"Matisse" Portraits for Fifth Grade

My fifth grade students at Brandon School have been working very hard on these dynamic portraits for three weeks. Yesterday, most finished. I'm so proud of their work!The finishing steps require attentive students and these children did a marvelous job of doing just that. You can find a complete tutorial in my "Fun with Portraits" PDF Lesson Plans (right sidebar). Meanwhile...enjoy the works of these talented artists!

First Grade Portraits in Oil Pastel

I love these first grade self portraits. They embodied everything kids art should be...colorful, whimsical and adorable.

I used plain white construction paper and good old oil pastels. Trick is not to give the kids a pencil. Instead, we started with a black oil pastel and ended with a black oil pastel. I think this is the secret to ensuring the art will be done in a couple of session. Otherwise, children wielding pencils can become perfectionists very quickly.

Start the portrait by drawing a large letter "U" in the middle of the paper, then add the hair. I spend some time drawing on the white board showing the kids proper hair placement. Do the same for the facial features and before long, the kids will be ready to begin coloring their masterpieces.

Want to make the portraits spectacular? Encourage as much as you can, the importance of coloring in well. Also, add patterns to the background, instead of leaving it blank.

For more detailed photo tutorials, templates, and handouts, check out the
Deep Space Sparkle "Fun with Portraits" PDF lesson plans. Click here for more details.

Abstract Paper Portraits

Here is a great twist on the Paper Self-Portraits I do with my third graders (full instructions here). Instead of using realistic colors, I encourage the kids to mix it up. It's hard for some kids to chose pink or green for a face color but once they get going, there is no stopping the creativity that follows!
I put out a container of buttons, but don't give any specific instructions for their use. I love seeing what they come up with.



For more detailed photo tutorials, templates and student handouts, check out Deep Space Sparkle's "Fun with Portraits" PDF booklet. Click HERE for more details.

Modigliani Inspired Self-Portraits

I found this lesson over at Art Project for Kids. It's a fantastic lesson; easy, quick and beautiful. I chose to do this with my 6th grade students but it would be equally successful with as young as fourth grade. Check out the link above for full directions.



For more portrait lesson ideas, check out Deep Space Sparkle's "Fun with Portraits" PDF booklet. Click HERE for more details.

Kindergarten Self-Portraits

I think these are the cutest portraits ever. I've tried many different lessons to get little five and six year old kids to create a self-portrait, and this one is my favorite.

Step One:
I start with an oval template and instruct the children to trace onto skin tone colored construction paper. Then, we trace the neck template and glue both onto a piece of 12" x 18" sheet of colored paper.

Step Two:
Once the "faces" are glued on (tip: use a glue stick not white glue), the children cut out oval shapes of white paper for the eyes.
Note: The combination of step 1 and 2 takes a full 30 minutes!

Step Three:
For the next class, we work on coloring in the eyes, adding eyelashes, nose and a mouth. Then we add the hair. I cut strings of yarn in different shades of black, brown, yellows and oranges. The kids paint on a mixture of glue and water (easier to control) and pat on their "hair".

Step Four:
For the next class, the kids add decorations. With tempera paint, the children paint shirts, bows, flowers, etc. I give them a tin of buttons and if they wish, they glue buttons to their shirts.

This lesson took three, 30-minute class sessions, but I think it was worth it. The children were very proud!





The beautiful faces you see are children in Mrs. Moore's and Mrs. MacCabe's Kinder class at Mountain View School.

For more detailed photo tutorials, templates, student handouts for this and other portrait lessons, check out Deep Space Sparkle's "Fun With Portraits" PDF booklet. Click here for more details.