This Art and design scheme of work video supports teachers to help pupils create their own painted plate, inspired by the bold, colourful style of Clarice Cliff’s circle tree design.

The lesson begins by exploring Cliff’s use of bright concentric circles against a striking black tree silhouette. The video encourages children to think carefully about colour choice, mixing primary colours to create warm, eye-catching tones. When painting, pupils should leave the background of the plate white, placing the circles carefully so they don’t cover the entire surface. The video demonstrates how to keep the circles even in size and centred, without worrying about perfection. Once the background is complete and has dried, the focus shifts to creating the tree silhouette. This is done by pouring black paint onto the plate and using a straw to blow the paint into branching shapes.

This video is part of Kapow Primary’s Year 1 Colour splash unit.

See more of our Year 1 Art and design scheme of work.

Art and design, Year 1, Painting and mixed media: Colour splash, Lesson 5: Clarice Cliff plates.