We hope ArtObet inspires people everywhere to create!  Many of the great artists in the film began their art careers studying works by the great masters.  When you visit an art museum today, you will often see people with sketchbooks or, if the museum allows it, they might have easels, paints, brushes and canvases.  Copying the work of the masters helps artists learn their craft.  Eventually, they add their own spark to create their own special style.  Below are some art projects that might help you get started on your own artistic journey. Remember the old saying “art comes from the heart” and allow yourself the freedom to add your own personal touch to your creativity.

 

Degas Amazing Pastels!

Edgar Degas (1834-1917) was a French painter who enjoyed creating beautiful art work with pastels, chalk, and sculpting clay and metal.  He was particularly interested in catching the body in motion.  Sometimes the bodies he painted in motion were human, and sometimes they were horses!

 

Supplies:
> Air drying clay
> Tempera paints
> Paint brush

 

Look at Degas’s images of race horses at the library, bookstore, online, or at a museum if you are lucky enough to have one nearby with Degas’ work. Observe the way he focused on the strength in movement. Then create your own out of clay! Painting it when it dries gives it added beauty.

 

 Race Horses in Front of the Stands, Edgar Degas

 

Gustav Klimt’s Golden Blanket

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was born in Austria.  His father and brother were goldsmiths and he himself enjoyed working with gold in his art. Klimt was known to place the importance of love over wealth. Draw someone you love and wrap them in pieces of gold paper!  This is such a fun way to experience Klimt’s magic!

 

Supplies:
> Small pieces of gold paper
> Light colored paper
> Oil pastels
> Glue
> Brush for glue

 

Draw a portrait of someone you love using oil pastels.  It brightens the picture to color in the background as well. Glue little pieces of gold around the person you have drawn, wrapping the person in a blanket of gold!

 

Adele Bloch-Bauer, Gustav Klimt

 

Georgia O’Keeffe’s Simple Beauty

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) teaches us to appreciate beauty in the everyday objects around us, especially in nature.  It is a great lesson for all of us as we hurry through our daily routines.  Georgia wanted us to see the objects she painted up close, to observe each one’s unique beauty. It’s been said that when Georgia was a little girl she loved eating around the hole of the donuts her mother made. She would then hold the donut up to the Wisconsin sky where she lived and look at the world through that expanded donut hole.   You can do the same in this tasty art project!

 

Supplies:
> Box of your favorite donuts
> Tempera paints
> Water
> Paint brush

 

Take your donut outside and begin nibbling on the inside hole.  Be careful not to break the donut’s circle shape!  Now use it like a magnifying glass, looking through it to carefully see things through that hole.  Take your time until you spot something – just one thing – that you really like.  It might be a single flower, a stick, or even a worm.  Observe it closely.  When you feel you have really gotten to “know” your special object, take out your paints and paint it really big, so it fills your whole page and anyone looking at it will see and feel its inner beauty.

Blue and Green Music, Georgia O’Keeffe

 

For more art projects, click on the Art With Ms. Palm video to the left.