Step 1 - Introducing the Frederic Remington Slideshow Guide

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2 Step 1 - Introducing the Frederic Remington Slideshow Guide MOTIVATION BEGIN READING HERE Do you know what a time machine is? Have you ever been for a ride in one? Would you like to take a trip today in a time machine? Let s get ready for take-off! Fasten your seat belts and strap on your helmets. I m going to push this button so our time machine knows to go backwards in time. How far back in time should we travel? That will be your surprise! And where will we land? That s your other surprise! Are you ready? Help me with the countdown in a quiet voice BLAST OFF! We re going back, back, back in time. Oh, I see so many interesting things, do you? We re passing the year you were born; we just passed the year your grandparents were born! Now we re entering the 1800 s, and I think I will stop us here. Hold on while I push the STOP button! It s the year We traveled back in time over years! Do you know where you are? It looks like we ve landed in the Old West! I see cowboys on horses. What do you see? (ANSWERS WILL VARY) I see something you haven t noticed. I see a man walking around who doesn t look like everyone else. He isn t dressed like the cowboys, but he isn t a Native American either. Instead of carrying a gun or a saddle, he has a sketchbook and pencil in his hands. He is very busy drawing everything in sight. Who do you suppose he is, and what is he doing? (HE IS AN ARTIST). The man s name is Frederic Remington, and he drew and painted pictures of the Old West. Do you think that would have been exciting? All his life, Frederic Remington was interested in the West, even though he lived in New York, in the East. He finally was able to go west when he was a teenager, and from that time it was the center of his life. If he wasn t living there, he was painting it. Would you like to see his pictures of the Old West? His art will show us what life was really like during that time. Click Start Lesson To Begin 1 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

3 1. CAVALRYMAN S BREAKFAST ON THE PLAINS What kind of Western characters do you see in this painting? (MILITARY MEN) Can you tell what they are doing? (COOKING) It is morning and the men are making their breakfast. I want you to think of what you had for breakfast this morning. For breakfast everyday while these men were away from their fort, they had thick black coffee, greasy bacon, and perhaps a rock-hard biscuit or two. And that was it for the whole day, no lunch. Was your breakfast better than that? And I bet you re hungry again by lunchtime. To better understand the life of these men, Remington went on horseback and camped out with them. This way he could sketch them having their breakfast, and know all about their daily life. Look carefully at this picture and tell me if you find the same things I do. I see bullets on the man s belt. I see a man smoking a pipe. I see a canteen to hold water. I see smoke rising from their campfires. Very good observations! All of those DETAILS that Remington was so careful to put in his pictures make the pictures look real, don t they? Do you think this looks real, like we re standing there looking at these soldiers having breakfast? (YES) Remington was a REALISTIC painter. Does this next slide seem realistic to you? 2. HIS FIRST LESSON Is it natural for a horse to want a saddle and rider on his back? (NO) Here Remington is showing us a horse s First Lesson in having a saddle and rider on his back. Does he look like he is enjoying his lesson? (NO) Is the cowboy being very careful? (YES) Breaking a horse in without getting kicked was very tricky. Does the horse just stand there once the cowboy gets on his back? (NO) What happens? (BUCKS, LEAPS, RUNS) Yes, the horse does everything in his power to throw off the unwelcome cowboy. What little details did Remington paint into this picture titled His First Lesson? (ANSWERS WILL VARY) Is this is a realistic painting? (YES) Good for you! Remington loved horses and knew a lot about them. When he was a little boy his father trained horses as a hobby. When he went to farms and fairs, he took young Frederic along. Frederic learned to ride very young and always enjoyed horses. He also liked to draw pictures, and his favorite things to draw were horses, soldiers, and Native Americans. He went to college at Yale University, and there his main interests were football and art. When he left school, he traveled to the West of which he had dreamed for so long. For 2 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

4 two months he sketched everything he saw, soldiers, horses, cowboys, and Native Americans. Upon returning to the East he took some of his drawings to HARPER S WEEKLY, one of the most popular magazines of the time. Remington s sketches were published, and his career as an ILLUSTRATOR of the West was off to a good start. Imagine you re turning the pages in a magazine. Would this next Remington picture catch your attention? 3. A DASH FOR THE TIMBER What do you think is happening here? (INDIANS & COWBOYS ARE FIGHTING) Who is in the most danger? (COWBOYS) Why? (OUTNUMBERED) Isn t this an exciting moment that Remington captured? He was a master at showing excitement and danger and inviting us in to feel that action. Let s look at all the realistic details he included. Are all the cowboys dressed the same? (NO) Remington painted the details of their clothing. Are the horses different? (YES) What do you see packed in the saddles? (PANS, ROPES, BLANKETS) Can you find a horse that s been injured? A cowboy who s been hurt? How can you tell the horses are galloping very fast? (DUST, HORSES LEGS) Now let s look at the Native Americans. Can we see as many little details like we could on the cowboys? (NO) Why not? (BECAUSE THEY ARE FURTHER AWAY, SO WE CAN T SEE DETAIL.) That is the way Remington shows us the Native Americans are in the BACKGROUND, and the cowboys are in the FOREGROUND. Now I want you to look behind the people and action at the LANDSCAPE that Remington painted. Here, too, he painted realistic details of what the Western landscape was really like. Can you describe it to me? (DESERT, FEW TREES, DRY, DUSTY, LOW FLAT MOUNTAINS) It would seem that Remington was right there sketching this dangerous chase. But he never really saw a fight in person. He would visit the Old West and listen to cowboys tell their exciting tales around the campfire at night. He later would turn their words into sketches. 4. REMINGTON S STUDIO Remington would take his many sketches and go back to his home in New York and turn them into a painting. To help him, he would bring home all kinds of Western things and surround himself with these objects. Listen as a friend describes Remington s studio where he painted. Click Audio NOW Props hang on walls and litter the floor axes, clubs, saddles, bows and arrows, moccasins, head-dresses, lariats even a small Indian canoe. 3 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

5 End Of Audio Continue Reading When he became famous and could afford it, he had his studio built large enough for a horse and rider to pose inside it! Can you pick out how Remington used some of those props when he painted this picture? Will you see any of those props in this next masterpiece? Let s take a look. 5. COMING THROUGH THE RYE What is the word for this type of art? (SCULPTURE) It has as many details as his paintings. Even in his sculpture, Remington made it look realistic with many details. There s so much excitement that it s fun to first let your eyes wander over the sculpture wherever they want to go. (PAUSE) Now let s study it more closely. Notice how each horse s head is held in a different position. Do they look like they are galloping very hard? (YES) Notice how the artist shows the powerful action of the horses legs. Above the horses, we see that the positions of the cowboys heads are just like the horses heads. If the horse s head is up, the cowboy s head is up. Look at each one to compare. Does this make you feel how much the horse and the cowboy worked together as one? (YES) Why do you suppose the cowboys are in such a hurry? (ANWERS WILL VARY) Cowboys on the cattle drives were known for being thirsty when they arrived at the end of the trail. That is what Remington is showing us here. A sculptor came to town to work on a statue of a general on a horse. Remington watched him work and became more and more interested. He had never tried to work this way before. The sculptor gave him some tools, and Remington worked all summer. Sculpting was very easy for him. This was Remington s tenth sculpture and probably his most famous. It was a difficult sculpture to do. Do you see that one horse is completely suspended in the air with all four feet off the ground? Do you see the smoke from the firing guns? He cleverly used a thin wire for the smoke. Are you getting an idea of how it felt to be a part of the Old West? The next painting shows a different feeling. 6. RIDDEN DOWN Can you tell what is happening here? Do you feel this shows a happy situation? (NO) Do you think there is trouble brewing? (YES) Let me tell you the story shown here. It seemed impossible for the many tribes to live together without fighting. This Crow Indian 4 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

6 braces himself for what is bound to happen. His horse has been Ridden Down and can go no further. What do you see in the background? (INDIANS ADVANCING) How did Remington show us that the Native Americans were in the background? (SMALLER, LESS DETAIL) Notice the landscape. What kind of land were they traveling in? (DRY DESERT, NO VEGETATION) As in the rest of his art, Remington showed exactly what the landscape was like. Remington tried to study the life of the Native American just as much as he did the cowboy. But that was very difficult to do. Many people warned him about trying to study the Native American. No Indian brave would stand still while his picture was drawn. Remington would make rapid sketches, but the Native American would quickly disappear. Remington continued to live and work in the East, but he traveled in the West every year for several months. He roamed the cowboys trails, and traveled among the Navaho, Apache, Cheyenne, and Comanche tribes. On these trips, the artist made many sketches and took along a camera for snapshots. Even then, his research wasn t always easy. Do you think the next Native American we see will also be in trouble? Let s find out. 7. INDIAN TRAPPER What feelings do you get from this Native American? Is he afraid, or a master in his mountain home? (MASTER) You are correct, Remington shows us an Indian Trapper dressed in European clothes who is very sure of himself. He knows the land and the way of the beaver by heart. The white man needs him, and he knows it! What do you see in this picture that is very different from our last painting? (INDIAN DRESSED DIFFERENTLY, LANDSCAPE DIFFERENT) Do you see a beautiful landscape? What has changed? (MORE VEGETATION, MORE COLOR, HIGHER ALTITUDE) Frederic Remington chose a different time of day for this next painting. 8. THE OLD STAGECOACH OF THE PLAINS What time of day is it? (NIGHTTIME) Give me a few words to describe how it would feel if you were inside this stagecoach. (ROUGH, BUMPY, NOISY, DUSTY) Does it seem a bit mysterious? Why do you suppose Remington chose to show this at night? (HARDER RIDE, MORE DANGER OF ATTACK, MORE MYSTERIOUS) 5 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

7 What draws your attention most in this painting? (LIGHT INSIDE, WHITE ON HORSE) Would the picture be as interesting without those patches of light? (NO) You ve seen some of Remington s paintings and sculptures. I think it s time we meet Mr. Remington himself, our famous master artist. 9. SELF-PORTRAIT ON HORSE This is a self-portrait by Remington. Remember I told you he didn t dress like a cowboy? Well, for this pose he painted himself in Western clothes. 10. PHOTO OF REMINGTON He usually wore a huge red coat, tight riding breeches, and hunting boots like the English would wear. He was a big, heavy man with red hair when he was young. Everyone liked him with his big smile and love of the West. Aren t you glad he showed us what the West was really like? Click Next To Begin The Review Game Questions and Answers 1. Besides football, what were Remington s interests at college? ART & BOXING 2. What began Remington s love of horses? HIS FATHER TRAINED HORSES 3. What did Remington surround himself with in his studio? WESTERN PROPS 4. Which is NOT a guideline to painting something in a background? BRIGHTER 5. Why was the one Indian dressed so differently? HE IS A TRAPPER 6. How did Frederic usually dress in the West? LIKE AN EASTERNER 7. In Remington s sculpture, what is unusual about the horse s feet? THE FOUR FEET ARE SUSPENDED 8. In what city was he born and eventually sold his painting? NEW YORK 9. What did he use in his sculpture to show smoke from the guns? WIRE 10. If Remington never saw a cowboy/indian fight, how could he paint it? HE LISTENED TO COWBOYS STORIES 6 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

8 Use the mouse to select the correct answer to each question. When complete, click Back To Units 7 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

9 Step 2 - Learning From: Frederic Remington Foreground And Background Objects in the front of the paintings, the foreground, are larger and more detailed than those in the background. You can see the thorns on a cactus in the foreground. Draw the cactus in the empty box, but make it seem far away. Make it smaller and higher on the page. These rocks are in the foreground. Draw some rocks in the empty box. Place them in the background. You might see some flowers in the foreground. Show how they would look in the distance. 8 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

10 Drawing Landscapes Backgrounds The landscape of the Old West was the background for the action and people that Frederic Remington painted. To make the background seem real, Remington made those things much smaller and less detailed. Which mountains are closer? Color them brown. Which mountains are farthest away? Color them purple. Add two distant trees like the three you see on the hill. Look at the four closer trees. Add another one. Draw a landscape you could use for backgrounds in an Old West picture. Remember to make things in the background smaller and with less detail. 9 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

11 Desert Plants To make his pictures seem real, Remington painted only the kinds of plants that grew where he was painting. Much of the land he painted was desert and had plants like you see this page. Choose a desert plant to draw. Make it large enough to fill the frame. Draw just the basic shape, you ll add the details later. Try to arrange the branches differently. Save this drawing for your art project. 10 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

12 The last few pages of this section contain the Art Activity for Frederic Remington. This step-by-step outline will be a guide for instructing your child(ren) through the activity. The parent/instructor should review all steps necessary to complete this project before beginning any work. Cut out the Artist Profile Slip below and attach it to the back of the completed art project. Frederic Remington (REM-ing-tun) - American ( ) Remington painted pictures of the American Old West. He was a realistic painter who recorded details of a vanishing way of life. His beautiful landscapes and action-packed scenes help us to relive the Old West. Art Activity Emphasis: Realism in Western Landscapes Frederic Remington (REM-ing-tun) - American ( ) Remington painted pictures of the American Old West. He was a realistic painter who recorded details of a vanishing way of life. His beautiful landscapes and action-packed scenes help us to relive the Old West. Art Activity Emphasis: Realism in Western Landscapes 11 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

13 Step 3 - Working With: Art Activity Instructions ARTIST Frederic Remington (REM-ing-tun) ( ) American VOCABULARY Landscape silhouette, horizon line ART ELEMENTS Realism VISUAL Print: The Old Stagecoach of the Plains MEDIA Chalk, crayon SUGGESTED MUSIC Music from the late 1800s or western Music TECHNIQUE Torn and cut paper, chalk, crayon detail MATERIALS FOR INSTRUCTOR AND CHILDREN One 9 X 12 sheet of black construction paper One 9 X 12 sheet of light brown construction paper Tissue or paper towel Artist profile slip Colored chalk Black pencil Glue Scissors Cactus drawn from last page of Learning From Packet PREPARATION Construct an example to become familiar with the procedure. Place the Remington print and your demonstration papers horizontally where they can be easily seen. Arrange materials nearby. SET-UP [ 5 minutes ] Distribute the following materials to each child: SUPPLIES: Black pencil, colored chalk PAPER: One 9 x 12 sheet of black paper, one 9 x 12 sheet of light brown paper, tissue, and artist profile slip ORIENTATION [ 5 minutes ] EMPHASIS Landscape composition (The students should have their Learning Packets and a pencil ready.) What does our artist, Frederic Remington, liked to paint? (COWBOYS, NATIVE AMERICANS, HORSES) He also painted the kinds of plants that grew in the area he was painting. He made sketches of these 12 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

14 plants; at the same time, he sketched the people so that his paintings would be REALISTIC. Today you will create a Western LANDSCAPE of your own. Your Learning Packets will help you create your landscape, so put them to one side and let s get organized so that we can begin. DEMONSTRATION AND ACTIVITY ORGANIZE YOUR WORK AREA [ 2 minutes ] 1. Arrange your brown paper horizontally or vertically on your workspace. (DEMONSTRATE) 2. Put your black paper and Learning Packet to one side. 3. Place glue, scissors, chalk, black pencil, and artist profile slip at the top the your workspace. THE COLORED CHALK 1. If you have long sleeves, roll them up! 2. Press very gently on the chalk, so that you won t make a lot of dust! 3. Each time you finish with a color, put it in the chalk container, instead of leaving them out. 4. Use your tissue to wipe the dust off your fingers. COLOR THE DESERT BACKGROUND [ 5 to 10 minutes ] What are some colors you would see on a hot and dry desert? (BROWN, YELLOW, ORANGE, RED) Can you see them clearly if they are far away? (NO) Do you know that sometimes you can see layers of color along a desert mountain? Watch carefully while I show you how to put some desert color into your landscape background. 1. Use the side of the chalk. 2. Start on a side of the paper near the top. 3. Rub the chalk across the top, from one edge to the other (once across). Just a hint of color is enough for the background. 4. Use strokes that are horizontal or laying down flat. Make them wavy and overlapping. 5. Continue down the page with more flat strokes of many colors. 6. Leave lots of brown earth colored paper showing through. When you finish use your tissue to GENTLY rub off the excess chalk. Rub over the chalk in the same direction you colored to blend these colors, so they will become part of the background. (Have the students repeat these steps with their materials.) THE BACKGROUND MOUNTAINS [ 5 minutes ] Put your materials down and watch while I show you how to make mountains for the background of your landscape. In your Learning Packets, there are some examples of background mountains. You may want to use them for ideas. Look at the line that separates the mountains from the sky, the horizon line. You will cut a horizon line across the top of your brown paper. 13 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

15 1. Cut from one side to the other starting about two inches down from the top. 2. If you want to show flat-topped mountains, use only horizontal and vertical cuts (demonstrate as you explain). 3. Place the brown paper background against the black paper, lining up the bottom and side edges. 4. Turn your brown paper over and draw a dotted line of glue just inside the edges. Then place it on the black paper. THE FOREGROUND CACTUS [ 10 minutes ] On the last page of your Learning Packet, you drew a cactus, which just happens to be the right size for your landscape. Watch while I show you how to use it. 1. Use your colored chalk to give it a LIGHT coloring and blend it with your tissue. (Don t bother to stay within the lines.) 2. Cut it out. You may cut it in sections if there are many difficult cuts to make. Take your time and cut very carefully so that it will look realistic. 3. Glue it (just a few dots please) anywhere in the foreground of your landscape (at least half an inch up from the bottom). Have the students repeat these steps with their materials. This is a good time to play music. ADDING THE BLACK DETAIL LINES [ 5 minutes ] (When students have finished, stop the music and have the students put down their materials.) Watch so you will know how to add the details that will make the landscape more realistic: 1. With your black pencil, draw a few rocks or grass clumps. Objects in the foreground will be darker, larger, and have more detail than objects in the background. 2. Draw the thorns on your cactus. Usually there are dark spots on a cactus where the thorns grow. If you put a few dots on each cactus branch (demonstrate), you can then use the dot as a starting point for the thorns. Make the thorns with quick short strokes of the black pencil. Have some start on the white paper and end on the brown paper to make the cactus become part of the landscape. Be careful not to add too many details! You do not have to draw every thorn or every blade of grass. Use just a few lines to give the idea. Less is more! 14 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition

16 MOUNTING THE ARTIST PROFILE SLIP [ 2 minutes ] (Profile slips for each artist are provided. They give a brief description of the artist, the technique, and the media used in the art activity. They should be mounted on the back of each art project after it is completed.) 1. Write your name on the front of the artist profile slip. 2. Using glue, mount the profile slip on the back of your artwork. 3. Encourage students to discuss their artwork with others using this artist slip of information. CONCLUSION Can you imagine Frederic Remington painting his cowboys and Native Americans into your wonderful desert landscapes? Tell me what characters or action you would have Mr. Remington add to your realistic landscapes. (RESPONSES WILL VARY) You artists would work well with Remington! GUIDANCE A good time to play the suggested period music is during the art activity. The MTM CD-ROM has music which can be played for each artist. To play the music, click on the Audio icon which can be found on the first page of each Artist Unit below Ages 10 - Adult. THIS CONCLUDES THE FREDERIC REMINGTON UNIT. 15 FREDERIC REMINGTON Ages 8 9 MeetTheMasters Online Edition