Learning about famous artists can be lots of fun and a great opportunity for children to explore different techniques and mediums. Follow along with us as we explore the different masterpieces and create ourown artistic interpretations! For each famous artist we include a suggest reading as well as a printable reference guide for the back of your child’s art. We suggest framing your creations with black construction paper for a finished look. Paste the famous artist reference card on the back of your project
Suggested Resources for a Unit Study:
What Makes a…..Series is published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They are perfect for grades 6-8, or as a read aloud with late elementary students. I would recommend this set as a purchase for your classroom, it will last for years to come. We personally own these and they are filled with information about each artist and feature many colorful photographs and explanations of their work.
Van Gogh Art Project
Van Gogh is the name every young child knows, and Starry Night is the title they remember! Uses this fun technique to create movement on your canvas!
Claude Monet Art Project
Claude Monet is well known for his beautiful water scenes! This is a fun (and messy) finger painting craft that will leave children with beautiful results.
Andy Warhol Art Project
Children who love to use bright colors love to create Warhol inspired artwork. You can use our pre-printed Warhol artist cards, or use this activity to teach children how to transfer and copy images.
Miro Art Project
Miro has an amazing surrealist quality to his work, making him a fun artist to study. Children can get creative with their doodles and have fun with this easy project. Give children a black sharpie marker and encourage them to explore lines and shapes. Show them how to make shapes inside of shapes and color block.
Piet Mondrian
Here are three different ways your children can create beautiful representations of Mondrian's artwork. This is a great beginner craft for young children.
Georges Seurat Art Project
Pointillism is a fun artistic technique for any age level! Children enjoy making these representational pieces of artwork. This is a great craft for children who like to work on details. arranged on canvas to create
Jackson Pollock Art Project
Okay, what kid doesn't love to splatter paint? We're using a bit of splatter and a bit of blowing to make our Action Jackson paintings!
Henri Matisse Art Project
Matisse had a very colorful style to his artwork, and in his later years he used paper cut-out arranged on canvas to create
Van Gogh Art Project
The Potato Eaters is not only a great painting to study context but also to study light and shawdows. Children can recreate this hanging oil lamp with oil pastels.
Suggested Resources for a Unit Study:
Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists is a great series for younger children. Each book features a different artist, showcasing their work, their life, and sometimes their quirkiness! There is just enough here to give children a good idea of who the artist was and some ways to identify their work.
How come there is no “view resource” for the MIRO art project but there is for all the others?
Hi Jodi,
For Miro I didn’t do a step by step guide because all we did was use sharpie markers to create lines and patterns across our paper. Sometimes adding familiar shapes. Then we used markers to fill in some of the shapes, and left some of the shapes blank.
If I were to redo this project I would use the sharpie to make the lines thicker in some places, and spent a little more time showing examples of Miro’s work….via Google image search or something.
Hope that helps,
Blessings,
Valerie
This is great! I recently had the realization that my son is more artistically inclined than I was giving him credit for. I’ve decided to start exposing him to art culture even though he’s only two and couldn’t decide where to start. Now I know!