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- Sarah Gough
- Saturday, July 25, 2020
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Watch artist Keith Tolen's painting process as he creates a unique portrait. Then head outside and try out some plein air painting for yourself.
Ready to explore portrait painting? Get a family member, friend, pet, or even a toy to be your model. Any kind of paint will do -- finger paint, watercolor, acrylic or oil. Don't have paint at hand? Get messy and make your own mud paint, or grab some pantry staples and try out pudding, corn syrup, or cornstarch and vinegar paint.
Whether you try to make your portrait realistic or fantastical, just have fun and see where your artistic inspiration leads you!
Inspired by this activity? Check out these additional resources:
- Creativebug offers video classes about everything from watercolors to acrylics, abstracts to landscapes and everything in between. To try your own hand at portrait painting like Keith, check out Illustrative Painting with Gouache: Painting Stylized Faces.
- Kanopy offers many of The Great Courses, all available for free with your library card! How to Paint is a full, in-depth course. Not only will you learn how to select tools and apply techniques, but you'll develop the visual skills and muscle memory that make painting an infinitely adaptable form of artistic expression. These 24 lessons feature hands-on demonstrations that bring the art school experience into your own home.
- Colores Everywhere! -- what better way to learn colors than with eye-catching works of art? With art from across Latin America and beyond, children will become armchair world travelers and art connoisseurs. This bilingual edition introduces early readers, and earlier listeners, to colors in both English and Spanish.
- Portraits and Recent Acquisitions -- every year Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts scours the world to find old master paintings to market. Discoveries are made in the most unlikely locations and can reveal startling stories. Past owners such as Adolf Hitler emerge. Twenty fully illustrated paintings constitute the latest adventures and a number of their tales will change the way you forever regard the history of art.
- My First Art Activity Book -- 35 Fun and Easy Art Projects for Children Aged 7+
Snap a picture and share your creations with us on social media using #ilearnbecause