Celebrating Children’s Art Week – Introducing Great Artists to Little Children
Early Years children and the great masters have a lot in common when it comes to art – bold, bright, inventive, surprising, boundary-pushing, and not always what you were quite expecting! We hope you enjoy our activity suggestions and welcome you to share your cohort’s artistic creations.
Frida Kahlo
Best known for her self-portraits involving nature and Mexican folk culture, the now-iconic works of Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, are a great resource to inspire Early Years art activities. Children can recreate her famous self-portraits by collecting brightly coloured petals and leaves and sticking them on simple Frida-themed templates made from card. This activity is perfect for developing fine motor skills, exploring different cultures, learning about facial features and getting some fresh air along the way!
Henri Matisse
It is the later works of French artist, Henri Matisse, that are a great source of inspiration for Early Years art activities. Later in Matisse’s life, when ill health prevented him from painting, he began to cut out painted bits of paper and arrange them into striking compositions. These simple works of art are some of his most well-known – including his iconic piece, The Snail. Working in the style of Matisse, children can experiment by cutting out bits of coloured paper and sticking them to the card using glue sticks. This activity is a great way for children to practice using scissors and helping to develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye
Aboriginal artist, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, is one of Australia’s most significant Australian artists. Depicting traditional symbols and rituals at the heart of Aboriginal culture, her abstract compositions are made up of colourful dots and free-flowing lines. In studying her work, children can happily craft away whilst learning about other traditions and cultures. Using a rolling pin covered with painted bubble wrap, little ones can create their dotted works of art by rolling the painted bubble wrap onto card. Once dry, a chalk marker can be squiggled and scribbled on top of the paint, reflecting Kngwarreye’s unique style.
Claude Monet
Founder of Impressionism, Claude Monet, is famous for painting nature in exactly the way he saw it rather than striving for a perfect copy of real life. This spontaneous creativity is a joyful characteristic of young children for they don’t worry about how ‘correct’ something looks. Help little ones embrace this quality by recreating Monet’s famous Water Lilies starting with some splodges of blue and green paint on white paper. Children can use brushes, cotton buds or pegs with pom-poms to spread the paint in whichever way they please. To finish, they can add some lilies using scrunched-up tissue paper, and, voila - their very own French Impressionist artwork!
Andy Goldsworthy
For any practitioner looking at the works of artist and sculptor, Andy Goldsworthy, the first thing that probably springs to mind is loose parts play! Goldsworthy is renowned for using arrangements of natural resources to produce breath-taking land art and sculptures. Use Goldworthy’s work to inspire children to both collect and arrange natural resources in a variety of sizes and shapes. This is a great way to get outside, explore natural materials, promote collaboration amongst your cohort, explore different shapes and sizes, and practice counting numbers. The list is endless!
Andy Warhol
Pop artist, Andy Warhol, is renowned for bold and eccentric works of art depicting pictures of well-known celebrities and household brands in a vibrant style. His fun masterpieces have earned iconic status across the world and are sure to be a hit amongst Early Years children too! Trying out Warhol’s style of work is the perfect way to combine an art activity with the topic of ‘All About Me’. Using several pictures of each child, practitioners can encourage young children to colour in their images, using crayons, chalk, or paint - whilst opening up a discussion about different characteristics of themselves.
Jackson Pollock
Take one look at the famous works of abstract artist, Jackson Pollock, and two words might spring to mind – messy play! Well known for his technique of pouring and splashing paint onto giant surfaces, Pollock's risk-taking style of work was groundbreaking for its time in pushing boundaries and breaking rules. Capture some of Pollock’s passion and energy in your setting by letting children loose with some fluorescent paint splattered over large pieces of paper! Children can either flick paint using brushes or simply pour it straight from a paint-filled pot – just make sure there are aprons at the ready!
