Art: Stolen, Escaped, Recovered- Paintings

This lesson covered "stealing".  Not necessarily how you might first think.  We talked about stealing ideas and from other art.  Everyone gets ideas from somewhere and it's the combination of those ideas in your mind that makes them your own.  I used the example from Austin Kleon's book Steal Like An Artist, of the family tree analogy.  You have a mom and dad each unique, but together they make you.  You have a couple of ideas and when you put them together they make a new idea.  For the younger class we "stole" Van Gogh's idea of painting a vase of sunflowers.  We also looked at other artist's paintings of sunflowers.  Painting sunflowers is not a unique idea, but each artist paints the same thing differently.

 

When I asked my preschool class to go ahead and start painting the flowers one little girl did exactly what I said- so adorable!

The older class was asked to choose two pieces of art to combine into one.  When it came down to painting though, I think most of them changed their mind and just wanted to paint the sunflowers.  Not a problem for me though, the results were great.
(I can't believe I didn't take more pictures!  I had around 30 paintings...If anyone has some photos of more of our classes or at the art show please send them my way and I'll add them in)

In the older class we also talked about how to tell the real Rembrandt from the fake- something I found in a magazine while waiting at my teen's orthodontist appointment (link here)


and this Norman Rockwell painting (the image is a link to the website where I found it and great blog for young kids and art) and a spin off by Luke Radi titled Spider-Man (image is a link).  We talked about what was similar and what was changed from the photograph to the painting to the next painting.



When I do a painting class I usually give the kids the following colors and have them mix to make the other colors they need:
Magenta
yellow
cerulean
burnt umber (brown)
white
black
sometimes I'll add:
yellow ochre (golden brown)

ultramarine blue
red

It's just personal preference.  I think the cerulean makes a better range of greens and you can get the bright and light limes that are so much fun.  Using just ultramarine blue that usually comes in kits and starter sets is usually frustrating for young painters because it has so much black in it and the greens are always dark.  Just my opinion and observation- other people maybe would disagree.