Henri Rousseau was a French artist that lived in the late 1800s. He tried to paint in the schooled manner of the traditional artists, but it was the innocence and charm of his work that won him the admiration of many avant-garde artists such as Paul Klee.
1. If possible, show a poster of Rousseau's “Surprised! Storm in the Forest” painting to the students. It was Rousseau's loving attention to detail that made him an exceptional artist. The tiger face is drawn, starting with a circle, then two eyes, lines going down the center, a upside down triangle nose and two circles for the muzzle. Whiskers are added, then ears, body and tail. Lastly, triangles may be drawn all around the edges for a tiger look.2. Students draw lots of leaves, some that are in the back of the tiger and some are in front. This is will make the tiger look like he is hiding in the leaves, like in Rousseau's painting.
3. When the drawing is complete, the students trace all the lines with a black marker and then color everything in with oil pastels.
