- Rainforest Fantasy by David Miller
Key Words: Composition, lines, complementary colour, detail, gestures
Teachers notes: David C Miller is a well renowned artist famous for his extraordinary use of colour, bringing the habitats that he paints to life. Although the majority of Millers paintings are focused on marine life, he has recently broadened his range with the inclusion of rainforests. His work follows his personal pursuit of environmental preservation, which has been acknowledged by art critics as well as environmentalists. ‘Rainforest Fantasy’ is a typical piece by Miller drawing upon aspects of the natural world. It encaptures the flora and fauna typically found within a rainforest.
This painting could be used to introduce children to life within the rainforest. Links to science could incorporate looking at plants and animals and what it means to be living. This is embedded in the National Curriculum (DfE, 1999) ‘Sc2 Life processes and living things’,
‘b. that animals move, feed, grow, use their senses and reproduce’.
Learning could then progress to looking at habitats and food chains, exposing children to the diversity of flora and fauna in the rainforest. Children could make habitat boxes in science with specific reference to a chosen animal within the painting. ICT and geography could also be incorporated, with children using the internet to research whether different locations of rainforests has an impact on the species that live there; furthering knowledge to reason why this may be.
Millers work is well known for appearing on postcards, greeting cards and jigsaw puzzles. Focussing on jigsaws, children could identify a detail within the painting, which they think others may not have seen, and use a blank jigsaw to print the unique image onto.
Key Questions:
- Can you find one detail in the painting that you think no-one else would have seen?
- Choose an animal in the painting, what do you think they are thinking?
- Why do you think the elephant has been painted standing alone?
- Give the children 30 seconds to look at the painting. Then cover the painting asking the children ‘what can you remember about the painting?’.
Jump into the Rainforest 