Iceland Illustrated - Jóhannes Kjarval
Learning Sequence 3
.png)
Intro with Gavin
Begin by showing students the introductory video and inviting them to identify what they can see in the landscape at Dimmuborgir. Ask them to listen for Jordan’s three organising principles: big to small, back to front and light to dark.
Discuss why painting in this order is useful. Emphasise that large background shapes establish the composition, while progressively darker colour and finer foreground details help create depth. Introduce the postcard purpose so students understand that their artwork will eventually carry a thoughtful message to someone else.
In today’s lesson, we are visiting Dimmuborgir, an extraordinary lava field in Iceland. Around us are ancient lava formations, small plants and distant volcanoes. Jordan explains that when we paint a landscape, the order in which we work helps us create the feeling of space and depth.
As you watch, listen for three important ideas: big to small, back to front and light to dark. We begin with the large shapes, paint the distant background before the foreground, and use more water and less pigment for lighter areas before adding stronger, darker details closer to us.
At the end of the lesson, you will turn your landscape into a postcard for someone you care about. Your artwork will become a simple way to tell another person that you are thinking of them.
Your Weekly Keywords
After students watch the introductory video, organise them into pairs to define the weekly keywords in their own words. Encourage them to connect each term to something Jordan says or demonstrates rather than treating the activity as a dictionary exercise.
Bring pairs together to compare definitions and clarify the relationship between background, foreground, size, tone, pigment and detail. Focus on building precise visual arts vocabulary that students can later use to describe their process and evaluate how successfully their landscape creates depth.
This week you will explore ten words connected to landscape painting, watercolour and depth. They will help you explain how an artist guides the viewer’s eye from the distant background to the detailed foreground.
With a partner, look at each word on the task card and try to explain it in your own language before using a dictionary. Think about words such as background, foreground, depth, pigment, wash, layer, detail, composition, landscape and postcard.
Compare your ideas with another pair, then return to the video and listen for places where Jordan demonstrates each idea. Use the words again when you explain the choices you made in your own artwork.
Quote of the Week – Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval
Read the four natural features aloud and invite students to connect each one to Iceland and to the scene at Dimmuborgir. Explain that Kjarval repeatedly returned to Iceland’s lava, moss, rivers and mountains as sources of inspiration.
Show examples of his landscape work and ask students to notice where their eyes travel first, how forms overlap and how changes in colour or detail create space. Focus on interpreting an artist’s relationship with place and connecting this observation to the students’ own landscape choices.
This week we are inspired by Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval, one of Iceland’s most important artists. The natural forms that repeatedly inspired his work can be captured in four simple words: “Lava, moss, rivers and mountains.”
Look again at the landscape surrounding Jordan. Which of these natural features can you see, and which shapes, colours and textures would you choose to emphasise in a painting? Talk with a partner about how an ordinary piece of rock or moss can become remarkable when an artist pays close attention.
Explore Kjarval’s landscapes and notice how closely he studied Icelandic nature. Keep this week’s words as a reminder that powerful art can begin with the ground beneath our feet.
Art History – Who was Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval?
Guide students through the resource on Kjarval and help them identify the key events, influences and characteristics of his work. Draw particular attention to his sustained interest in Icelandic lava formations and landscapes.
Support students in selecting accurate, relevant facts for an infographic or poster, then invite them to analyse one artwork through this week’s three ideas: big to small, back to front and light to dark. Focus on researching an artist, selecting key information and presenting knowledge clearly through words and images.
Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval was an Icelandic artist who lived from 1885 to 1972. He is remembered for the distinctive way he painted Iceland’s lava fields, moss, mountains and changing natural light. His work sometimes combined close observation with imaginative or mysterious forms.
Read the resource about his life and notice how Iceland’s landscape became a lifelong source of ideas. Study several paintings and look for large and small shapes, background and foreground layers, and areas of lighter and darker colour.
Next, use the blank template to create an infographic or poster that tells Kjarval’s story. You may work in Canva or use pencils and paper. When you have finished, share it with someone else and explain why his work connects so closely with this week’s visit to an Icelandic lava field.
Make an Information Report
Ask students to recall and organise the most important information about Kjarval before they begin. Encourage them to use headings and concise bullet points, and to distinguish between biographical facts, features of his art and their own observations.
Support students in adding purposeful illustrations, a timeline or a labelled landscape analysis. Focus on summarising, sequencing and communicating visually. Remind them that good information design, like landscape painting, establishes the large structure first and adds smaller details afterwards.
After learning about Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval and exploring his paintings of Icelandic nature, it is time to show what you have discovered in a clear and creative information report.
Use the template provided to make a colourful infographic. Include clear section titles, short bullet points about his life and art, illustrations inspired by lava, moss and mountains, and a diagram or timeline that helps the reader understand his story. You might also include a small analysis showing the background, middle ground and foreground in one of his landscapes.
Arrange the information from big ideas to smaller details, just as Jordan organises a painting. Make your report accurate, attractive and easy to follow so another person can understand why Kjarval remains important to Icelandic art.
Create With Jordan – Full Video
Prepare watercolour paper, paints, brushes, clean water and cloths before replaying the demonstration. Model how to test a wash and how the ratio of water to pigment changes its value.
Guide students through the work in stages, allowing sufficient drying time between layers. Use the repeated prompts ‘big to small’, ‘back to front’ and ‘light to dark’ to support independent decision-making. Celebrate variation and avoid expecting students to copy Jordan’s image exactly.
Gather your watercolour materials and follow Jordan as he turns the lava field into a layered landscape. Begin with the biggest shapes you can see, including the sky, distant volcanoes and broad areas of land. Do not worry about tiny plants or rocks yet.
Work from the back of the scene towards the front. Use more water and less pigment for the first light layers, then gradually add more paint and less water as the landscape comes closer. Finish with the smallest, darkest details in the foreground.
If your painting looks different from Jordan’s, that is a good thing. Use his process as a guide while making your own decisions about colour, shape and emphasis.
Sketch With Jordan – The Landscapes of Iceland
Use this activity as a planning stage before students paint. Ask them to divide the scene into background, middle ground and foreground, then map the large shapes and overlaps before adding small details.
Encourage students to annotate where the lightest washes and darkest pigments will appear. Focus on composition, spatial planning and purposeful sequencing. Remind students that their plan should support their individual response to the landscape rather than prescribe one correct outcome.
Before you begin painting, make a quick plan of the Dimmuborgir landscape. Divide what you can see into three layers: the distant volcanoes and sky, the middle area of lava formations, and the plants or rocks closest to you.
Sketch the biggest shapes first and decide where they overlap. Then add a few smaller forms towards the front. Beside your sketch, record how your colour will change from light to dark and where you will use more water or more pigment.
Use this plan to guide your final watercolour, but stay open to discoveries as you paint. A sketch is not a rule; it is a way to organise your thinking before you begin.
Create With Jordan – Share Your Art as a Postcard
Support students in completing a small landscape suitable for a postcard, applying the three sequences taught in the video. Once dry, help them mount or format the image as a postcard without covering the artwork.
Discuss how to choose an appropriate recipient and write a warm, respectful message. Check privacy and school procedures before adding addresses or posting cards, and offer hand delivery or a classroom display as alternatives. Focus on applying artistic technique for an authentic purpose and using art to strengthen human connection.
Today your landscape will become a gift. Begin by creating your view of Dimmuborgir using Jordan’s three principles: work from big shapes to small details, from the background to the foreground, and from light colour to dark colour.
When the painting is dry, turn it into a postcard. On the back, write to someone you care about. Tell them why the Icelandic landscape made you think of them, share something you learned, or simply let them know that they are loved and remembered.
Check that the address and message are clear, then send or deliver your postcard. Your art can travel beyond the classroom and create a moment of connection in another person’s life.
Quiz and Certificate
Invite students to complete the quiz after their artwork and postcard are finished. Encourage them to recall the three central principles and explain how they applied each one in their own process.
Celebrate the certificate as evidence of both artistic learning and purposeful action. Focus on recalling key concepts, reflecting honestly on creative choices and recognising how a work of art can communicate care beyond the classroom.
Now that you have completed your Icelandic landscape and postcard, it is time to show what you have learned and collect your certificate.
Click the button below to take the short quiz. Think carefully about why Jordan begins with large shapes, why he paints the background first, and how changing the amount of water and pigment helps him move from light areas to dark details.
Once you complete the quiz, your certificate will be ready. There are ten certificates to collect during the course, so keep creating, reflecting and sharing your art with others. Good luck!
