Andy Warhol Watercolor Portraits (PK-5)

Andy Warhol
Watercolor Portraits

Teacher example
watercolor on four copies of drawing, card stock mounted on poster-board

I did this project with two separate classes, one of 4-6 year olds and an older class of 7 to 10 year olds. 

About Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol was an American Pop Artist.  He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1928 and his given name is Andrew Warhola.  His parents were hard working immigrants from Eastern Europe.  When Andy was only 8 years old he became very sick and had to stay home from school.  His mother would entertain her sick child with art projects and Hollywood movies.  Andy loved movies and Hollywood celebrities so much that he wanted to become one.  

When Andy grew up he went to art school and became a graphic artist.  He had a very successful career working for fashion magazines like Vogue.  In 1959 a magazine editor spelled his name wrong on the credits.  Andy decided he liked the misspelled last name so much he would keep it, and so Andrew Warhola became Andy Warhol.  

Andy Warhol decided that he wanted more from his artistic career.  He wasn't really sure how to start, so he just started painting images of things he saw everyday.  Warhol painted soup cans, Coca-cola bottles and money.  He even began using a silkscreen printing method to make lots of pictures of the same thing, almost like a human factory.  People loved his pictures so much he became famous. His pictures of soup cans stacked up on top of one another are his most famous works.  

Andy Warhol never forgot his childhood obsession with Hollywood celebrities.  He began using the same technique he used to create his soup can and Coca-Cola images to create technicolor prints of famous celebrities, like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.  The celebrity portrait series is what this project is based on.

Materials 

• Regular copy paper
• White card stock printer paper
• Pencils and erasers
• Black Sharpies
• A printer capable of processing card stock 
• Pan watercolor
• Paintbrushes
• Hand-mirrors (an option for older students)
• A white board (optional, but extremely helpful)
• Poster-board and masking tape (optional for mounting)

The Process

I made a few changes for my older group of students.  Instead of doing a portrait of Marilyn Monroe they created self-portraits. 

After talking about Andy Warhol and Pop Art,

"an art movement that began in the U.S. in the 1950s and reached its peak of activity in the 1960s. Pop artists chose subject matter that was anonymous, everyday, standardized, and ordinary iconography in American life, such as comic strips, billboards, commercial products, and celebrity images." -Dictionary.com

I passed out plain white copy paper , pencils, and erasers to all of the students.  For the younger students I drew out the face of Ms. Monroe by breaking down the drawing process into simple and easy shapes and steps.  For the older students I drew a plain face diagram, outlining where the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are located in a properly proportioned face.  The older students then changed the face to make it more personalized.  

to create Marilyn I start out by drawing a simple oval on the white board.  Make sure students don't make their oval too small, or lopsided.  

I then began adding the features one by one.  Normally I let the students vote on which feature they want me to draw first.  

The hair and neck can be a bit tricky for them, so I normally walk around the class and try to assist as many students one on one as possible.  Some may want to add shading and jewelry, but other than Monroe's iconic earrings and mole it isn't necessary unless they really want to.

Once the pencil work is finished I had students trace over all their lines with black sharpie.  

Teacher example

Student examples (Pk-1)

Once the Sharpie work is complete I gathered up the work and make 4 copies of each student's work on white card stock.  Students then painted their Marilyns with pan-watercolor.  Children this age tend to mix all of their colors together, or put multiple colors all over the face.  I recommend doing a quick demonstration on how to paint a portrait.  Make the back ground all one color, make the hair all one different color, make the face and neck all one other different color, etc.  Some students will still end up with brown portraits, but most of my kids work came out fabulous.  

Student example

My older students were able to create self-portraits.

Teacher example
(Unfortunately I made myself look like I have an adams apple [I don't, I swear!])

For this project the process was completely the same, except I handed out small hand mirrors for students to analyze their facial features with.  I drew a face diagram on the board, students followed along lightly with pencils on their paper.  They then tweaked the diagram to transform it from a general face to their face.  A few of my more perfectionist students did become a bit frustrated when they couldn't get their faces perfect.

If you don't have the time to draw out a diagram with students there are plenty of handouts available online.  

Student examples of original drawings

Completed student work

There is nothing that says this project must be limited to people!  I've had students complete the same project, but with lizards and frogs instead. 

Teacher example

I like to mount the finished work on poster-board with masking tape.  I think it gives the work a polished look and makes it more recognizable as an Andy Warhol tribute. 

National Visual Arts Standards Addressed 

1. Content Standard: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes

Achievement Standard:

Students

a. know the differences between materials, techniques, and processes

b. describe how different materials, techniques, and processes cause different responses

c. use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and

stories

d. use art materials and tools in a safe and responsible manner

4. Content Standard: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures

Achievement Standard:

Students

a. know that the visual arts have both a history and specific relationships to various cultures

b. identify specific works of art as belonging to particular cultures, times, and places

c. demonstrate how history, culture, and the visual arts can influence each other in making and

studying works of art

Georgia Performance Standards for Visual Arts Addressed 


VA2CU.1 Identifies artists as creative thinkers who make art and share their ideas.
b. Creates artwork that explores ideas, issues, and events from current and past cultures.

VA2CU.2 Views and discusses selected artworks.
a. Names subject and theme.
b. Uses context clues to identify time and place.
c. Theorizes and suggests how culture and environment provide inspiration for creating artworks.

VA2PR.1 Creates artworks based on personal experience and selected themes. 

a. Creates artworks to express individual ideas, thoughts, and feelings from memory, imagination, and observation. 

b. Creates artworks emphasizing one or more elements of art (e.g., space, line, shape, form, color, value, texture) and principles of design (e.g., balance, repetition). 

VA2PR.2 Understands and applies media, techniques, and processes of two-dimensional art processes (drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed-media) using tools and materials in a safe and appropriate manner to develop skills. 

a. Creates drawings with a variety of media (e.g., pencils, crayons, pastels). 

c. Creates paintings with a variety of media (e.g., tempera, watercolor). 

Oil Pastel Sea Turtles (Grades 1-5)

Oil Pastel Sea Turtles 

Teacher example
oil pastel, liquid watercolor, and salt on watercolor paper

I did this project with multiple classes with students' ages ranging from 6 to 10 years old.  

Materials

• Oil Pastels
• Pencils and erasers
• Black Sharpie
• Foam brushes
• Liquid watercolor (blue and turquoise) 
• Salt (regular and large ice-cream salt if available)
• Watercolor paper (any size you choose)
• White-board (if available)

The Process

I like to start this project on the white board.  I have kids follow along on scrap paper.  I show students two different ways to draw a turtle, the side and slightly foreshortened

"to reduce or distort parts of a represented object that are not parallel to the picture plane in order to convey the illusion of three-dimensional space as perceived by the human eye: often done according to the rules of perspective"

view and a simpler view showing the top of the turtle shell.  After students draw both turtles on their scrap paper I have them choose which one they want to do for the project.  

Side-view Turtle 

For the more challenging turtle I start with the hump of the shell.  Make sure students draw their hump towards the top of their page to leave plenty of room for the fins at the bottom.

I then move on the the head and neck.  I've found that the turtles come out stronger if you make the head somewhat rectangular.  

Before getting to into the details I try to get the kids to draw every major body part first.  I like to move onto the large fin, and then the underbelly.  I explain to students that due to the foreshortened view the front fin will look a little large.  I normally make a circle with a dark football shape inside for the eye.

Have some fun with the turtle's wrinkles and shell.  It's natural, it's organic, so it doesn't have to be perfect.  

Simple Turtle

a co-workers example

I also do the simplified turtle on the white board before I allow students to move on to their watercolor paper.  If you have a smaller time limit on this project you can choose one version of the turtle, or hand students printed visuals and skip using the white-board altogether.  I would recommend the printed visuals for older students in particular.   

Once students have made their selections I pass out the watercolor paper (cold-press).  Students draw their turtles using pencil first and use their practice turtles as a guide. Then they trace over their pencil lines with black sharpie before moving on to the oil pastel.  DON'T let students oil pastel the background if you are planning on using the liquid watercolor and salt.

Student work still in progress. 2nd grade

Do a demonstration for students on how to use and blend oil pastels.  Make sure that they know to go lightest to darkest in terms of color.  a lighter shade of pastel drawn on top of a darker color does not have much of an impact.  

In this example my co-worker laid down yellow first, then orange, then red.  

On this particular turtle I laid down a light green first.

I then added some darker green lines on top of the light green radiating out from some corners of the shell section.

I then added just a touch of brown to the shell. I covered his body with peach with green accents and gave him brown spots with just a little black on his fins.  Just a little blue on his underbelly is a nice touch as well.  Have students experiment with color combinations on their scrap paper first, especially if you plan on letting them use unrealistic colors (pink, purple, etc) 

On this turtle I used white first, then peach, then brown on the shell.  I had several students that chose to follow this color scheme.  

Once students have completely finished using their oil pastel they can move onto the liquid watercolor background.  You may want to discuss resists, which is the incompatibility of two mediums (oil and water) that when used together in art can create layered effects with color and texture.  Oil pastel is a great resist, though it can become a bit smudgy if not used carefully.

I like to set up a special station in the room for the watercolor and salt, as it can get a bit messy.  I dilute the liquid watercolor by adding clear water.  Usually around 50%.  I also like to have kids use both blue watercolor and turquoise.  This is just a preference though.  I have students apply the watercolor using a foam bush.  I also have them only do 1/4 of the paper at a time.  The salt doesn't work as well if the paint begins to dry, so working a with a small section at a time cuts down on possibility of the paint drying before you are ready for salt.  

You can have the students add the salt themselves (supervised) or do it for them.  I like to add a mixture of regular table salt and larger ice-cream salt.  

A little table salt sprinkled on damp watercolor paint creates a delicate bubble-like spot. Each crystal of salt chases away the pigment to make a lighter area beneath it. The larger the salt crystal the bigger the bubble.  

The turtles turned out wonderful! 

National Visual Arts Standards Addressed

 1. Content Standard: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes

 Achievement Standard:

Students

 a. know the differences between materials, techniques, and processes

 d. use art materials and tools in a safe and responsible manner

Georgia Performance Standards for Visual Arts Addressed

VA2PR.2 Understands and applies media, techniques, and processes of two-dimensional art processes (drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed-media) using tools and materials in a safe and appropriate manner to develop skills. 

a. Creates drawings with a variety of media (e.g., pencils, crayons, pastels). 

c. Creates paintings with a variety of media (e.g., tempera, watercolor). 

d. Mixes colors intentionally to create specific new colors. 

e. Mixes white with colors to create tints and black with colors to create shades (values). 

Jasper Johns Flag (Pk-5)

Jasper Johns 

Flag

Teacher Example
Mod-Podge, liquid watercolor, white acrylic, and newspaper on cut poster-board

I did this project with my class of 4-6 year-olds and a class of 7-10 year-olds 

About Jasper Johns

I love Jasper Johns because he is a local artist from Augusta, Georgia, which is only a short drive away from my art center.  

Jasper Johns was born in 1930.  When he was 18 he moved to New York to pursue an art education.  There he became immersed in the local artistic community.  Soon after arriving Johns was drafted into the army, which put his art career on hold for several years.  While in the military Johns began to see the impact that simple everyday symbols (flags, numbers, letters, maps, targets) have on mankind.  Johns realized that people walk past symbols like flags everyday without really taking notice.  However, when a flag, or painted target, or map is presented as a piece of art people really begin analyzing these symbols for hidden meanings, messages, and emotions. Johns never says what his artwork means, and instead he lets his symbols speak for themselves.

In the early 1950s Johns began seeing American flags everywhere he went, even in his dreams.  Johns created "Flag" in 1954.  He carefully collected newspaper clippings from the daily papers and used them as a base for his painting.  Over the newspaper he painted an American flag using a mixture of beeswax and paint pigment. This is known as an encaustic.  The wax/paint acts as a preservative that is transparent enough that the newspaper can be seen through the color.  

Jasper Johns worked alongside the Abstract Expressionists, who avoided using recognizable symbols/objects and instead believed in using line, color, and form in abstract ways to convey their own emotions.  Johns, with his flags and targets and unwillingness to state what emotions his works stand for, seems like the exact opposite of an artist like Jackson Pollock.  

Materials

• Quartered poster-board, railroad board, or some other durable paper
• Mod-Podge (a LOT of Mod-Podge)
• A stack of newspaper
• Foam brushes
• Paint brushes
• Liquid watercolor 
• Scissors
• White acrylic paint

The Process

The process for younger and older students is the same, the only difference is that I restricted my younger students to just the American flag while my older class could choose their own flag.

This project is a collage, which 

"is a technique for composing a work of art by pasting on a single surface various materials not normally associated with one another, such as newspaper clippings, parts of photographs, theater tickets,  fragments of an envelope, ext." -Dictionary.com

To start make sure you have enough thick paper cut to the size of your choosing BEFORE the students enter the room.  

For younger groups I recommend mixing the paint up before class for them.  I add several squirts of liquid watercolor into a bowl or cup filled with Mod-Podge.  I then stir.  Your colors will look very light, but they should darken once they dry.  I recommend testing your colors first and after your test dries adjusting the liquid watercolor amount for the lightness/darkness of your choosing.  To create white add a SMALL amount of white acrylic paint to the Mod-Podge.  My older class added a touch to much and the white lost the transparent effect that we were aiming for.  

Students then went through my stack of newspapers and began cutting out the sections that they wanted and arranging them on the poster-board. 

Then we broke out the plain no-paint-added Mod-Podge and foam brushes.  The great thing about Mod-Podge is that it can be used as both a glue and a gloss medium.  Students covered a section of their poster-board with the Mod-Podge, added their newsprint section on top, smoothed the paper, and then added ANOTHER layer of Mod-Podge on top.  I've found that sandwiching the paper scrap between layers of Mod-Podge is the most effective way to get a flat surface.  Also, because the Mod-Podge dries so quickly I have students do a small section of their paper at a time.  

Now comes the fun part! I passed out the pre-mixed Mod-Podge paint and paint brushes to the younger students, and supervised the older class mix up their own colored batches.  For the younger students I did a demonstration on how to paint the American flag.  The older class practiced drawing their chosen flag on a scrap sheet of paper first before starting to paint. 

The only problem we ran into with this project was misjudging how little white acrylic was needed.  The newspaper became almost impossible to see on the South Korean flags. 

National Visual Arts Standards Addressed 

 1. Content Standard: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes

 Achievement Standard:

Students

 a. know the differences between materials, techniques, and processes

 b. describe how different materials, techniques, and processes cause different responses

 c. use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and

stories

 d. use art materials and tools in a safe and responsible manner

 3. Content Standard: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas

 Achievement Standard:

Students

 a. explore and understand prospective content for works of art

 b. select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning

Georgia Performance Standards for Visual Art Addressed

VA2MC.3 Selects and uses subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning. 

a. Discusses uses of symbols and cultural icons in artwork. 

d. Observes how the visual relationship of objects and ideas affects meaning and/or significance. 

VA2CU.1 Identifies artists as creative thinkers who make art and share their ideas. 

a. Recognizes unique contributions of contemporary and historical Georgia artists and art forms. 

b. Creates artwork that explores ideas, issues, and events from current and past cultures. 

VA2CU.2 Views and discusses selected artworks. 

a. Names subject and theme. 

c. Theorizes and suggests how culture and environment provide inspiration for creating artworks. 

d. Recognizes media and technique. 

e. Observes and discusses simple perspective techniques (e.g., diminishing size, overlapping, placement on the picture plane). 

VA2PR.2 Understands and applies media, techniques, and processes of two-dimensional art processes (drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed-media) using tools and materials in a safe and appropriate manner to develop skills.