Any time that you can combine fun with learning, you have really set the stage for something meaningful for your children. Teaching children about artists might involve looking at books about a particular artist or visiting an art gallery or museum. An even better way to get your kids excited about discovering an artist's work is by having them complete an art project mimicking the style of that artist.
Joan Miro, a Spanish master of Surrealism, has many works particularly suitable for a children's art project. Consider a work of his such as "People and Dog in the Sun." You will note as you view the painting, that essentially this is a painting with whimsical stick figures surrounded by circles and stars. Provide large pieces of paper and begin by having children draw a stick figure in action then adding a few circles and stars. Create the stars by using lines and dots, as Miro did. Once the circles, stars and stick figure are drawn, trace them in black crayon and then use watercolors to paint the circles and background.
Another artist that children will enjoy learning about is Russian abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky. Several of his works can be used for a great children's art project, including "Squares with Concentric Circles," or "Color Studies." Both of these can be easily copied because they are basic shapes. Because the picture itself is easy to do, this is an excellent way to use unique art mediums, such as oil pastels, chalk or watercolor rather than crayons, colored pencils and markers. For a slightly more advanced project, consider taking a look at Kandinsky's "Composition X," and consider having children begin by drawing intersecting shapes and coloring each section individually with crayon and then finish with a black watercolor wash. Or, for a different application, draw with chalk, crayon or oil pastel on black paper.
Another fantastic surrealist and cubist painter was Paul Klee, and he has many works which can be transformed into a wonderful easy art project for children. Consider a project based on "Senecio," which is a wonderful representation of cubism. Begin by having children trace a round shape that will form the head, add a neck using straight lines, two eyes that touch each other and a line dividing the head. Two small squares form the mouth. Trace the lines with permanent market and color the entire paper heavily using oil pastels. Paint over the work with acrylic paint and let this dry. Once it has dried, scrape most of the paint away using an old plastic gift card and voila.
If you would like to try something that doesn't involve painting or drawing, consider looking at some of the photographic work of David Hockney. His collage style is quite fun for children to imitate. Simply look through a magazine and find a photo that looks interesting and images of nature that look quite striking. Take the picture and cut into squares and rectangles, ensuring that you still have them in order. Then glue them down on paper in order, but overlapping the pieces a bit and rotating them slightly.
You can also purchase and download PDF art murals from websites such as ArtProjectsForKids.org. This is a great way to introduce your child to an artist or work of art that might be more difficult to imitate, such as Van Gogh or Monet. These PDFs are divided into squares with a portion of the painting drawn on each square. Children simply color each piece and then arrange them and paste them on a large piece of paper to recreate a collage of a famous painting, such as Van Gogh's "Starry Night" or Klimt's "Tree of Life."
Joan Miro, a Spanish master of Surrealism, has many works particularly suitable for a children's art project. Consider a work of his such as "People and Dog in the Sun." You will note as you view the painting, that essentially this is a painting with whimsical stick figures surrounded by circles and stars. Provide large pieces of paper and begin by having children draw a stick figure in action then adding a few circles and stars. Create the stars by using lines and dots, as Miro did. Once the circles, stars and stick figure are drawn, trace them in black crayon and then use watercolors to paint the circles and background.
Another artist that children will enjoy learning about is Russian abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky. Several of his works can be used for a great children's art project, including "Squares with Concentric Circles," or "Color Studies." Both of these can be easily copied because they are basic shapes. Because the picture itself is easy to do, this is an excellent way to use unique art mediums, such as oil pastels, chalk or watercolor rather than crayons, colored pencils and markers. For a slightly more advanced project, consider taking a look at Kandinsky's "Composition X," and consider having children begin by drawing intersecting shapes and coloring each section individually with crayon and then finish with a black watercolor wash. Or, for a different application, draw with chalk, crayon or oil pastel on black paper.
Another fantastic surrealist and cubist painter was Paul Klee, and he has many works which can be transformed into a wonderful easy art project for children. Consider a project based on "Senecio," which is a wonderful representation of cubism. Begin by having children trace a round shape that will form the head, add a neck using straight lines, two eyes that touch each other and a line dividing the head. Two small squares form the mouth. Trace the lines with permanent market and color the entire paper heavily using oil pastels. Paint over the work with acrylic paint and let this dry. Once it has dried, scrape most of the paint away using an old plastic gift card and voila.
If you would like to try something that doesn't involve painting or drawing, consider looking at some of the photographic work of David Hockney. His collage style is quite fun for children to imitate. Simply look through a magazine and find a photo that looks interesting and images of nature that look quite striking. Take the picture and cut into squares and rectangles, ensuring that you still have them in order. Then glue them down on paper in order, but overlapping the pieces a bit and rotating them slightly.
You can also purchase and download PDF art murals from websites such as ArtProjectsForKids.org. This is a great way to introduce your child to an artist or work of art that might be more difficult to imitate, such as Van Gogh or Monet. These PDFs are divided into squares with a portion of the painting drawn on each square. Children simply color each piece and then arrange them and paste them on a large piece of paper to recreate a collage of a famous painting, such as Van Gogh's "Starry Night" or Klimt's "Tree of Life."
About the Author:
Kate Halfey enjoys blogging about art projects for kids. For further details about awesome art projects for kids or to find flower art projects for kids, please visit the ArtProjectsForKids website today.
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