One of my favorite tessellation projects for kids is an interlocking bird. I learned the hard way how easily shapes can get flopped, so I came up with the numbering system. For another option, see my Fish Tessellation art project. MATERIALS Drawing paper Card stock or chipboard square, 3″ Masking tape Black marker Crayons DIRECTIONS Give each student a … Read More
Valentines day ideas for kids can be educational too. This drawing uses a ruler, which is a 2nd grade Common Core Standard. For more Valentine drawing ideas, see my new “Valentine Drawing” ebook in my PDF Shop. MATERIALS • Multimedia or drawing paper • Black Sharpie marker • Markers, Stabilo brand recommended (The above product link is a referral. If … Read More
A Valentine’s Day art for kids project can be a good time to try a new process. This colorful art comes from using crayons, rubber cement and watercolors. It’s a great way to show kids how amazing their art can be if they just focus on adding lots of layered color, both when coloring with crayons and then painting with … Read More
Faith Ringgold, an African-American artist, is best known for her large story quilts. In 1985 she made a piece titled “Flag Story Quilt”. For a great follow up project, see my Faith Ringgold Mural template in my PDF Shop. MATERIALS • Download PDF Flag template • Card stock paper • Old magazines • Scissors • Glue sticks • Hole punch … Read More
I created this Jasper Johns project for kids so they could make a miniature version of his paintings, and recycle an old CD case as well. Students can get as messy as the want with their painting and the numbers will still show up because they are raised. Plus it’s a pretty good way to recycled some old CD trays, … Read More
Look for further for artsy Halloween costumes. Make a cubism masterpieces with a paper bag and oil pastels. MATERIALS Brown grocery bag Oil pastels DIRECTIONS I used a regular brown grocery bag, and started by drawing the split face on one side with a black pastel. For more specifics on how to draw the two-sided face, check out my … Read More
It’s that time of year when it’s fun to mix a little art history with Halloween festivals by way of a ‘The Scream art project’. This fun photo op was made awhile back with my “Munch’s The Scream” PDF template. I printed it a bit larger than usual, had students color it, mounted it to foam core, and cut out … Read More
I made this “How to Draw like Paul Klee” tutorial to guide students in a continuous line drawing that would look a lot like Klee’s famous painting. This drawing is made by following the “up” and “down” and “over” directions shown on my diagram page. The fact that the finished art will look a lot like a famous Klee painting … Read More
Combine the idea of rings or color and a tree and you get a fun Kandinsky for kids project. Great for warm and cool color studies too. MATERIALS • Warm colored card stock paper, for the leaves • Cool card stock paper, for the ground and sky • Black card stock paper, for the trunk • Scissors • Glue stick … Read More
Louise Nevelson found sculpture project was inspired by her creation of wood assemblages. It’s easy to make with just craft sticks and found objects. MATERIALS Craft sticks, 12 per student Aleene’s Craft Glue Found objects, bottom of the draw stuff Acrylic paint, white or black or gold DIRECTIONS I glued the basic square as shown ahead of time for the … Read More
Collage projects for kids can start with old magazines, crayons and a little watercolor. For a little art history, you can also connect this to artist Romare Bearden. Romare Beardon, an African-American artist and writer, is renowned for his experimental collages, a technique he began to experiment with in 1950s. Some students in California learn more about Mr. Beardon in the fourth … Read More
If you need your students to make really colorful art for a special occasion, say a fundraiser, try this oil pastel heart. Tell them their only job, outside of drawing a large heart, is to color with lots of layers. After all, that’s what pastels really do best. MATERIALS • Multimedia paper • Oil pastels, I prefer the Portfolio brand … Read More
Looking for summer drawings easy enough for kids to do? Try an underwater watercolor resist. The key is to include waving limbs and floating hair. MATERIALS Art Journal or watercolor paper Black Sharpie marker Crayons Liquid watercolor paint DIRECTIONS I gave some of my young students a 2″ circle to trace for the head, to give them a head start. … Read More
This amazing Tree of Life artwork comes all the way from the Middle East. It’s a testament to the beauty of random coloring. Kristen D. wrote, “Hello, I just wanted to thank you so much for the brilliant tree project. I did this with my 5 year olds at Kuwait English School today and, although they didn’t follow the Color … Read More
Start this Mona Lisa art project for kids with liquid watercolor paints and permanent markers, and then paint on coffee filters. It’s possible to make really brilliantly colored paintings without expensive watercolor paper. Large, industrial coffee filters will give you a colorful look for a fraction of the price. Mona Lisa PDF template, for tracing Mona Lisa PDF template, for … Read More
Here’s a fun Warhol for kids lesson — making your own original Campbell’s Soup canvas. Andy Warhol popularized this image with his large, multi-colored prints, and now you can have fun with the same image. I’m providing a can template below so all you need to do is trace it on to dry wax paper, color with Sharpies, and then … Read More
This circle painting preschool project has a little structure, but still keeps an open end so that there is plenty of room to experiment. The circles also add an opportunity to share vocabulary words of “large, medium and small”. MATERIALS Watercolor or multimedia paper, 9″ x 12″ or larger Round things to trace: CDs, yogurt cups, drinking cups Liquid Watercolor … Read More
I combined some old comic book images for one of my new pop art coloring pages. It’s also available as a mural in my PDF Shop. It’s inspired by the work of Roy Lichtenstein, who was an American pop artist known for his parodies of comic strips and advertisements. For those of you that just want to color and write … Read More
When you are ready to learn how to draw a cake that looks more dimensional, try this. Start with ovals and add curves to make your drawing look good enough to eat! Tip: This would make a good drawing project for an art fundraiser service that offers custom greeting cards. What parent wouldn’t enjoy sending a birthday card with their … Read More
A fun Picasso art project for kids is drawing a cubist face that shows one side as a front view and the other as profile. Cubism is basically looking at something from more than one point of view. • View and download Cubism Portrait Tutorial MATERIALS Black card stock or construction paper Oil pastels, I like the Crayola brand for … Read More