Create Your Own Art Garden

Happy first day of spring! I promise to share more illustrators with you but today I want to celebrate spring. Today, create your own art garden by painting terracotta pots in the styles of famous artists.
Supplies Needed:

Three terracotta pots
Three terracotta saucers
Paints
Paintbrushes
Spray bottle

This is a messy one. If you’re having nice weather I recommend taking your whole art studio outside today. Wear old clothes and, no matter what, cover your workspace.

The first pot we’ll make is in the style of Jackson Pollock. If you don’t remember him, go refresh your memory.

I did my splatter painting in the sink, but it still made quite a mess:
You want to use a dry brush for this. A hard-bristled toothbrush would be better than a paintbrush. Squirt some paint onto the end of your brush. Aim the brush at the pot and run your thumb across the bristles. This will send the paint flying in all directions. That’s why you’re outside and wearing old clothes!
Rinse the brush and then squirt a new color onto the bristles. Splatter the paint across the pot. Continue adding colors until you are happy with your pot. Do the same with the saucer. It will save you some time and brush washings if you do the pot and the saucer at the same time.

The second pot is in the style of Piet Mondrian. Remember him? Paint squares, lines and rectangles in blue, red, yellow, and white until you have covered your whole pot. I left the lip clean but you may paint it if you wish. Let the pot dry.
When the pot has dried (about 30 minutes), paint black lines between each square, rectangle, and line.

The final pot is in the style of Morris Louis (sort of). Remember his stripe paintings? Place your pot in a box lid or some other container to catch the water and paint runoff. Stand the pot in the container with the lip down. Dab paint around the edge of the pot. Use a spray bottle to spray the paint down the side of the pot in stripes.
You may want to let the pot dry and do another coat of stripes in the opposite direction (from the lip to the base). I chose not to.

Use the same method to paint the saucer. Dab paint half way around the lip of the saucer. Then use a spray bottle to spray the paint into and across the saucer.

When your pots are dry, plant seeds, water, and watch spring bloom in your art garden. I’ll post pictures of my flowers when they bloom.

Return to main page.

Create Your Own Jackson Pollock Masterpiece

I have posted before about Jackson Pollock and his drip paintings. You may remember that Pollock created his paintings by laying large pieces of canvas on the floor of his studio and dripping paint onto them. This is a messy process.

Today, make your own Jackson Pollock painting without all the mess.

Supplies Needed:

Paint
Plastic Spoon
Marbles
Box Top
Paper
Cover your workspace before you begin. You’ll need a place to set your paint covered spoon and marbles. You may also want a cup of water for rinsing you spoon. Or just use a different spoon for each color paint.

Set your sheet of paper inside the box lid.

Squirt paint onto your spoon. Drop a marble into the paint on the spoon and roll it around until it is covered with paint. You may need to squirt a little more paint on top of the marble.

Drop the marble into the box lid and roll it around. You may wish to coat the marble in paint a few times before switching to the next color. Just roll it in the spoon again, then drop it back on the paper.
Rinse your spoon or use a new one. Squirt a new paint color onto your spoon and roll a clean marble in it. Drop the marble into the box lid and roll it around.

Repeat with as many colors as you want. I recommend using about five colors.
Let your painting dry. Remove it from the box lid and enjoy!

Return to main page.

Create Your Own Edible Painting

Merry Christmas Eve! This is the last project before Christmas so enjoy. Paint a few of these while you’re baking other cookies for a little edible art.

Supplies Needed:

Sugar Cookie Dough
Rolling Pin
Parchment Paper
Cookie Cutter
Light Corn Syrup
Food Coloring
Paintbrushes
Small Cups

Bake your sugar cookies according the direction on the package. You can, instead, use your own recipe or buy undecorated sugar cookies already made from the grocery store. If you bake your own, let them cool completely before painting on them.

Pour some light corn syrup into several small cups. You’ll want about a teaspoon in each. Squeeze one drop of food coloring into each cup and stir to make your paints. To make the black color I just mixed one drop of each color (and two drops of red) to one of the cups. The other colors are standard food coloring colors.

Use a clean paintbrush, preferably one that has never been used, and paint your cooled sugar cookies. The paint is very sticky and you must wash the paintbrush in the sink between each color. For this reason, it would be useful to have a different paintbrush for each color.

Please note that the colors run together if you don’t wait for the paint to dry between each; however, the paint dries extremely slowly. I painted mine all in one sitting and I think they came out fine.


Also note that the Jackson Pollock inspired cookies are very messy to make. Place a cookie on a plate, set it in the sink, and then splatter paint like I did (shown in the picture below). Have a parent help you with this one.
Below are pictures of my cookie masterpieces, inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright stained-glass windows, Jackson Pollock, and Piet Mondrian. I thought I had posted on Wright stained-glass but I guess not. So below the cookie, notice the inspiration.




I think they turned out quite nicely. Use any artist for inspiration or paint your own pictures using the fun recipe.

Return to main page.

Create Your Own Jackson Pollock Painting

Looking at Jackson Pollock’s art makes a lot of people want to try it for themselves. Make sure to get permission before trying this.

Materials Needed:

1 Queen Size Flat Sheet (any color will do)
3-4 Buckets of Paint in Different Colors
Plastic Cups (one for each color paint)
1 Large Paintbrush
1 Paint Stirring Stick
1 Bucket of Water (for cleaning your brush and stir stick)

This is a messy project so be sure to wear old clothes and work outside. You should still lay out a drop cloth or newspaper to protect your work space. Spread the sheet on the ground and place rocks on the corners to keep it from blowing away.

Choose your first color. Use your brush to splatter the paint across your sheet. Do the same with your stir stick. Notice the difference between the paint splatters caused by each. Fill a plastic cup with paint and pour or drip the color on your sheet. It will be easier to control where the paint goes if you use a cup rather than the whole bucket of paint. When you think you have enough of your first color, repeat with your second color, then your third, then your fourth. If you can still see the sheet beneath the paint, keep adding to your creation.

Remember, Jackson Pollock always controlled the drips and splatters. He always knew where he was putting his colors and how he wanted his masterpiece to look.

When you’ve finished, let your painting dry. This may take a while because you’ve used a lot of paint. How does your artwork compare to Jackson Pollock’s? Was it as easy as you thought it would be?

________


If you don’t have the space outdoors to do this project, you can try a smaller version by following the directions below.

Materials Needed:

1 Piece of Thick Art Paper
Poster Paints in Several Colors
Paint Brush
Unsharpened Pencil
Cup of Water
Scissors
Cardboard box


If at all possible, I still recommend going outside. Otherwise, be sure to lay down newspapers to protect your workspace, and avoid working on carpet. Cut off the top and one side of your box. Lay your sheet of paper in the bottom of the box.

Choose your first color. Use your brush to splatter the paint across your sheet of paper. Do the same with your unsharpened pencil. Notice the difference between the paint splatters caused by each. Make sure not be too crazy with your splattering; the sides of the box should catch any stray paint. You can pour the poster paint straight from the cups they came in. When you think you have enough of your first color, repeat with your second color, then your third, then your fourth. If you can still see the paper beneath the paint, keep adding to your creation.

Remember, Jackson Pollock always controlled the drips and splatters. He always knew where he was putting his colors and how he wanted his masterpiece to look.

When you’ve finished, let your painting dry. This may take a while because you’ve used a lot of paint. How does your artwork compare to Jackson Pollock’s? Was it as easy as you thought it would be?

Return to main page.

Jackson Pollock and Lavender Mist

Jackson Pollock was an American painter, born in 1912, who became famous for his enormous drip paintings. He painted in a tool shed where he could lay his canvas on the floor, and drip and splatter paint across it without worrying about ruining the walls or floor.

Rather than paint a landscape or a portrait, Pollock wanted to paint action. When you look at one of his drip paintings, your eye wanders across the entire canvas in constant motion. In this way, Pollock achieved his goal; the creation of the painting was active and so is the viewing of the painting.

Lavender Mist, painted in 1950, is one example of Pollock’s drip paintings. Pollock unrolled nearly 10 feet of canvas, chose his colors, and began to drip, splash, and swirl paint onto it. He didn’t buy his oil paint in tubes the way most artists do. Instead, he used gallons of house paint to cover the canvas. In the corner he left his handprints as a signature, just like the cave painters did. What’s really cool about this painting is that Pollock didn’t use any lavender paint. The colors he chose blend together in your eye to make you think that you see lavender.

Click here to look at Lavender Mist at the National Gallery of Art website. Use the red arrows at the top of the page to see close-ups of parts of the painting, including the handprint in the upper right corner. Keep clicking to see pictures of Jackson Pollock painting in his shed.

Then click here make your own drip painting online. Right click to change colors.

Check back tomorrow for a Jackson Pollock project!

EDITED TO ADD: Create Your Own Edible Pollock Painting

Return to main page.