Bring an easy Charles Demuth art project to your classroom by having students imitate his famous “Figure 5 in Gold” painting.

A finished example of a Charles Demuth art project

Charles Demuth grew up in the late 1800’s in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. When he was four years old, he injured his hip and was bedridden for several weeks. His mother gave him crayons and watercolors to keep him busy, thus beginning his life long love of the arts. Fortunately, his parents saw his talents and totally supported his pursuit of an art career.

Charles ended up playing a key role in America’s changing art world in the 20th century. He was a principal member of Precisionism, which celebrated the new American landscape of skyscrapers, bridges, and factories.

Charles is probably best known for his painting titled “Figure 5 in Gold”, using imagery from William Carlos William’s poem The Great Figure, which evokes the sights and sounds of a fire engine speeding down a busy city street. The intersecting lines, repeating numbers, lights, street lamp, and sirens of the red fire engine together create a painting with a vibrant, urban energy. He derived the title from William’s poem, which reads:

Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
on a red
firetruck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city
— WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS

TEACHER NOTES

The idea of having students dissect a large number with lots of lines and fill in the closed shapes has been around for awhile, but I created some new tools to give everyone some more options. First, it’s fun to draw the original “fancy” looking number 5, so there’s a tutorial for that. But if anyone prefers to make another number (hey, maybe someone just turned 8 or something?) then there’s a cheat sheet for that too. After all, simple block numbers would work … but why not make them fancy like Charles Demuth’s original? A few extra touches do the trick.

As for coloring instructions, this is perfect for learning about warm and cool colors OR a lesson in camouflage. High contrast will make the number stand out, and low contrast will make it hide.

Preview of the Demuth Step by Step Tutorial

Open Demuth PDF Tutorial

Preview of the Draw Fancy Numbers Tutorial

Open Demuth PDF Tutorial

Demuth Coloring Page

Open Demuth Coloring Page

MATERIALS

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Drawing Paper. Don’t substitute it with copy paper or construction paper. The surface will get fuzzy, erasing might cause holes, and the colors will generally not look as bright.

Pencil. The Ticonderoga brand are the most reliable, make nice dark lines when you need them, and are the easiest to erase.

Eraser. Large ones you can hold in your hand do a much better job than just the pencil tips. Stabilo Markers. They have the best colors, the best tips, and last the longest.

Black Sharpie Marker. These fine point permanent markers make nice black lines, have a good tip for coloring, and never bleed when they get wet. Use them in areas with good ventilation and add extra paper underneath for table protection.

Stabilo Markers. The large pack provides lots of fun color choices, several shades of each color, including a few choices for skin. The tips are perfect for coloring, and there’s even a promise that they will work after being uncapped for 8 weeks!

DIRECTIONS

Time needed: 50 minutes.

A Charles Demuth Art Project

Start the top of the number five as shown.
Continue down at an angle.
Draw the large circle shape.
Add the round tip.
Continue the inside curve as shown.
Connect the ends at a slight angle.
Use a ruler to draw three dissecting lines.
Add three more lines from the other direction.
Trace with a marker and color.