Art Lessons for Kids
Modigliani portraits have become an art room staple, thanks in no small part to Kathy over at Art Project for Kids for providing a simple, fool-proof technique for imitating the elongated faces famous to Amedeo Modigliani. I copied Kathy’s project a couple of years ago with my sixth grade students where we created the Modigliani [...]
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James Rizzi has left his mark on the world. His amazing illustrations has made an indelible impression on me and my students. Last Fall, my sixth graders did a unit on James Rizzi which included Faces and Simple Birds. This time we had fun with James Rizzi Inspired Skyscrapers. This is a super easy lesson [...]
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Joan Miro, a Spanish artist who studied in Paris, is best known for his whimsical abstracts. Many of his paintings combine lines and colors that create wonderful shapes that may or may not tell a story–depending on your perspective! I love teaching Miro as his art is so engaging. For little ones, I like to [...]
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This Georgia O’Keeffe inspired art lesson is quick, easy lesson that all grade levels will enjoy. Needing a one-lesson project for the end of my sixth grade art rotation, I was inspired by an O’Keeffe art print on my wall. But instead of focusing on the center of a flower and creating a detailed drawing, [...]
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James Rizzi is a dynamic artist/illustrator who lives in New York City. His animated art style, rich in detail and expression, has a massive following. The simple black lines with bold dashes of color make a perfect style for my students to imitate. My 6th graders loved this lesson. I mean, loved! I used the [...]
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Usborne Activities’s 365 Things to Draw and Paint (Activity Books) is a great resource for art techniques and ideas. I love the look of the Futuristic Cityscape lesson and knew it would translate well for my group of 5th and 6th graders. The idea of a line drawing with shots of color appeals to me as [...]
It’s no secret that I love owls. Kids do, too. For this lesson, I gave my sixth grade students a few “owl” options. They could draw a realistic owl, a whimsical one or an owl in flight. I demonstrated basic drawing techniques for all three and provided a few black and white illustrations that I [...]
Five years ago, when my children’s elementary school did not have an art program, I persuaded the Principal to allow me to work with the 6th grade students to create a permanent ceramic tile mural on the school’s exterior walls. I had been involved with creating ceramic murals at another school, so I knew the [...]
Koi Fish are a favorite subject of many art teachers for obvious reasons; they’re relatively easy to draw and have wonderful markings. Most of the lessons I’ve seen have been done with watercolor paints. I would have done the same but my sixth grade students hadn’t yet worked in tempera paint so I needed for [...]
Clipper ships glide over the ocean at top speeds. The tangle of nets, ropes and sails, however, can make drawing a clipper ship daunting. Breaking down the ship’s parts into basic shapes helps with the drawing efforts. By the end of the drawing lesson, my students felt empowered with their impressive achievements. I detailed the [...]
Chalk pastels give the dramatic color intensity of tempera or acrylic paint with almost no prep time. Chalk gets a bad rap as being too messy. For the little ones, it can be. Persuading mounds of dust into intricate corners is not for the impatient student. That’s why most of my chalk projects occur after [...]
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera are two of Mexico’s most celebrated artists. I adore all art from Mexico. There is an element of color and composition that evokes wonderful emotions. I’m always looking for inspirational pieces to round out my art curriculum and especially showcase artists from Mexico. These two lessons feature elements of Frida [...]
I’ve done this architectural drawing lessons for the past few years. It’s a great way to teach how math and art collide. Rectangles, triangles, perspective….you name it, this project has it! As a new spin, students colored small areas with markers and painted larger areas with pan watercolor paint. We spoke about monochromatic colors, but [...]
Aztec Warriors are really fun to draw. Using few supplies (black waterproof marker, colored broad tip markers and paper) my sixth graders dove straight into the drawing with a black marker. When you look at the gallery, it’s hard to believe that no pencils were involved, but they weren’t necessary. I recently discussed the pros [...]
Everyone has done a birch tree art lesson. They are such a lovely tree, stripped of their leaves and shimmering with black and white bark. Most kids in Southern California have never seen a forest of birch trees, unlike my 10-year old self who collected the bark to someday build my own birch-bark canoe like [...]
