Amate Bark Paintings
Adapted from Art Works
http://www.nicholls.edu/artworks/ProjprocessGHallam.html
Goals
- To increase students’ awareness of South American art forms.
- To learn about colors and patterns.
- To gain appreciation for other cultures while exploring the history of bark painting in South America.
Materials
- Examples of Amate Bark Paintings
- Heavy Brown Paper or brown paper bags
- Scissors
- India Ink
- Paint Brushes
- Blow Dryer
- White Chalk
- Brightly colored tempera or gouache paints
- White Tempera Paint
- Black Sharpies
Steps
- Study examples of Amate Bark Painting while talking about the background and history of this style of painting.
- Discuss the texture of the paper, the bright colors, the use of black and white, borders, and stylized designs.
- While completing steps 4 – 6 think about the design or image you would like to portray in your painting.
- To make your paper similar in appearance to bark, crumple up the paper to make creases and wrinkles. Cut to shape how you would like.
- Using watered down India Ink, paint a black wash over the brown paper. The wrinkles in the paper will trap more of the ink, creating a texture. Drips and dots of the ink will help make the paper look more authentic.
- Spread the paper out flat and dry with blow dryer set to warm.
- Once dry, use white chalk to draw your design on the paper.
- Use the tempera or gouache paints to fill in your design with color. Allow to dry completely.
- Use a black marker to outline the shapes and images.
Amate Bark Painting Examples and Information