Almost all early civilizations had mythological stories. From the great cradles of civilization--Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome--to the Mother Earth and Father Sky of the early Native Americans, myths have been part of the civilization of humankind. Typically, in this teachers' ninth-grade painting class, the students paint landscapes in order to understand atmospheric and linear perspective. Through their understanding and effective use of edge, object size, value, color, and overlapping students have successfully created the illusion of deep space. They have also painted a still life to help them site proportions correctly, understand shape relationships, and to use value to create the illusion of volume. Both of these assignments have been quite successful. However, this teacher wanted to include a new unit that focused more on researching a topic and having students develop their own ideas for a composition. For this lesson, students chose and researched a myth or mythological character. They wrote a short essay with a detailed account of the story or character(s), symbols, and meaning of the myth. They also explained why they were drawn to this myth, what lesson might be learned from it, and how the myth might apply as metaphor to current times. Then students developed three thumbnail sketches of possible compositions, choosing their most effective to draw on 18 x 24" (46 x 61 cm) watercolor paper. Finally, they used acrylic paint thinned with water to complete the artwork. The requirements and assessment for this lesson are described in this article.