Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh has been widely acclaimed as one of the greatest figures in the history of art. His works exude intense emotional power with their vivid colours and bold brushstrokes. Described as Post-impressionist, Van Gogh’s paintings paved the way for the modernist movement in art around the world. The following provides information on Vincent Van Gogh's art experiences that can be created by children.
The Starry Night Finger-Painting
Set the tone by pulling up online pictures of The Starry Night or going through art books together to look at Van Gogh’s iconic painting. Use these moments to discuss whether he might have created the swirling patterns in the blue sky or the starry points of light. These swirls and dabs in fact make finger-painting a great technique to reimagine The Starry Night. But rather than using fingers like brushes to paint directly onto the paper, try mixing colours using paint and fingers on a palette and then using paper to lift off the patterns created. You can have children use a baking sheet covered with tin foil as a palette onto which they can pour blue paint and then little blobs of yellow and white. Encourage the little artists to swirl and mix the colours using their fingertips. Next, help children to carefully lay a piece of paper over the top before lifting it off to reveal a lovely pattern that will be left as a print. Bear in mind that the first couple of prints might be a little paint-heavy and so allow enough time and materials for the children to get a hang of the process till subsequent prints turn out nice and clear. Once the paint is completely dry, children can add more layers of print over the top to create further dimension or dab colours with their fingers directly on the paper to add some details – like perhaps gold highlights for the lights.
Coffee Filter Sunflowers
Let children recreate one of Van Gogh’s most recognizable flower paintings – sunflowers – but using unusual materials like coffee filters. Additionally, they will need scissors, blue, yellow, grey/brown cardstock, foam board, glue stick as well as permanent markers in brown, yellow and green. The first step is to create the background by cutting a piece of blue cardstock to 8×10″ and gluing it to the foam board, followed by gluing a piece of yellow card stock across the bottom. Next help the children trim a vase shape from light brown cardstock and cut another piece to fit at the top of it from light yellow cardstock. These are to be glued together and then onto the background. Have them trace around the vase with a brown marker and then use a yellow marker to add some highlights and shadows on the top of the vase. Finally let them create the flowers by colouring on coffee filters with the yellow marker, then cutting out a circle and oval shapes. Show kids how to cut fringes around the edges to create the petal effect. Let them use the brown marker to add a centre to the sunflowers and then glue each flower onto the background. Lastly, green markers can be used to add leaves and stems.
Further Reading
Salvador Dali Art Projects For Children - Salvador Dali was a famous Spanish artist known for being unconventional in both his creations and appearance. His paintings, sculptures and films often have a dream-like quality about them, often because the bizarre landscapes or actions depicted cannot happen in the real world. The following lists of activities to explore Salvador Dali with children.
Pablo Picasso For Children - Considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso is famous for a style of painting known as Cubism. The following lists of activities to explore Pablo Picasso with children.
Claude Monet For Children - Oscar-Claude Monet was a pioneer of the French Impressionist style of painting. The following provides information on Claude Monet's art experiences that can be created by children.
Jackson Pollock For Children - Jackson Pollock was an American artist who painted in the abstract expressionist style. He is best known for works created by dripping and splashing paint on a large canvas that would lie flat on the floor. The following lists of activities to explore Jackson Pollock with children.
Andy Warhol For Children - Andy Warhol became famous as an artist in the Pop Art movement which uses images from popular cultures like advertising, comic books and other everyday objects. The following provides information on Andy Warhol's art experiences that can be created by children.
References:
Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night Finger Painting, The Imagination Tree
Recreating Famous Art Works, Amy Latta Creations