Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein was born in 1923 in New York. He went to a high school that did not offer art classes but he liked to draw and did so in his free time. After high school, Lichtenstein went to Ohio State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in fine art.

He taught art classes as Ohio State University, State University of New York at Oswego, and then Rutgers University. His art evolved during this time from Cubism and Expressionism to Abstract Expressionism.

In 1961, Lichtenstein created his first Pop Art painting. He liked the way commercial art looked and he liked the sharp, black outlines in comic book art. The Pop paintings he is known for combined the two styles.

Lichtenstein used thick, horizontal stripes and Benday Dots in his paintings. Benday Dots were originally used for printing pictures inexpensively. By spacing four different colors of dots close together, far apart, or on top of each other, all the colors can be made. Lichtenstein liked the way the dots looked and so he borrowed the technique. You’ll notice that the faces of the people in many of his paintings are made up of Benday Dots.

Lichtenstein’s Pop Art portrays things from popular culture. That’s why it’s called Pop Art. He drew inspiration from cartoons, newspapers, advertisements, and things he saw in real life (like his art studio). He used this inspiration to create enormous paintings as well as sculptures as you can see in the pictures here, here, and here.

At first, critics didn’t like his work, but today Lichtenstein’s Pop Art can found in most museums that house modern art.

Lichtenstein died in 1997.

Check back throughout the day tomorrow for two Fantastic (Non)Fiction Friday posts and a bonus third post!

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Create Your Own Bobble Head Self-Portrait

On Friday I shared a book with you that was all about self-portraits done by famous artists. Then I found this 3D self-portrait project and I couldn't resist telling you about it. This project is so great--create your own bobble head self-portrait.

Enjoy!

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Create Your Own Fuzzy Painting

Have you ever seen those books that have pictures you can feel? Sometimes there are fuzzy ducks or smooth egg shells or birds with feathers. Today, make your own fuzzy picture.

Young children can enjoy this project too. Focus on using lots of colors instead of on making a recognizable picture.

Supplies Needed:

Yarn
Scissors
Glue
Construction Paper
Paper Plate (to use as a palette)

Choose what colors you want to use in your fuzzy painting. Wrap a length of yarn around your fingers about twenty times. Slide the yarn off your fingers and snip it into tiny bits. You don’t want any pieces to be larger than half an inch. Repeat this process for each color. Pile the yarn colors on your paper plate palette.
Use glue to draw the outline of your picture. Press bits of yarn onto the glue. Draw the details in glue and press more yarn onto your page. Continue this process until you have filled in your picture.
When the glue dries, you’ll be able to pet your fuzzy creation!

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Here's Looking at Me by Bob Raczka

I went through all the trouble of naming Fantastic Fiction Fridays and today’s book is non-fiction!

So today is Fantastic (Non-)Fiction Friday.

Bob Raczka’s Here’s Looking at Me is the perfect introduction to self-portraits. Raczka tells the story of 14 self-portraits, beginning with the very first self-portrait ever painted and ending with a photographer who is still creating art today.

You’ll recognize many of the artists in Here’s Looking at Me, such as Jacob Lawrence, Henri Rousseau, Vincent van Gogh, and Jan Vermeer. You may also discover artists you never have heard of.

Each story that Raczka tells is engaging and fun. Do you know why Marc Chagall gave himself seven fingers in his self-portrait? Do you know why Francisco de Goya used to put candles in the brim of his hat? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

This book is a great resource if you’re studying self-portraits or even autobiographies. And it’s an interesting book for anyone who likes art. I highly recommend it!

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Classifying Animals in Art

While we’re talking about classifying animals, here’s an activity that uses art to practice this skill. Younger students should focus on grouping similar animals together (birds, mammals, fish). Older students can group animals in more specific categories (animals in the cat family or the dog family). This activity is especially good for groups of 2 or 3 kids.

Kids who are studying zoo animals will benefit from this activity because they can look for similarities and differences between the animals they are learning about.

At the end of the post are some pictures you might want to use for this activity. There are many more examples of animals in art so you shouldn’t have any trouble adding to the collection if you choose to do so.

Supplies Needed:

Computer Print-outs of animals from art
Scissors
Marker
Construction paper or poster board
Glue stick

Look at the animal pictures you have in front of you and decide on what categories you will sort them into. Cut the animals out of the pictures and sort them. Make sure all animals fit into one of your categories. If you have some left over that don’t fit, you either need another category or you need to rethink the categories you have.

Write your categories on your sheet of construction paper or poster board. Arrange the animals on the poster board and glue them down.

Do you notice anything about the artistic style of the animals? Were most of the birds painted in the same style? Did all the sculpture end up in the same category?

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