Salvador Dali Dream Landscape

Salvador Dali is perhaps the most famous of the surrealists. His dream-like landscapes such as 'Persistence of Memory' and 'Landscape with Butterflies' are some of his most famous works. There's something strange yet oddly familiar about these works - they seem to resonate inside of us without quite letting us grasp their meaning.

If you're planning to do a longer unit on surrealism, this lesson can easily follow up my Max Ernst collage lesson.

To start their piece, students should create a mood board of source material. I ask that students choose one sea creature, one land animal, one musical instrument and one fruit or vegetable. They can then search the internet or any handy magazines for relevant pictures. They should also select an environment that will form the backdrop of their dream landscape.

Once they've created their mood board, students can think about mixing the different visual elements of the animals and objects they've chosen. When they have some firm ideas, they can make pencil sketches of their unusual figures.

When students are happy with their sketches, they should think about how they might draw their surreal figures into the environment they've selected.

Finally, students can use coloured pencil to complete their Dali-influenced dreamscape.