The Laughing Zebra

art lessons for kids

Art Lesson Inspired by Joel Henriques: Painting a Bicycle with Liquid Watercolors

This page contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Everything on this page I have used and heartily recommend for teaching art.

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Welcome to our art lesson inspired by the renowned artist and crafter, Joel Henriques! In this lesson, we will delve into Henriques’ creative style and learn how to paint a bicycle using liquid watercolors in his unique and playful approach. Henriques is known for his innovative use of everyday materials and his emphasis on open-ended play and imagination, making his art projects perfect for both children and adults alike. Get ready to unleash your creativity and create a vibrant and imaginative artwork in the style of Joel Henriques!

Resources for teaching about Joel Henriques

When I teach an art lesson, I like to first tell my students about the artist we are studying before we start the actual art part. I try to find great videos, images, and slideshows that have already been created and are easy to access to help educate my students. Here are a few resources for teaching your kids a little bit more about the artist we are studying in this lesson, Georgia O’Keeffe!

Who is Joel Henriques?

Joel Henriques is an artist and toy designer living in Portland, Oregon. He learned art from his grandma, who showed him famous artists such as Miro and Picasso and taught him about color and design. He has four-year-old twins who inspire him to create art and toys that coincide with their imaginations. He has a blog, Made By Joel, where he documents the toys and crafts and art he makes for kids.

Books

Made to Play

This book is written by Joel himself and has some amazing crafts and toys to make for kids in it.

Videos
Photos of his Artwork

Art Lesson Inspired by Joel Henriques: Painting a Bicycle with Liquid Watercolors

Kids of all ages can have success with this drawing. Help them get the tires and the main bike frame lines right and the rest will fall into place. If everything is not in proportion or exactly where it should be that is ok-it will still look like a bicycle! 

Supplies for Art Lesson Inspired by Joel Henriques: Painting a Bicycle with Liquid Watercolors:

These are the supplies I used (but other products could be substituted):

  • Sargent art magic liquid watercolors- red, magenta,violet, brown, yellow, orange, turquoise, blue, green,
  • Water container
  • Paper towels
  • Watercolor brush (I use the Crayola taklon #7 watercolor brush)
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Eraser
  • 2 ½ inch drinking glass, small mouth pint mason jar, or small yogurt container
  • Fine line black Sharpie
  • Small container to mix brown watercolor with water in
  • 11×15 Canson Montval Watercolor paper
  •  

Step-by-Step for Art Lesson Inspired by Joel Henriques: Painting a Bicycle with Liquid Watercolors:

  1. With a ruler draw a line 4 inches from the bottom of your paper.
  2. Using the ruler make about 30 stripes of various widths. (for younger kids just do about 10-15 stripes)
  3. Mark 5 ½ inches out on your horizontal line. (it can be anywhere)
  4. Place your glass or jar ¼ inch above the mark and trace a around it to make the tires. (center it over the mark)
  5. Find the center of both tires and mark it with the pencil.
  6. Draw a mark 3 ¾  inches above the horizontal line in the center of the tires, and use it as a guide to draw a light horizontal line from tire to tire.
  7. Add two diagonal lines.
  8. Finish off the bottom of the bike frame with two triangle shapes (see photo)
  9. Extend the diagonal lines ½ inch and add the seat and handlebars.
  10. Add a double circle where the triangles meet between the tires. Add the petals.
  11. Add circles in the center of the tires and 6 diagonal spoke lines.Sharpie over all the bike pencil lines. Don’t worry if some of your lines get wobbly or the tires get too thick etc. Erase extra pencil lines when you are done. 
  12. Add a few drops of brown liquid watercolor to a small container of water (I use a souffle cup) and with a scrunched up paper towel dip into the container and then pounce on the paper to make a light textured background above the 4 inch horizontal line. Be careful the watered down paint is not too dark, you want just a light color. (add more water if necessary)
  13. Starting with the yellow fill in 2-4 stripes with each color (for younger kids 1 or 2 for each stripe since they will only have 10-15) .I did 5 stripes of the brown though to break up all the colors.  (do lighter colors first)  Spread them out and be sure not to fill in a stripe next to a wet one or they will bleed together. This part takes some patience-don’t rush and just use the tip of your brush and a little paint at a time.

Step-by-step photos of Art Lesson Inspired by Joel Henriques: Painting a Bicycle with Liquid Watercolors
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I'm writing a book!

I am excited to announce my latest project!  My daughter and I are working on a big, beautiful, creatively designed book on artist related lessons (similar to the ones on this website but with more details, step by step instructions and photos). The book will be for anyone who wants concise, detailed, well laid out lessons that are ready to teach, in a format that is fun to look at as well.

Book Info

Sign up here for news about my upcoming art lesson book:

Other Lessons:

Recent Blog Posts:

door in Italy with turquoise bike by it.

The Doors of Italy

At the end of a 3 week vacation to Europe, I came away with so many pictures of things that captured my interest and the mood of the moment. I couldn’t get enough of all the time worn doors, especially those in Italy.

Read More »

Making Reading Beautiful!

We painted Free Little Libraries! Does your city have a Little Free Library? These are little free standing libraries that have a “host” who looks after them and can be located in someone’s yard , out in the country, or in front of a business or in a park.  You can take a book to read or leave one for someone else to find.

Read More »

My Beautiful Tuscan Kitchen

This year marks the two year anniversary of our kitchen remodel! My wonderful cabinet maker husband finally got around to making this custom kitchen for our home and I couldn’t be happier!

Read More »

Creative Seashell Art for Kids: Exploring Georgia O'Keeffe's Style with Liquid Watercolors

This page contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Everything on this page I have used and heartily recommend for teaching art.

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Welcome to our art lesson for kids, where we’ll embark on a creative adventure inspired by the renowned artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Georgia O’Keeffe is known for her iconic depictions of nature, and in this lesson, we’ll explore her distinctive style as we create a stunning giant seashell art project using liquid watercolors.

With its vibrant colors and intriguing forms, the seashell serves as the perfect subject for our art project, allowing us to emulate Georgia O’Keeffe’s artistic techniques in a fun and imaginative way. Through this art lesson, we’ll learn about O’Keeffe’s unique approach to composition, use of color, and bold use of scale, and how we can incorporate these elements into our own seashell art using liquid watercolors.

Liquid watercolors are a versatile and vibrant medium that allow for exciting experimentation and creativity, making them perfect for kids to explore their artistic potential. We’ll learn how to use liquid watercolors to bring the beauty of nature to life on our canvas, as we create our own unique interpretation of a giant seashell, inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s art style.

This art lesson is designed to be engaging and educational, providing kids with an opportunity to learn about an influential artist while expressing their own creativity through a hands-on art project. So, let’s dive in and explore the world of Georgia O’Keeffe’s art, as we create our own masterpiece using liquid watercolors and embark on a creative journey inspired by the beauty of nature.

Resources for teaching about Georgia O'Keeffe

When I teach an art lesson, I like to first tell my students about the artist we are studying before we start the actual art part. I try to find great videos, images, and slideshows that have already been created and are easy to access to help educate my students. Here are a few resources for teaching your kids a little bit more about the artist we are studying in this lesson, Georgia O’Keeffe!

Who is Georgia O'Keeffe?

(November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) She was an American artist who is best known for her beautifully painted enlarged flowers. She also painted New York skyscrapers, New Mexico landscapes, and other elements from nature, like animal skulls, trees, and seashells.

Books

Through Georgia's Eyes

This book has beautiful photos and gives a great look at who Georgia O'Keeffe was. Recommended for ages 5-8.

My Name Is Georgia: A Portrait by Jeanette Winter

This is a great introduction to Georgia O'Keeffe. The story is well written and inspiring. Recommended for ages 4-7.

Georgia O'Keeffe - Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists

By now you've probably picked up that I love this series and this book on Georgia O'Keeffe is no exception! These have great visuals and illustrations and do a superb job teaching about an artist!

Videos
Photos of her Artwork

Georgia O'Keeffe Seashell Art

In this lesson we are going to focus on painting a BIG seashell using bright and beautiful liquid watercolors and black glue for a dynamic painting. This lesson is a two part lesson as the black glue outline will need to dry for several hours or overnight before you can paint.

Supplies:

These are the supplies I used (but other products could be substituted):

  • Glue All
  • Black Acrylic paint
  • Watercolor brush
  • Crayola blue fine line marker
  • Pencil 
  • Eraser
  • Canning or Pickling Salt or Sea Salt
  • Orange, Red, violet, green, turquoise, blue liquid watercolor
  • 11×11 watercolor paper (I cut mine from a 11x 15 sheet of Canson Montval watercolor paper)

Step-by-Step:

  1. Mix black acrylic paint into a ½ full Elmer’s Glue All bottle. Stir with the handle of a paintbrush. Add enough paint to get a dark black. I sometimes add some India Ink as well to get the true black color. (just make sure not to add too much of the ink as it will make the glue runny)
  2. Draw a large spiral shaped seashell filling up the whole paper. (Like Georgia did!)
  3. With steady pressure go over the pencil line with a stream of black glue. (practice this on a scrap paper to test the flow)This takes a bit of practice but once kids get the hang of it it goes smoothly. 
  4. Lay the paper somewhere out of the way where it can stay flat and allow it to dry for several hours or overnight until the glue is completely dry.
  5. When it is ready to paint begin with painting the center part orange adding a lot of paint to keep it wet. Quickly add violet to the outside edge and red to the other edge to finish off the center section. (see sample) If the paints are wet they will gently float into one another. Allow this to dry.
  6. Next add blue to the edge of the top part of the seashell and with a clean wet brush pull out the color to the rest of the top part of the shell. 
  7. Add purple to the other edge. Allow the shell to dry.
  8. For the background work quickly so the colors stay wet and blend into one another. First add some purple around the shell then some turquoise and some watered down green (just mix the green in a little cup with water).
  9. While it is still wet sprinkle the salt over some of the background. The salt will absorb the water and leave a textured water like background. (kids love this part!)
  10. Allow the paint to dry completely then shake the salt off into the garbage.
  11. Using the blue fine line marker make curved lines half way across the top part of the shell from each side. Go over each line with a clean wet brush to blur the lines a bit. 

Don’t worry if this turns out looking more like an abstract painting than a seashell! It will be equally as beautiful and was often the way Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings looked

Step-by-step photos
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I'm writing a book!

I am excited to announce my latest project!  My daughter and I are working on a big, beautiful, creatively designed book on artist related lessons (similar to the ones on this website but with more details, step by step instructions and photos). The book will be for anyone who wants concise, detailed, well laid out lessons that are ready to teach, in a format that is fun to look at as well.

Book Info

Sign up here for news about my upcoming art lesson book:

Other Lessons:

Recent Blog Posts:

door in Italy with turquoise bike by it.

The Doors of Italy

At the end of a 3 week vacation to Europe, I came away with so many pictures of things that captured my interest and the mood of the moment. I couldn’t get enough of all the time worn doors, especially those in Italy.

Read More »

Making Reading Beautiful!

We painted Free Little Libraries! Does your city have a Little Free Library? These are little free standing libraries that have a “host” who looks after them and can be located in someone’s yard , out in the country, or in front of a business or in a park.  You can take a book to read or leave one for someone else to find.

Read More »

My Beautiful Tuscan Kitchen

This year marks the two year anniversary of our kitchen remodel! My wonderful cabinet maker husband finally got around to making this custom kitchen for our home and I couldn’t be happier!

Read More »

Keith Haring Inspired Art Lesson: Painting Rocks in His Iconic Style

This page contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Everything on this page I have used and heartily recommend for teaching art.

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Get ready to dive into the dynamic world of Keith Haring’s art! In this art lesson, kids will be inspired by the iconic style of Keith Haring as they explore his bold lines, vibrant colors, and playful imagery. Using rocks as their canvas, they’ll create their own unique artworks that capture Haring’s artistic spirit. So let’s gear up and get ready to paint rocks in the style of Keith Haring!

Resources for teaching about Keith Haring

Teaching Keith Haring to kids can be a fun and engaging experience! There are plenty of resources available to help introduce kids to Haring’s iconic art style. Start with books and online articles that provide an overview of Haring’s life, art, and artistic techniques in a kid-friendly manner. You can also find instructional videos or tutorials that demonstrate how to create Haring-inspired art projects step by step. Consider using printable coloring pages or activity sheets featuring Haring’s artwork to encourage kids to explore his bold lines and vibrant colors. Additionally, you can incorporate hands-on activities, such as painting rocks, creating murals, or using cutouts to mimic Haring’s signature figures. With the right resources, kids can learn about Keith Haring’s artistic legacy and be inspired to create their own unique artworks in his iconic style.

Who is Keith Haring?

Keith Haring was a famous artist known for his vibrant and bold artwork. He was born in Pennsylvania, USA, and started drawing at a young age. Haring's art often featured simple shapes, dancing figures, and bright colors. He used his art to communicate important messages about love, equality, and social issues. Haring's unique style became popular in the 1980s, and he gained recognition for his public murals and graffiti-inspired artwork. Despite his short life, Haring's art continues to inspire people all over the world, and his legacy lives on through his iconic imagery and powerful messages. Kids can learn from Keith Haring's playful and expressive art style and use it as inspiration for their own creative endeavors.

Books

Pop Art 123!

This is a board book for the younger ones.

Keith Haring: I wish I didn't have to sleep!

Another great book on his art and famous style. (not for younger elementary kids)

Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing

This inspiring book was written by Keith’s sister Kay and is a delightful look into his life and art.

Slideshow
Photos of Keith Haring's Artwork

Keith Haring Inspired Art Lesson: Painting Rocks in His Iconic Style

Rocks (rocks that are flat and smooth and have a 3-4 inch painting surface work best for this project but you can adapt it to fit a smaller or larger rock).

Above are some good Keith Haring images to choose from for this project, but you can find all kinds of artwork by him online that would also work.

Supplies for Keith Haring Inspired Art Lesson: Painting Rocks in His Iconic Style:

There are lots  of different supplies you can use for rock painting. My favorites and the ones I used for this lesson are:

  • Rust-Oleum Gloss Clear Sealer (you can use any good gloss sealer)
  • Acrylic paint (any brand is fine)
  • Small flat brush
  • Pencil
  • Eraser
  • Posca pen set -These are pricey but so wonderful. This is the full pack here, but if you don’t want to spend that much, check out this smaller pack! These are still great they just have less size options.
  • Rocks (rocks that are flat and smooth and have a 3-4 inch painting surface work best for this project but you can adapt it to fit a smaller or larger rock).

Step-by-Step:

  1.  Start by cleaning your rock(s) with soap and water and then let dry.
  2. Using acrylic paint do a base coat on the top of the rock. You can use any color but I find for doing Haring artwork it is good to start with a base of white. You can paint another color over this if you want a different color for your base. (the white covers the rock best)
  3. With pencil add the Haring image that you like.
  4. Fill in the image with either the Posca markers, acrylic paint, or another paint pen or colored Sharpie. (use the same colors he used to make it really look like a Haring artwork)
  5. Outline images and add action lines and other details with the black Posca pen or a black Sharpie. Also do a line around the rock at the edge of  the base paint. (see photo of rock edges)
  6. When paint is completely dry spray with the clear sealer.

Step-by-step photos of Keith Haring Rocks

There will be a brand new Keith Haring step-by-step art lesson in my new book! Subscribe below for more details.

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Kindness Rocks Art

It only takes a few minutes to spread some love and kindness!

This page contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Everything on this page I have used and heartily recommend for teaching art.

My husband and I are on day 59 of a 2-5 mile walk. (we try and mix it up quite a bit and go different places) The walks have been so great to fight the isolation time and just a fun way to stay fit and have some good talks.

I got the idea to put out some kindness rocks in hopes to brighten someone’s day and maybe give folks an idea of a fun art project they could do. Kindness rocks are not a new thing but given our current situation with  Covid-19 it seemed like a good way to share some joy with my town. You can put anything you want on them and there are a variety of ways to paint them. I like using the Posca paint pens that I talked about in the Keith Haring Rocks! Art lesson that I posted recently.  You can also write things on the back like “Take me home” or “Share this with someone”. I am going to put out some of my Keith Haring rocks on my walks as well. They are so fun and bright and make me smile, and hopefully they will bring a smile to someone else as well.
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Let me know in the comments below if you make some of these kindness rocks! I’d love to hear your ideas and questions.

I'm writing a book!

I am excited to announce my latest project!  My daughter and I are working on a big, beautiful, creatively designed book on artist related lessons (similar to the ones on this website but with more details, step by step instructions and photos). The book will be for anyone who wants concise, detailed, well laid out lessons that are ready to teach, in a format that is fun to look at as well.

Book Info

Sign up here for news about my upcoming art lesson book:

Other Lessons:

Recent Blog Posts:

door in Italy with turquoise bike by it.

The Doors of Italy

At the end of a 3 week vacation to Europe, I came away with so many pictures of things that captured my interest and the mood of the moment. I couldn’t get enough of all the time worn doors, especially those in Italy.

Read More »

Making Reading Beautiful!

We painted Free Little Libraries! Does your city have a Little Free Library? These are little free standing libraries that have a “host” who looks after them and can be located in someone’s yard , out in the country, or in front of a business or in a park.  You can take a book to read or leave one for someone else to find.

Read More »

My Beautiful Tuscan Kitchen

This year marks the two year anniversary of our kitchen remodel! My wonderful cabinet maker husband finally got around to making this custom kitchen for our home and I couldn’t be happier!

Read More »

Wash Day with Grandma Moses

This page contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Everything on this page I have used and heartily recommend for teaching art.

Jump to art lesson

Keep reading for more information about Grandma Moses, resources to teach about her, and a great watercolor art lesson!

Mother’s Day is right around the corner…May 10th to be exact. In honor of all the mothers out there who are getting some extra duty right now I wanted to put a lesson out on a mom who became a grandma and THEN a famous artist! You may have heard about Grandma Moses, but did you know that she didn’t start seriously painting until she was 70? 

One reason that Grandma Moses didn’t start painting until she was older was that she just didn’t have the time. As a young farm wife with kids to raise (she had 10, 5 of whom died at birth) she had her hands full. She also made and sold butter and potato chips to grocery stores and a nearby resort. When she was 67 her husband died which left her lonely and to fill the time she started stitching scenes out of yarn. She did this until it was too painful for her fingers due to arthritis. That is when she turned to painting. 

She was “discovered” when a man traveling through her town bought up all her paintings that she had on display at the local drugstore. He brought them home to New York City where he found an art dealer to represent her. He gave Grandma Moses a one-woman show. After that she became more and more popular. By the time she died in 1961 at the age of 101, people all over the world knew about her artwork.

Resources for teaching about Grandma Moses

When I teach an art lesson, I like to first tell my students about the artist we are studying before we start the actual art part. I try to find great videos, images, and slideshows that have already been created and are easy to access to help educate my students. Here are a few resources for teaching your kids a little bit more about the artist we are studying in this lesson, Grandma Moses!

Who is Grandma Moses

Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma Moses) was born on September 7, 1860 in Washington County, New York. There she spent the first twelve years of her life on the family farm with her father, mother, and nine brothers and sisters. Because her father enjoyed seeing his children draw, he bought them large sheets of blank newspaper. Anna Mary loved drawing happy, colorful scenes. Most of Grandma Moses' works were painted on cardboard. The scenes she painted were happy scenes of herself as a child or rural home life. Other paintings are of people in eighteenth-century costumes, the way they might have dressed in the country. Her most popular paintings include The Old Oaken Bucket, Sugaring Off, Over the River to Grandma's House, and Catching the Turkey. Grandma Moses died on December 13, 1961.

Books

Grandma Moses - Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists

I love love love this series. It is my go-to for teaching kids about artists. They are fun, illustrated and informative.

Grandma Moses

This is a nice story on her life, but no actual Grandma Moses pics in the book.

The Essential: Grandma Moses

This is a nice introduction to the life and work of Grandma Moses. It features reproductions of many excellent paintings and some of their details .

The Year with Grandma Moses

This book brings together 13 of her classic paintings, along with brief excerpts from the artist's own autobiographical writings. It follows the different seasons.

Videos
Photos of her Artwork

Wash Day with Grandma Moses Art Lesson

This project has a subject matter that all moms can relate to…laundry day! Try this with your kids, they will have fun designing the clothes to hang on the line.

Supplies:

These are the supplies I used (but other products could be substituted): 

Step-by-Step:

  1. Using the clothes idea sheet, practice drawing the clothes you think you might want to have on your clothesline on the computer paper.. Come up with some of your own ideas too. You can even pattern them after your clothes and those of your family. 
  2. On the watercolor paper draw a curved line ¼ from the top of  the paper for the clothesline. At the bottom of the paper add a jagged line for the grass.
  3. Add clothes to your line making sure to make them a good size. I was able to fit 9. Add some flowers in the grass.
  4. Mix a watery puddle of blue in the lid of your watercolor tray.
  5. With a brush dipped in water only wet the top of your paper above the clothesline.
  6. Add the watered down blue in places but leave some white paper showing too.
  7. Mix a watery puddle of green and fill in the grass area, and flowers. (I left mine white with a yellow center). The paper will buckle a bit at this point from all the water and paint. 
  8. Use the extra fine line Sharpie to outline all the clothes, flowers, and grass (add some little grass clumps in the grass area.
  9. Mix up some paint with water in your lid for your different clothes. Keep the colors light by adding quite a bit of water as this will look more natural. (you could also use colored pencils or fine line markers for the clothes)
  10. When the paint is completely dry put some books on top of your paper to flatten.
  11. Using the clothes idea sheet, practice drawing the clothes you think you might want to have on your clothesline on the computer paper.. Come up with some of your own ideas too. You can even pattern them after your clothes and those of your family. 
  12. On the watercolor paper draw a curved line ¼ from the top of  the paper for the clothesline. At the bottom of the paper add a jagged line for the grass.
  13. Add clothes to your line making sure to make them a good size. I was able to fit 9. Add some flowers in the grass.
  14. Mix a watery puddle of blue in the lid of your watercolor tray.
  15. With a brush dipped in water only wet the top of your paper above the clothesline.
  16. Add the watered down blue in places but leave some white paper showing too.
  17. Mix a watery puddle of green and fill in the grass area, and flowers. (I left mine white with a yellow center). The paper will buckle a bit at this point from all the water and paint. 
  18. Use the extra fine line Sharpie to outline all the clothes, flowers, and grass (add some little grass clumps in the grass area.
  19. Mix up some paint with water in your lid for your different clothes. Keep the colors light by adding quite a bit of water as this will look more natural. (you could also use colored pencils or fine line markers for the clothes)
  20. When the paint is completely dry put some books on top of your paper to flatten.

Clothing Ideas Sheet

Step-by-step photos

There will be a brand new Grandma Moses step-by-step art lesson in my new book! Subscribe below for more details.

Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
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I'm writing a book!

I am excited to announce my latest project!  My daughter and I are working on a big, beautiful, creatively designed book on artist related lessons (similar to the ones on this website but with more details, step by step instructions and photos). The book will be for anyone who wants concise, detailed, well laid out lessons that are ready to teach, in a format that is fun to look at as well.

Book Info

Sign up here for news about my upcoming art lesson book:

Other Lessons:

Recent Blog Posts:

door in Italy with turquoise bike by it.

The Doors of Italy

At the end of a 3 week vacation to Europe, I came away with so many pictures of things that captured my interest and the mood of the moment. I couldn’t get enough of all the time worn doors, especially those in Italy.

Read More »

Making Reading Beautiful!

We painted Free Little Libraries! Does your city have a Little Free Library? These are little free standing libraries that have a “host” who looks after them and can be located in someone’s yard , out in the country, or in front of a business or in a park.  You can take a book to read or leave one for someone else to find.

Read More »

My Beautiful Tuscan Kitchen

This year marks the two year anniversary of our kitchen remodel! My wonderful cabinet maker husband finally got around to making this custom kitchen for our home and I couldn’t be happier!

Read More »

Diego Rivera Watermelon Art

This page contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Everything on this page I have used and heartily recommend for teaching art.

Jump to art lesson

Keep reading for more information about Diego Rivera, resources to teach about him, and a super fun watermelon art lesson!

I don’t know if some of you are like me and are losing track of days during this crazy time. Is it really April 27th already? And where did this last month go? I noticed too that the next holiday coming up is Cinco de Mayo. Yea for Mexican food! I know at school we often do something to celebrate this holiday so I thought I would post a lesson I have done with my classes in the past. This lesson is based on the artwork of the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. 

He actually only painted one picture of watermelons, his last known painting done in 1957 shortly before his death of a heart attack, but this is a fun subject matter for kids and one that is easy to draw and paint. Diego Rivera is most famous for his large murals. But he also did many paintings of flower vendors, portraits of Mexican people, and other Mexican themes.

 Diego Rivera was perhaps the most influential Mexican artist of the 20th century. Among other things, his large-scale murals led to a revival of fresco painting in Latin America. Rivera was the most famous Mexican artist during his time but over the years his fame has been surpassed by his wife Frida Kahlo.

 

Resources for teaching about Diego Rivera

When I teach an art lesson, I like to first tell my students about the artist we are studying before we start the actual art part. I try to find great videos, images, and slideshows that have already been created and are easy to access to help educate my students. Here are a few resources for teaching your kids a little bit more about the artist we are studying in this lesson, Diego Rivera!

Who is Diego Rivera?

Rivera was born on December 8, 1886, in Guanajuato, Mexico. At age 10 he earned a scholarship to study art in Mexico City. In 1907 he won a scholarship that allowed him to travel to Europe. He studied art in Spain and then settled in Paris, France. In 1921 Rivera returned to Mexico. He and the Mexican painter David Alfaro Siqueiros hoped to create a new kind of art especially for Mexico. They wanted to paint murals on buildings where everyone could see them. The murals would tell the stories of the Mexican people. Rivera completed his first important mural in 1923. He was soon hired to paint murals on several public buildings in Mexico. Between 1930 and 1934 Rivera painted murals in the United States. He died on November 25, 1957, in Mexico City. Frida Kahlo, his wife, also was a famous painter.

Books

Diego Rivera - Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists

I love love love this series. It is my go-to for teaching kids about artists. They are fun, illustrated and informative.

Diego Rivera - His World and OUrs

This children's book follows the story of how a young Diego turns from a mischievous boy to a famous painter!

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Their Lives and Ideas, 24 Activities

This book has some nice activities about Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.

Diego

This book is in both English and Spanish and is an awesome way to bring Diego Rivera's paintings to life!

Videos
Photos of his Artwork

Diego Rivera Watermelon Art Lesson

This art lesson is in honor of Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, is a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican army’s May 5, 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. The day, which falls on Tuesday, May 5 in 2020, is also known as Battle of Puebla Day. While it is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations.

How To:

Here is the painting by Diego Rivera that we are doing a lesson on!

This is a fun lesson where you use oil pastels and liquid watercolors to do a resist painting. I love the bold vibrant Sargeant’s art liquid watercolors and use them a lot in my lessons. You can get these in a set of 10/ 8 oz. bottles that although they are a bit pricey they are well worth it and will last a long time.

You can also buy them individually. Just make sure to get this brand as is the best one out there that flows and is not a gel consistency.

My favorite oil pastels for kids are the cray-pas junior artist pastels.

And then you need a pencil, eraser and a sheet of watercolor paper. I use the 11×15 Canson Montval student watercolor paper from Nasco, but any medium to heavy weight watercolor paper will do.

Step-by-Step:

  1. Draw a half oval for the watermelon wedge on the right side of your paper about a quarter of the way up.
  2. Add a large oval behind this shape starting the line in the middle of the wedge shape.
  3. Add the back and side table lines.
  4. Add the edge and bottom of the table and add a curved line on the wedge for the rind, 4 curved stripes on the whole watermelon, and the stem.
  5.  For all the pastel work press hard to get good coverage and nice dark lines. Use the dark green oil pastel to outline the large melon, add stripes and  go over the bottom pencil line of the wedge.
  6. Outline the wedge with red.
  7. Outline the table and do shading with yellow.
  8. Color in the stripes on the large watermelon with light green oil pastel using vertical angled strokes. Leave some white paper showing through. Draw a light green line next to the dark green outline on the wedge. Go over the stem with brown oil pastel. Add 9 or 10 teardrop shaped seeds with the black oil pastel. 
  9. Fill in the wedge with the red liquid watercolor.  Paint right over the seeds.
  10. Paint green over the whole watermelon pressing hard with the brush as you go over the stripes so some of it sticks to the paper.
  11.  Paint the table in brown.
  12. Paint the background in blue.
  13. Outline the bottom of the watermelon wedge and the bottom of the whole watermelon with black. Outline the whole table with black and add the table edge lines.

Step-by-step photos

Start out by drawing half a watermelon
add in an oval shape in the back
add the table
add details in watermelon and table
start outlining watermelon with oil pastels
add details
add seeds
color in half watermelon with liquid watercolors and dab at it with a paper towel
fill in watermelon with green liquid watercolor
fill in table
fill in sky
add final details

Photos from the classroom

My board for teaching this lesson
I like to put the watercolors in a little tray to keep from spilling

It would be fun to have some watermelon after this lesson. (If you are in an area where there is watermelon that is!) Happy Cinco de Mayo! You can find a new fun lesson on Frida Kahlo (Diego Rivera’s wife) in my upcoming book. Fill out the info below to get more book information.

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I'm writing a book!

I am excited to announce my latest project!  My daughter and I are working on a big, beautiful, creatively designed book on artist related lessons (similar to the ones on this website but with more details, step by step instructions and photos). The book will be for anyone who wants concise, detailed, well laid out lessons that are ready to teach, in a format that is fun to look at as well.

Book Info

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My Art Lesson

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Laurel Burch Pastel Horse Art Lesson

This page contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Everything on this page I have used and heartily recommend for teaching art.

Jump to art lesson

Keep reading for more information about Laurel Burch, videos and resources to teach about her, and an easy create from home art lesson for kids!

I thought this would be a fun lesson to do while we are all working on staying positive during these uncertain times. Laurel Burch was an artist who was  such a positive, joyful person. She also knew how to make the best out of a bad situation. I hope you will be encouraged by her story!

Below are some resources to help you introduce this amazing artist to your child. She was an artist who persevered through many trials to create beautiful magical art that is full of life and hope.

Resources for teaching about Laurel Burch

When I teach an art lesson, I like to first tell my students about the artist we are studying before we start the actual art part. I try to find great videos, images, and slideshows that have already been created and are easy to access to help educate my students. Here are a few resources for teaching your kids a little bit more about the artist we are studying in this lesson, Laurel Burch!

Who is Laurel Burch?

Laurel Burch was born in 1945 and died in 2007. She was an American artist, designer, and business woman. She was a self taught artist and started her art career by making jewelry. She is most famous for her paintings of cats, but also did many paintings of butterflies, horses, and dogs. My art project (below) focuses on her love of horses and the positive messages her art symbolizes.

Books

The Art of Laurel Burch Coloring Book

This is a neat coloring book on Laurel Burch designs!

Laurel Burch Dream Believers: Inspirations for Life - Love - Hope

This book has beautiful illustrations and quotes from Laurel Burch. It isn't made as a kids book but has some great info!

Photos of her Artwork
My Art Lesson

Laurel Burch Pastel Horse How To:

Now that we have learned all about Laurel Burch, lets move on to the art lesson!

  1. Practice drawing out the horse head on the computer paper.
  2. Using the white uni-ball pen draw out the head and neck onto the black paper.
  3. Add the mane, forelock, an eye (color in the white part), teeth, and a swirl for the nostril.
  4. With the soft pastels pick two or three colors to fill in the horse. (pick colors that will blend well together like blue and green, pink and orange, purple and blue etc.) Be careful to just add a little of the pastel. You can always add more after you blend if it is too light.
  5. Using one finger blend the pastels in small circular strokes until they fill in the space.
  6. Add some accent colors in the eye, under the eye, nose, and anywhere else you like. Add white and black lines in the forelock and mane.
  7. Cover the horse with the blank computer paper to keep from smearing.
  8. Fill in the background with positive, life giving words and swirls using the uni-ball pen. Go slow to make nice dark letters.
  9. Spray lightly with the Krylon Fixatif to set the pastels (this will keep them from smearing).
Draw with white pen
Add details
Add in chalk pastel
Blend with finger
Add details with pastel
Cover with paper to do the lettering
Here are the supplies I used
Finished Product!
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Print

I'm writing a book!

I am excited to announce my latest project!  My daughter and I are working on a big, beautiful, creatively designed book on artist related lessons (similar to the ones on this website but with more details, step by step instructions and photos). The book will be for anyone who wants concise, detailed, well laid out lessons that are ready to teach, in a format that is fun to look at as well.

Book Info

Sign up here for news about my upcoming art lesson book:

Other Lessons:

Recent Blog Posts:

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We painted Free Little Libraries! Does your city have a Little Free Library? These are little free standing libraries that have a “host” who looks after them and can be located in someone’s yard , out in the country, or in front of a business or in a park.  You can take a book to read or leave one for someone else to find.

Read More »

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This year marks the two year anniversary of our kitchen remodel! My wonderful cabinet maker husband finally got around to making this custom kitchen for our home and I couldn’t be happier!

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Supplies:

Tru-Ray Black Construction Paper, 9″ x 12″

Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen

Faber-Castel Chalk Pastel

Ticonderoga Pencils

Computer paper or scrap paper

Krylon Workable Fixatif Spray

Franz Marc Colorful Animals

This page contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Everything on this page I have used and heartily recommend for teaching art.

During the month of March my preschool class did two lessons based on the artist Franz Marc. The vivid use of color to express emotions and ideas is a trademark of this German born artist. He is most famous for his paintings of unusually colored animals set in almost abstract style scenery. These colorful animals are great for a preschool art lesson.

How To Horses:

  1. For the first project I found a Franz Marc horse on the internet as a coloring sheet which I traced onto a scrap of poster board. They outlined them in sharpie and used chalk pastel to fill in the color. After spraying them with fixative I cut them out.
  2. The kids then painted a colorful “warm colors” background with acrylic paints, using a sponge to add texture.
  3. When the background was dry they used the glue stick to place their horse in the scene. 

How To Elephants:

  1. The second project was a great drawing project. I taught the kids how to draw a step by step simple elephant starting with a circle.(This is a simple way to draw an elephant-see How to Draw an Elephant. We practiced this two times on a practice sheet. Then we did the final drawing on a sheet of watercolor paper.
  2. We outlined the elephant in Sharpie.
  3. Then we used watercolors to fill in the pink and create a setting.

I think both of these colorful animals projects turned out amazingly well considering these are 3-5 yr.olds.

Please refer people back to this site if you use this lesson! 🙂

I'm writing a book!

I am excited to announce my latest project!  My daughter and I are working on a big, beautiful, creatively designed book on artist related lessons (similar to the ones on this website but with more details, step by step instructions and photos). The book will be for anyone who wants concise, detailed, well laid out lessons that are ready to teach, in a format that is fun to look at as well.

Book Info

Sign up here for news about my upcoming art lesson book:

Supplies:

ROYAL BRUSH Big Kids Choice, Set of 6

Acrylic in yellow, orange, turquoise, white, black
Crayola Watercolors
Artist Sponges Natural & Synethic

Canson XL Series Watercolor Pad, 9″ x 12″

Faber-Castel Chalk Pastel

Sharpies

Elmer’s All Purpose Glue Sticks

Krylon Workable Fixatif Spray

Other Lessons:

Recent Blog Posts:

door in Italy with turquoise bike by it.

The Doors of Italy

At the end of a 3 week vacation to Europe, I came away with so many pictures of things that captured my interest and the mood of the moment. I couldn’t get enough of all the time worn doors, especially those in Italy.

Read More »

Making Reading Beautiful!

We painted Free Little Libraries! Does your city have a Little Free Library? These are little free standing libraries that have a “host” who looks after them and can be located in someone’s yard , out in the country, or in front of a business or in a park.  You can take a book to read or leave one for someone else to find.

Read More »

My Beautiful Tuscan Kitchen

This year marks the two year anniversary of our kitchen remodel! My wonderful cabinet maker husband finally got around to making this custom kitchen for our home and I couldn’t be happier!

Read More »

Montana Mona Lisa

This page contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Everything on this page I have used and heartily recommend for teaching art.

This Mona Lisa painting project is one I have done several times and it really helps my Montana students relate to Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting. It is also a good mixed media project. You could change it up by relating it to your state or area.

How To:

  1. First I have the students paint about a 2 1/2″ border on their cardboard with the brown paint using a large brush and then using a small round brush paint in some lines and knot holes.
  2. While that is drying they work on coloring in the Mona Lisa (lightly) with the colored pencils. They can choose the hair and eye colors and her blouse color.
  3. Then using pattern pieces that I made in advance using poster board scraps they trace out a hat, cloak (from the scrapbook paper) and rectangular background piece (from the magazines). I used a map of Montana in my sample, but any large picture without a bunch of writing would work. (for example: a scenery picture, a herd of cows, a man on a horseback, close-up of a saddle or cowboy boots,etc.)
  4. Then they cut and assemble all the pieces.
  5. Next they find letters or words (mine came from the magazines or scrapbook papers) for the “Montana”, and letters (the ones in the sample came from a bag of random letters I got from Michaels) to spell out “Mona”, and lay them out on the frame.
  6. Now they are ready to Mod Podge all the pieces onto the framed board, being careful to center everything.
  7. Once they are done getting all the papers glued down, they do a final coat of Mod Podge over the whole piece.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and please refer people back to this site if you use this lesson! 🙂

I'm writing a book!

I am excited to announce my latest project!  My daughter and I are working on a big, beautiful, creatively designed book on artist related lessons (similar to the ones on this website but with more details, step by step instructions and photos). The book will be for anyone who wants concise, detailed, well laid out lessons that are ready to teach, in a format that is fun to look at as well.

Book Info

Sign up here for news about my upcoming art lesson book:

Supplies:

Art Masterpieces to Color – I used this for the Mona Lisa
Brown and black acrylic paint

Local travel magazines

ROYAL BRUSH Big Kids Choice, Set of 6

Fiskars 5 Inch Blunt Tip Kids Scissors
Crayola Colored Pencils
Colorbok Designer Paper Pad, 8.5″ x 11″
Mod Podge Glue
Flat Cardboard Sheets

Other Lessons:

Modigliani Tissue Paper Face Project

This page contains affiliate links and I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Everything on this page I have used and heartily recommend for teaching art.

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (July 12, 1884 – January 24, 1920) was an Italian artist who worked mainly in France. If you are not familiar with this artist he was famous for his paintings of elongated faces with long skinny necks. His drawings were simple and stylized. This is a fun lesson to do with all ages, and I have added the tissue paper background for an extra twist, since the face 

painting can be a fairly quick project to do.

How To:

  1. I begin this lesson by showing some of Modigliani’s portraits. I talk about the long skinny faces and necks, and the almond shaped eyes,simple nose, and small rosebud lips.
  2. Starting with a big skinny U shape, I have the students practice a simple face drawing in this style following my steps as I do it on a whiteboard. For fun I have them do simple curly lines for the hair. If I have already done a portrait lesson with them I point out the difference between a more realistic portrait; the shape and size of the features, and the placement of them compared to Modigliani’s faces.
  3. Next I have them do a large drawing of the face on the watercolor paper, filling up most of the space. After they have done it in pencil, I have them go over all the lines with Sharpie.
  4. Then we watercolor the faces. I let them have some freedom with the hair, making it two-tone if they want, and just painting it loosely around their Sharpie lines.
  5. After they have done the painting part then we use small pieces of tissue paper to fill in the background putting water under and over each piece with a brush and overlapping them.
  6. When the tissue dries we pull that off, and you end up with a textured looking background.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and please refer people back to this site if you use this lesson! 🙂

I'm writing a book!

I am excited to announce my latest project!  My daughter and I are working on a big, beautiful, creatively designed book on artist related lessons (similar to the ones on this website but with more details, step by step instructions and photos). The book will be for anyone who wants concise, detailed, well laid out lessons that are ready to teach, in a format that is fun to look at as well.

Book Info

Sign up here for news about my upcoming art lesson book:

Supplies:

Crayola Watercolors

Canson XL Series Watercolor Pad, 9″ x 12″

Assorted Color Tissue Pack
Ticonderoga Pencils

Sharpies

Other Lessons:

I did this Laurel Burch cats art project for one of my summer classes and have also done it for kindergarten to 6th grade at the school I work at. It is a fun one to do as kids like to do animal projects and this one is doable for any age. There are some great pics on the internet of Laurel Burch cats. I showed a lot of them in class to generate some ideas. I like using the chalk pastel on the black paper-it adds a fun dimension. I got this project idea from another blog-but can’t remember where now. I changed it up a bit.

I had the kids practice drawing the body of the cat on a scratch paper first. In my summer class they could choose to do a head or a body. At school the younger kids used a poster board pattern and then I had them come up with their own pattern for inside the cat. I had the kindergarteners trace around just a head template. We talked a lot about Laurel Burch and her use of color and pattern. Also how she did the cat’s eyes (more like a human eye). I showed them samples of her work to begin with. Once they practiced what pattern they were going to use I had them do their final drawing on the black paper. They used the chalk pastels to color them and and Nupastels to outline and accent. I had them either do a pattern in the background or a frame.

Please refer people back to this site if you use this lesson! 🙂

Supplies:

Black paper or poster board

chalk pastels (good ones really do make a difference-I use Faber-Castell brand)

Prismacolor Nupastel for outlining

Pencils