Picasso is one of my favorite artists. Cliche, I know, but his work is lively, happy, colorful and bold. And what better art to teach to kids. This project was part of a series of work we did on portrait drawing. Picasso is a great way to start (or end) and unit on portrait drawing. Picasso said 'You have to know to rules to be able to break the rules'.
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| Picasso's women (and his self portrait) |
But this project was not only about eschewing everything we learned about proper proportions. It was also about minute observation.... Without strong observation skills, we would be hard pressed to draw or paint anything! This is why I regularly have my kids do projects where they copy an artwork by observation.
So, we each chose a Picasso women and set out to draw her exactly the we observed her, using oil pastel on collage paper.
Step 1: we collaged old book pages onto our drawing paper using gel medium. This provides an 'undercoat' that is textured and patterned, which adds interest and depth to our final work.
Next, we drew our Picasso women using black permanent marker. We mapped out each shape, line and feature before drawing to ensure that they all lined up. Then we colored using oil pastels. We blended colors together where necessary, and used white to make tints.
Lastly, we went over our black marker lines with oil pastel for a bolder look. This are uncanny Picasso copies! I love them!
This project was inspired by the wonderful art teacher, Miriam Paternoster. See her blog here.
This project was inspired by the wonderful art teacher, Miriam Paternoster. See her blog here.
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| Picasso's Women (and his self-portrait). Kids 7-9 |
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| Picasso's women (and his self-portrait). Kids 8-12 |