Wyland Undersea "Murals" with 4th Grade

4th grade recently studied the artist Wyland, who is known for his huge murals of undersea life. He is especially noted for creating his "100 Whaling Walls", murals depicting whales. My 4th graders used large paper (12" x 18") to create their own large undersea artwork. They used crayons to draw their fish, plants, rocks, sand, etc., and watercolors to paint the water. I let them do the sky any way they wanted. Some chose to paint it, others chose to color it with crayons, and some chose to use colored pencils. To create realistic-looking fish, plants, and other sea creatures, the students worked from photographs. I spent some time collecting different photographs of sharks, dolphins, sea horses, sea turtles, and many other creatures found in the ocean. Here are some finished "murals" by my 4th graders: