Jim Dine Hearts – Valentine’s Day

Student work from Jim Dine lesson

This year for Valentine’s Day, we made art in the style of artist Jim Dine who has made lots & lots of paintings of hearts. I really wanted the kids to focus on their brush strokes and keeping the colors separated. The age range for this project was 4-8years old. Typically the younger kids tend to want to use their brushes in a scrubbing motion & will finish quickly. I came up with a fun way to get them all to slow down and keep the colors from mixing (too much)…

First, we folded a piece of tagboard in half. Students traced a heart-half stencil then cut the shape out. This is a challenge for the younger but they all did a great job!

 

Next came the painting... I used a timer & the rule was that each child had to take turns and use ONE color for ONE minute. This really helped them make small dabs with their brush & distribute the paint all over their heart.

 

The final step was to decorate their black background paper with oil pastels. I asked the kids to cover the paper (especially the edges) with "Scribble Scrabble". They were all very excited to hear the term & show me how well they could scribble.

 

The project still left room for personal expression.

 

The final step was to mount the heart onto the background using double stick foam tape. You can use glue, but the foam adds a 3D effect. I think the kids did a great job! Below is an actual painting by Jim Dine…

Jim Dine, "The Circus"