This project was inspired by Swiss artist Paul Klee. Paul Klee (1879-1940) was an abstract artist known for his highly individual style, which was influenced by many different art movements, including Expressionism, Cubism and Surrealism. Random colors in the background appear as your design is scratched out, offering a fun surprise whether you create a partial or total … [Read more...]
Watercolor Fish with Pointillism
Last weekend's teacher workshop at Palace Art was a huge success! It's encouraging to know that so many teachers are eager to expand their art skills so they can share the benefits of Art with their students! For this workshop we focused on watercolor, so I thought I would share a few of the amazing paintings these teachers-turned-students produced. (Scroll down for the lesson … [Read more...]
Monet’s Ice Cream Sundae Party
1st Grade Ice Cream Sundae...don't you just love kids' art??!This is a FUN lesson in color mixing and mixing tints (a tint is any color plus white). I got this out of an old School Arts Magazine years ago and just simplified it a little. It's a great opportunity to talk to kids about Impressionist painter, Claude Monet, and the scrumptious colors he used! I usually do this … [Read more...]
Negative Space Tree Drawings
6th Grade Drawings of the Trees in our Parking Lot! This project is ideal for that time of year when the trees have lost their leaves and the new leaves haven't sprouted yet. Kids love any excuse to get out of the classroom, so if you can, go outside and have them do the first part of this project "from life". If that's not possible, or you don't have any good trees … [Read more...]
Echo Line Flowers
3rd Grade Flower Drawings This is a fun lesson for teaching about warm and cool colors, patterns, and artists who painted flowers, like Georgia O'Keeffe and Vincent Van Gogh. You'll Need: 9" x 12" white sulfite construction paper pencil Magic Rub Eraser Markers in a variety of colors, plus black (or use a black Sharpie) (affiliate links) Directions: … [Read more...]
Shoe Drawings
Third Grade Shoe Drawing by Brian Contour drawing is a great activity for developing your drawing skills, no matter what your age or level of ability. There are dozens of fun projects you can do with contour drawing, but here is one of my favorites... Shoe Drawings!1. Remove one shoe and place it on your desk.2. On 9x12 paper, make light pencil marks to indicate placement … [Read more...]
Self-Portraits Inspired by Paul Klee
Kindergarten self-portrait and "Senecio" by Paul Klee One of our wonderful parent volunteers recently shared a great website with me that she found. If you're looking for new art lessons to try, check out Kathy Barbaro's "Art Projects for Kids". I found a great idea on her website for "painting" with tissue paper, which I tried with one of our Kindergarten … [Read more...]
Alphabet Soup Art – The Verdict is In!
two examples of first grade "Alphabet Soup Art" It's official.... everyone LOVES Alphabet Soup Art! From first graders to sixth graders, the responses were all the same - this project is a hit!! A few of the youngest students had to be reminded to connect their letters, but other than that most students were able to work independently. This project is a natural for … [Read more...]
Alphabet Soup Art
In today's culture, some symbols have become so familiar that we've stopped noticing them. This idea is what prompted contemporary American artist, Jasper Johns, to create abstract paintings from symbols such as letters, numbers and maps to get his viewers to experience these symbols in new ways. Your students can follow these steps to learn about abstract art with this fun … [Read more...]
Dot Monsters!
Dot Monsters are a perfect activity to teach to the whole class or use with those "early finishers" who end up with free time after completing a project. Kids from 1st grade through 6th grade love making these! Dot Monsters nurture imagination and encourage creative thinking and problem solving.... and they're FUN! Here's how you make them: 1. Any size paper will work for … [Read more...]