Kids Picasso Style Portrait Art (Kids Get Arty)

It's time for another Kids Get Arty. I really enjoy our art explorations with famous artists. So far we have explored Romare Bearden, Jackson Pollock, Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol and Vincent Van Gogh.

Today, I am excited to share our artistic exploration of Pablo Picasso. Wanting this to be fun and kid friendly, I chose to focus on his more abstract art and had the Lil Divas make self portraits.

The Lil Divas began with a simple pencil sketch of their portraits.

Here's a breakdown of what they did:

1. Make a large circle (face).

2. Cut the face in half with a line down the middle that turns it into 2 faces.

3. Add eyes and a mouth (or two).

4. Add hair and any other features as desired (neck area).

Then, they traced the sketch in black permanent marker and began coloring with oil pastels.

They decided to get creative with their coloring, using bold, vivid colors and lots of them.

The finished products were wonderful.

The portraits are bright, bold and unique -

much like the Lil Divas themselves.

I think Picasso would be proud.
I know I am.

Looking for some Picasso inspiration?

Try these -

Kids Get Arty is a bi-monthly link up which is meant to encourage exploration of the great artists! It is brought to you by  Red Ted Art, Imagination Soup, Imagination Tree, Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas & Tinkerlab  

Now it's your turn - share your recent exploration of a great artist with us.

I can't wait to see what you've done.

Kids Get Arty - Splatter Painting Like Pollock

It's time for Kids Get Arty!

This month I decided to let loose and let the Lil Divas get MESSY
channeling their inner Jackson Pollock.

We took this activity outside to protect our furniture (good call on my part because things got messy!). The Lil Divas set to work on their canvases using acrylic paint and various tools for splattering, dripping and pouring including plastic forks, paint brushes, basters, toothbrushes, strainers and other fun painting tools. 

"On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting”  

-Jackson Pollock, My Painting

The only directive I gave the Lil Divas was not to paint - I urged them to flick, pour, drip and splatter. They had a great time exploring the different tools and figuring out the best way to use them. When I say we were coated in paint, I am not kidding. It was on our clothes, in our hair and all over our patio. There were many cries of "oops" and even more giggles as the Lil Divas worked. It was such a fun process for them - definitely worth the mess.

Believe it or not, the process of "letting go" was difficult for the Oldest Diva. She usually has a specific outcome or picture in mind when she sits to paint or create so she wasn't sure she could do this. I offered encouragement and told her to try, just testing the various tools I provided and seeing what they did and how it felt to use them. This helped her get started and once she did, she was off. I could see her eyeing the paper, her flicks more deliberate than those of her sister. She would get up, changing positions and angels so she could utilize the entire canvas. 

The Littlest Divas was more carefree, haphazardly flicking and dripping paint - not caring where it landed or what it looked it. Just enjoying the freedom to create and make a mess. At times like these, it strikes me how different their personalities are and how much of that was reflected in their different approach to this activity. 

"It doesn't matter how the paint is put on, as long as something is said." - Jackson Pollock

I think the finished products would make Pollock himself proud. I can't wait to display them in our home - true abstract expressionist works of art.

Images of Jackson Pollock Drip Paintings - awesome to see!

Great books for kids to explore more of Jackson Pollock -

(click each book for more info)

Now it's your turn! Join Red Ted Art, The Imagination Tree,  Imagination Soup, Tinkerlab, Creative with Kids and me for Kids Get Arty by linking up below. I can't wait to see what artists you have all explored with your kids.

Kids Get Arty - Drawing with Scissors like Henri Matisse

It's time for Kids Get Arty!

This month I introduced the girls to Henry Matisse. While perusing some of his works online the girls were drawn to his paper cut out art and I knew we had found our inspiration.

We focused on working with paper cut outs in various colors and shapes and using them to make a collage in the style of Matisse. It was so much fun even I joined in and created a collage. Can you tell which is mine in the above photo? 

We read the book Henri Matisse: Drawing with Scissors by Jane O'Connor.

I gave the Lil Divas free reign and it was wonderful to see how they both approached their art so differently. 

The Oldest Diva used large pieces (mostly triangles and hearts) in red, pink, purple and blue. She was very deliberate and I noticed she had trouble just letting go and cutting. When I encouraged her to just cut without a particular shape in mind, she told me she couldn't. She was done very quickly and it surprised me that she found this activity difficult. She loves art and is always drawing. Thinking about it, she always has an end goal in mind though. She isn't very abstract or about the process. This is something I plan to explore with her a bit more, to see if she can shift out of her comfort zone and let lose. Any suggestions on which artist we can explore next that will help us do that?

The Littlest Diva used lots of color, worked hard at making all kinds of shapes and using them to create pictures in her art. Her art told a story - there is a castle, the sun, clouds, birds, butterflies, a snake and more. As she freely cut and pasted her story unfolded and came to life in her imagination. It was magical. Her imagination never ceases to amaze me.

The art work turned out great and I enjoyed watching the Lil Divas at work and seeing their masterpieces unfold.

Now it's your turn! Join Red Ted Art, The Imagination Tree,  Imagination Soup, Tinkerlab, Creative with Kids and me for Kids Get Arty by linking up below. I can't wait to see what artists you have all explored with your kids.

The next Kids Get Arty will be on November 14, 2012! Find a new artist to explore & get arty! 

Kids Get Arty: Exploring Pop Art a la Andy Warhol

It's time for another Kids Get Arty! 

I have been looking forward to this ever since we completed our Van Gogh Masterpieces. The biggest challenge for me was picking an artist.  There are so many wonderful artists I want to expose the Lil Divas to, it was hard to pick just one. Then one day the Lil Divas were playing with my phone, taking pictures and having fun with them on PhotoStudio. The Oldest Diva wanted to print out her photos and that's when inspiration struck! 

Pop Art 

a la 

Andy Warhol!

I pulled up photos of Warhol's work on my laptop and let the Lil Divas see them. My idea was to print black and white photos of the Lil Divas and let them paint them Warhol stye (visions of his famous Marilyn Monroe art were dancing through my head!). The Oldest Divas was not biting. She promptly informed me that photos are art and she wanted to use the photos she had created on my phone to make  Pop Art of herself. 

Although it wasn't my original intention, I opted to let the Oldest Diva take the lead. Afterall, this project is about letting the Lil Divas explore new things, try different mediums and get arty. 

The Lil Divas took turns photographing each other and then using photoshop to add different colors and effects to their photos. I was amazed at how well they are able to navigate the program. It was wonderful to see that they had a feel for Warhol's work and were trying to recreate his use of color in their photos.

We printed the different photos and the Lil Divas each chose 6 to use for their Pop Art Masterpiece. They cute out the pictures and arranged them the way they wanted onto card stock.  

It was a simple activity but they are both so proud of their Pop Art! 

I am proud of them to.

They had an idea, knew what they wanted to do and did it, 

even when I tried to convince them otherwise.

Great job getting Arty girls!

Until next time (in September) if you would like to join us -

pick an artist and get arty!

Kids Get Arty is a bi-monthly link up which is meant to encourage exploration of the great artists! It is brought to you by  Red Ted Art, Imagination Soup, Imagination Tree, Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas & Tinkerlab  

Kids Get Arty - Exploring Vincent Van Gogh

 I was SUPER excited to team up with Red Ted Art, Imagination Soup, Imagination Tree & Tinkerlab to bring you Kids Get Arty - a bi-monthly link up which is meant to encourage exploration of the great artists!

I was planning on exposing the Lil Divas to some of our great artists as well as different works of art. This is a fabulous way for us to keep motivated and share our experience with our fabulous readers.

This month I introduced the Lil Divas to Vincent Van Gogh. I chose to start with him because the oldest Diva was intrigued by some things she had heard about him at school (yes, the infamous ear!) 

We began by exploring some wonderful books about the artist and his works:

 

Then the Lil Divas each one of their favorite pieces to recreate. I was a bit worried about how it would go. They expressed concern about doing it "right" and it not looking like the original work. I emphasized that there was no "wrong" way to do this and I wanted them to do it their way. The point was to explore doing something new, discover new artists and learn a thing or two along the way.

Exploring Oil Painting 

& Vincent Van Gogh

The Lil Divas had their first experience with oil paint on canvas.

Once they got a feel for it & just let loose - it was awesome!

The Oldest Diva decided to recreate "Starry Night" a painting she had learned about at school. 

Using a picture from one of the books we read, she used oil paints on canvas to recreate her own "Starry Night". She was very concerned at first that hers did not look like the photo as she worked. I told her to use small strokes and not worry so much about blending them in and that helped a little. 

She was very proud of her final masterpiece & with good reason! I think she did a great job capturing the essence of the piece at only 6 years old.

The Littlest Diva opted to recreate Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" 

(not a big surprise!).

She was so excited about her happy sunflowers!

This is her first piece of art on canvas (5 years old) 

and I am a proud Mama.

The Lil Divas are excited about our Kids Get Arty challenge ( so is this Mama)

and our first challenge was wildly successful and encouraging. 

I can't wait until our next challenge in July - we shall be exploring.....?

 Want to join in on the fun?

 Explore a Great Artist of your choosing & then Get Arty with your kids.
Then show us what you did by joining in our linky party (see below).

Can't wait to see what everyone has been up to!

Bern