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Category Archives: abstract

Chalk and Oil Pastel Landscapes using Stencils

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Two childlike oil pastel landscapes: one with a purple sky, sun, birds, tree, and waterfall; the other with a red sky, birds, trees, a river, and mountains.

Are you looking for a highly engaging art project using chalk pastels? I must admit, chalk pastels are not my favorite. The dust, the crumbles, the mess… and not to mention that chalk gives me the heebie-jeebies (as one kid said at school!) But, this project, the kids LOVED! They thought it was so exciting. And I love this project because it allows for a lot of creative freedom. It also give students the chance to see the difference between … Read more… →

Abstract Art Project: Mixed Media Explorations

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Explore the vibrant world of mixed media with this art project worksheet and example. Featuring a list of materials and a colorful abstract design, it invites creativity as pencils, paint palettes, and decorative elements surround the image.

This is a fun art project I like to use to get students exploring different types of materials at the beginning of the year. It’s also a low-pressure way to introduce mixed media and abstract art. Set up the room by placing a wide variety of art materials in a centrally located place in your room. The way this works is that you start by drawing an abstract design on your paper using a variety of shapes and lines to … Read more… →

Watercolor Spirals

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A colorful, circular mandala with intricate patterns and floral designs surrounded by leaves, spirals, and swirls on a dotted background. Various colors including pink, blue, green, yellow, and purple are used in a watercolor style.

I hope the beginning of your school year is going well. Mine is going fine. We are getting back into the swing of things around here. Here is a fun and meditative art project good for kids and adults of all ages. You can tie this in to labrynths, mazes and mandalas. I use all different kinds of watercolor paints. I have a whole collection! One of my favorites is the Prima Marketing Confections sets. There are a number of … Read more… →

Distance Art Lesson: Shapes with Repeating Lines

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Abstract artwork featuring a red triangle, blue square, and purple circle with layered, multicolored striped patterns and repeating lines.

We are still fully virtual over here! I feel like I have been getting into a groove and things are going pretty well. Here is a lesson I did for kindergarten and first grade. Repetition in art means to repeat something again and again. If you have been making distance learning art lessons and have shared them on a website, please comment below! I am always looking for new ideas.

Cardboard Shape Art Project

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Cardboard Shape Art Project

Happy New Year! I hope you all have had a relaxing and restful holidays and are ready for the new year. Today I have some cardboard shape pictures to share with you that my 2nd graders created. We first looked at the artist Marcus Oakley and his cardboard shape pictures for inspiration. Students could create an abstract picture or a picture that represented something. We used pre-cut shapes as well as shapes the students cut on their own. Thinner cardboard … Read more… →

Decoupaged Stool and Romero Britto Inspired Hearts Canvas

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Colorful decoupaged stool seat with abstract designs and inspirational words like "Strong" and "Creativity," against a black background.

My students and I recently made two colorful artworks for our school fundraiser. We painted a stool with acrylic paints. I had kids from grades K-3 come up two or three at a time to take turns painting the sections. After the base layer was dry, we used magazine cutout words to decoupage the stool. Black sharpies were also used to outline and accent the edges. Students in grades K-3 helped with this project and I had some older kids … Read more… →

“Not Just a Scribble” Creatures

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“Not Just a Scribble” Creatures

(Affiliate links are used in this blog post, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Art is Basic!) In my last blog post, I told you about a children’s book called I’m Not Just a Scribble. The author, Diane Alber, gave us a behind the scenes interview about her process and her future books. After reading this book, some of my students in grades K-3 created these cute scribble creatures with BIG personalities! (The one on the … Read more… →

Heart Art Projects for Kids

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Heart Art Projects for Kids

Now is the time to start planning for Valentine’s Day art projects.  I am going to share with you a few heart art projects I have taught in my school. First is the Map of My Heart. It is one of my favorites. I found the heart map idea in this book, Playful Learning.  Start by drawing a heart in pencil on your paper.  Think of all the things that you love or that are important to you.  What is … Read more… →

Creating White Space with Watercolor Resist Pens

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Creating a colorful abstract watercolor painting with flowers, geometric shapes, and the word "shine" at the top, this artwork makes clever use of white space.

Today I’m going to share with a fun technique for older kids or your own personal art journaling/painting.  I picked up the Christine Adolph watercolor resist pen from Paper Source, but you can find it on Amazon here (affiliate link.)  I thought it would be fun to try out.  Watercolor resist works by covering the paper and protecting the area underneath.  You can paint right on top of the gummy resist lines.  When it is all dry, you can peel … Read more… →

Fun and Easy Mandalas with Metallic Gel Pens

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Fun and Easy Mandalas with Metallic Gel Pens

One day this summer, my daughter came home from camp with a circle design drawn using metallic gel pens.  I thought it looked so cool, I wanted to try it with my students in 3rd/4th grade.  I usually teach about mandalas and radial balance at this age level. Mandalas have religious and spiritual significance around the world.  They have been used for meditation and relaxation.  I showed the students mandalas including Tibetan and Navajo sand paintings, ancient Aztec and architecture.  … Read more… →

Kindergarten Line Lanterns

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Colorful paper lanterns painted with various abstract designs are hanging from the ceiling.

This project is relatively simple and takes learning about lines into the third dimension. I posted about this project back in 2013 and it was one of my most popular blog posts.  I usually do a line painting project with the kindergartners.  This is a great way to learn about types of lines, practice painting with a paintbrush and develop all those great fine motor skills you want the little ones to learn such as gluing and coloring. 1. The … Read more… →

Kindergarten Watercolor Shapes

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A watercolor paint set and brush beside a colorfully painted paper showcasing various shapes in different hues, ideal for kindergarten creativity.

I am always trying to come up with new ideas for my youngest students to experience painting in a successful way, learn about important art concepts and still be able to use their creativity. In this lesson, the goals were the following: Students will… Practice using a paintbrush properly. Learn about the qualities of watercolors through instruction and exploration. Experiment with watercolor resist. Be able to identify common shapes such as circle, diamond, triangle, trapezoid, star, square, oval, rectangle, heart and … Read more… →

Art Video: Doodling with Watercolor Pencils

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A colorful abstract drawing with various shapes and a set of watercolor pencils beside it.

  In this video, I give a demonstration of how to use Maped Watercolor Pencils to make a beautiful doodled painting.  If you are reading this through email or a blog reader, you may need to pop on over to my actual blog to see the video.  It should show up below. If you would like to purchase a set, click here: Maped Watercolor Pencils I was given a free set of watercolor pencils to review. (affiliate links have been used.)

Watercolor Pencil Review

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A colorful abstract drawing with various shapes and a set of watercolor pencils beside it.

Hi friends!  I was given a free set of Maped Watercolor Pencils to review.  I decided to practice my skills at making videos and I did a review of these pencils. Stay tuned!  In my next blog post, I will give a demonstration of how to use Maped Watercolor Pencils to make a beautiful doodled painting. If you would like to purchase a set, click here: Maped Watercolor Pencils (affiliate links have been used.)

Fun Art Process with Stencils and Watercolor Paints

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Colorful dinosaur and moon doodles, with a name and the brand "Nike" in children's handwriting, created using watercolor paints.

This is a very simple, but satisfying process I tried with 1st graders.  All you need is a pencil, some stencils and watercolors. Over the years I have collected all kinds of stencils from garage sales, thrift stores, donations and catalogs.  I have them all in a big box for kids to pick from.  Sharpies are optional and can be used to trace over lines. The first step is to use the stencils to draw shapes, write words and make designs.  This … Read more… →

  • Banner with colorful artwork promoting an art shop featuring kindness coloring pages, artist activities, and resources for teachers.