We happen to live in the Catskill Mountains, which are low and rolling. This makes it easy for kids to grasp the idea of atmospheric perspective. When we look out of our windows or take a drive, we see these beautiful, layered landscapes every day.
I have taught this lesson using two types of palettes of tempera paint:
For the land: offer white, black and a color of their choosing to work from OR offer black and a color of their choosing that isn't terribly dark. The students will start by using black in the front, and slowly lighting or brightening as they go back in space. I have about 10 different photographs that illustrate atmospheric perspective in the mountains, and have plenty of copies to go around. A student can choose to use a photo, or they can work using their own vision of what might make a good composition. I have the students check in with me before they begin to paint. This project is usually the most beautiful project of the year and really, very easy to teach as the students are highly motivated to do great work on this one.
When painting the sky I offer a palette of white and a color of their choosing. They really love to have control, and frankly, almost any color, if thought about wisely, can be great. The sky follows the same principle--as you approach the horizon, the sky is lightest. The color is darkest at the top of the paper. When we paint the sky, we talk about blending. So, although the painting method is the same, I have them learn to tickle the tempera color bands to blend them smoothly with a bit of water, while the bottom of the painting remains, more or less, in layers.
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