By Kate Halfey
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.
Surrealism lends itself well to a children's project because one is not expected to create a picture of something exactly the way it appears to the human eye. Joan Miro is an excellent artist to copy for an art project because his works are colorful and whimsical which appeals to children. Start your project by looking at a few of his works, including "People and Dog in the Sun," "Daybreak" or "Nocturne." You will see that at their essence, these are simple pieces with lines and basic shapes. Consider having children begin by drawing one or two stick figures on a paper and then adding stars that are created with dots and lines, as well as circles. Have a few of the shapes intersect and then color the piece, taking care to color the intersecting portions different colors from the rest of the shapes.
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.
The works of Paul Klee are extremely striking, and there are many art projects you can consider based on his paintings which display elements of expressionism, surrealism and cubism. A work such as "Senecio," is an excellent starting point for an art project. Have children copy the basic design of the head, neck, eyes and mouth featured in the painting. They will need to trace the lines with a Sharpie or permanent marker and then color each section with oil pastels, taking care to color very heavily. Then paint over the picture with acrylic paint and when this is dry, gently scrape away much of the paint to reveal the picture underneath.
Collage art is fun for children, and one artist that excels in collage is David Hockney. Show your children pictures of some of his photo collages and have them search through magazines to find pictures that appeal to them. Once they find a great picture, perhaps a beautiful nature scene, have them cut it into strips or squares and then paste it onto paper. The image should still look similar to the original photo, but by rotating the pieces or overlapping them slightly, the image is distorted somewhat and quite interesting.
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."
Surrealism lends itself well to a children's project because one is not expected to create a picture of something exactly the way it appears to the human eye. Joan Miro is an excellent artist to copy for an art project because his works are colorful and whimsical which appeals to children. Start your project by looking at a few of his works, including "People and Dog in the Sun," "Daybreak" or "Nocturne." You will see that at their essence, these are simple pieces with lines and basic shapes. Consider having children begin by drawing one or two stick figures on a paper and then adding stars that are created with dots and lines, as well as circles. Have a few of the shapes intersect and then color the piece, taking care to color the intersecting portions different colors from the rest of the shapes.
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.
The works of Paul Klee are extremely striking, and there are many art projects you can consider based on his paintings which display elements of expressionism, surrealism and cubism. A work such as "Senecio," is an excellent starting point for an art project. Have children copy the basic design of the head, neck, eyes and mouth featured in the painting. They will need to trace the lines with a Sharpie or permanent marker and then color each section with oil pastels, taking care to color very heavily. Then paint over the picture with acrylic paint and when this is dry, gently scrape away much of the paint to reveal the picture underneath.
Collage art is fun for children, and one artist that excels in collage is David Hockney. Show your children pictures of some of his photo collages and have them search through magazines to find pictures that appeal to them. Once they find a great picture, perhaps a beautiful nature scene, have them cut it into strips or squares and then paste it onto paper. The image should still look similar to the original photo, but by rotating the pieces or overlapping them slightly, the image is distorted somewhat and quite interesting.
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 writing about art projects for kids. For further information about awesome art projects for kids or to find flower art projects for kids, please check out the ArtProjectsForKids.org site now.