Artwork and Artist
'A Ground Swell, Carradale' by William McTaggart
This artwork can be found in GALLERY 16: Shoreline in Aberdeen Art Gallery.
Summary
Sailing on the Alley Alley O!
This painting shows a small fishing boat carrying children into a small harbour. The boat is being rocked by the wind creating large waves in the sea.
The artist, McTaggart, was interested in nature and showing how weather can change quickly.
The artist has used lots of messy paint to show the movement of the sea.
Look and See
Can you see the children in the fishing boat? How many other boats are on the water? What can you see on the hill in the distance?
Discuss
Rock the boat.
How do you think the children in the boat feel? Can you show how they are being rocked about in the boat on the waves?
You can play the sound of waves to act along with:
Did you know?
The artist William McTaggart was born and grew up by the sea in Kintyre, Scotland. As a little boy, he would have been used to the smells and sounds of the sea.
Activity
Sing-A-Long
Sing along to the 'The Big Ship Sails on the Alley Alley Oh'
You can find an example of the song here:
Here are the words to the song:
The big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh
The big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh
On the last day of September.
The captain says it will never, never do,
Never, never do, never, never do
The captain says it will never, never do
On the last day of September.
The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea
The bottom of the sea, the bottom of the sea
The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea
On the last day of September.
We all dip our hands in the deep blue sea
The deep blue sea, the deep blue sea
We all dip our hands in the deep blue sea
On the last day of September.
Art Tasks: Make your own toy boat
• Use an empty yogurt or pudding pot as your boat
• Make a mast by using a straw/popsicle stick and taping/tacking it to the base-centre of your boat
• Attached a paper flag to the top of your mast and add some pretend people, such as Lego people, and float it in your bath or sink
Sing along to another nursery rhyme:
Listen to a traditional Scottish song about the sea:
