Vincent van Gogh was born March 30, 1853 and died July 29, 1890. I think van Gogh has to be one of my favorite artists. I love his work. It’s so colorful and inspiring. He’s an excellent artist to introduce to children because his art is so lively and energetic. His oil paintings give you the feeling that there is movement such as stars twinkling in the sky, wind blowing in the trees or maybe waves of water on the lake. How does van Gogh achieve this? Perhaps no one can ever create art as passionate as his but it’s a great thing to help kids aspire to it. Attempting to paint in his style is a very good exercise and adds a new dimension to a child’s concept of what is art.

 

Teaching about Vincent van Gogh.

First teach your child a few facts about van Gogh and his life. You can assign your child to do research or simply present the information. Because of the turbulent nature of his life I highly recommend that you present the facts you wish your younger children to learn. It’s good to use a worksheet or notebooking page for older students. Because van Gogh is a post-impressionist painter you may also want to discuss impressionism a bit. I found this packet on impressionists that has an excellent page on van Gogh: Summer Art Show PDF -Impressionism  from Harmony Fine Arts at Home. Or you may like to have your child write a little about what they learned about van Gogh or what they like and recall about his paintings.

Art Appreciation

Starry Night. Vincent van Gogh. 1889. Oil on Canvas

Before trying to paint in the style of Vincent van Gogh you should become familiar with his paintings. Look at a few of his paintings either online or in a book and discuss them.
hat kind of colors does he use? How do they make you feel? Are there lots of brushstrokes? What kind are there? Does his paint blend or is it chunky? Does this painting look as if there is any motion?

How to paint like van Gogh

Decide what you want to imitate.
For our example, my son chose to imitate Starry Night (see above).

Choose materials and prepare.
I like to use canvas and acrylics. Van Gogh painted mostly with oil paints but when working with kids I prefer acrylic paints that dry quickly and are easy to wash with water. Prep your work area with newspaper and begin with having your child paint a background color. My child used blue since we decided to imitate Starry Night. The background does not have to be one color or shape. In fact it is better if it’s not. If you know there will be a tree put that object in.  For example, you may place basic color shapes that will later be given more detail. If the object is supposed to be close up they should be bigger than images far away, which would appear small. Some children will not yet understand perspective but it’s OK to continue this project with the ability they possess.

Follow these project steps:

1. Paint background.
2. Add objects. In our case, he added grass and then the stars.
3. Then he added dashes around the objects. Instruct your child to make them have a swirly effect.
4. Vary the color. Try to have your student use several shades in the same color. It will add depth to the painting.If you only have one color blue, for example, teach your child to mix with white to make lighter variations and black to make darker ones. Sometimes kids will get stuck on limiting themselves to one color in an area. You can use lots of paint too which will add good texture.
5. Add your details next, as many as your child has attention for. In our case my child wanted to add buildings and a windmill. When we added the lighter green grass over the dark green we discuss that we want to make the grass stand out in the same way moon and star light would highlight the grass at night.

Meet your students where his/her ability is while still encouraging them to develop an artists eye. Challenge them to add “night colors” if you choose to paint a night scene or “day colors” in a daytime scene. Ask them about their color choices. Talk to them about reflection and shadows.

Extend the concept:

• Don’t limit this project to just canvas. Paint on anything. Of course you need to use the right kind of paints for different surfaces. In the picture above I made my own Starry Night mug at a paint your own pottery place. The sky is the limit!
• Pick any object and apply van Gogh style. See the example of my daughter’s painting: Out of this World (above).

More resources I used for my lesson:
Van Gogh Sky Notebook page {FREE} from Harmony Fine Arts at Home
Quotable Wisdom: Vincent Van Gogh Quote from Hodgepoge

You can read more Famous March Birthdays Lessons beginning March 1st @ iHomeschool Network:

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NOBH, After School Link Up,