A great way for children to learn about art and the materials and method used to create it is to use another artist as inspiration. This is great for older children to do as a research project culminating in a piece of art. My project is based on
Ritchie Collins' art.
Time: Varies
Age: 5-10s, Over 10s
Level: Medium
Materials
The materials will vary depending on the artist you pick. It's best to choose one with a very recognisable style, like Van Gogh or Monet. Or, choose a local artist who can help you with your project. We are so lucky to have a friendly local artist in Ritchie Collins, whose gallery and studio is just a few doors down from our flat. Ritchie has spent so much time with my daughters, explaining the materials he uses and how he builds up a painting. Our project was based on his beautiful night-time cityscapes, which my daughters love (I love them too!). My daughters created a painting in his style of art using the method below.
Acrylic Paints in a variety of colours
Card, paper, leaves, and other incidental craft materials to add texture
Mix up some blue and purple paint and use a large roller to completely cover the canvas. Like many other paintings, these ones are built up in layers.
Once your sky is finished and dry, mix up some lighter blue and paint in the sea. How much sea you want is completely up to you.
Wait for the sea to dry, then paint a sea wall. It can be any dark colour: blues, purples, or reddish-purple work well.
Use white, pinks, light blues, and golden yellows to create a starry night sky.
Using a small roller, create some tall, thin house shapes in three or four different colours. You can also do some shorter, fatter ones.
Mark out house details with a pencil, like turrets, windows, doors, stairs, and chimneys. You could also do a boat or two on the sea and the same time.
Fill in the details on the houses with paint.
Add extra details in yellow and gold: lights sparkling on the boats, or windows glimmering with light.
And there you go, a beautiful picture in the style of a brilliant local artist. Who are you going to use for inspiration?
Categories
#Art
#Acrylic Paint
#Over 10s
#5 to 10s
#Inspiration
