout with pictures of wetland plants and wildlife for ideas (in Nature Scope: Wading into Wetlands. Washington DC: National Wildlife Federation).

Discuss simple ideas of composition according to grade level, such as filling the format but not cluttering; variety of shapes and sizes, color selection. Compare and contrast the works of Hassell and Peterdi relating to message, media, colors, style, and mood. Demonstrate using the point and side of a pastel, and mixing or layering colors. Discuss how artists show space (relating to grade level) from flat to distant.

When working outside, demonstrate the viewfinder to locate and limit a piece of landscape. Also, demonstrate sketching the landscape lightly and quickly with a light pastel, utilizing the entire format of a 12 x 18" (30.5 x 46 cm) piece of color paper.

About the Artist

Billy Hassell (b. 1956) exhibits widely in his native state of Texas, as well as nationally. The lakes, creeks, and wetlands that were filled in with housing developments led Hassell to become involved with environmental issues. His work expresses great concern for the endangered Texas swamps and coastline.

Currently, his environmental interests are more integrated into the subject matter and deal less with specific issues. He wants his work to be universal and timeless. His paintings are based on an experience, observation, or impression of nature.

He begins with sketching outdoors to understand the forms and lighting. The painting, however, is a construction of his forms, images, and impressions, not a realistic landscape. The wildlife may be realistic, but the setting and the composition are not. Some of his special interests are myths and folklore, and many of the animals he draws occur in fables.

Heather Anderson is a retired art teacher, formerly with Fresno City College in Fresno, California.