2 Day Acrylic Art Project for Kids

As a child, my parents gave me and my brother all the time in the world so we could get to explore non-academic skills like art, dance, writing journals, reading, singing and what not. I don't remember a day where my mom or my dad asked me to help them with house hold chores while i was investing my time in the creating something new. With the little financial support they had, we were encouraged to explore and experiment every weekend to do something new, not expecting the results to be 5 stars. We were blessed to have wonderful extended family, like my aunt and uncle, who will willingly buy good quality German watercolor paints for us to experiment with. I'm very thankful for those times, now i appreciate them more as an adult and especially as a parent. 

I would like to pass on the gift of art to my (now) 10 year old son. I want to show him what i learnt and if he is interested someday in his life, he might take it up. To create something from scratch, little or big, is a so fulfilling and leaves one with a sense of achievement. 

My H and I are very much involved in any of our son's school projects. One such project was kids Art competition in the County where he gets to compete with many other kids from different schools. He has been painting from when he was 4 years old. To make a kid sit down in a spot and focus on the technique is a big challenge. Over these years, I have grown patience and perseverance. After 5 years now, for the first time i can see the kid showing so much interest and is so willing to learn different techniques. That is a great start. As long as it lasts, I'm going to make the best use of the time :). We don't know the results of the competition because the Quarantine stalled everything. Nevertheless, i enjoy and cherish the wonderful time we spent together.

Beach Sunset

Title: Beach Sunset
Medium: Acrylic on Art paper
Method: Box Technique
Age group : 9 and above
Total time: 3 hrs (1.5 hrs in 2 days)
Pre-requisite: Lots and lots of patience, the ability to imagine and recreate the colors,  tons of interest
Brushes: 1 round brush medium size, 1 thin brush for lines
Colors:
1. Titanium White
2. Cadmium Yellow
3. Indian Yellow
4. Scarlet Red
5. Burnt Siena
6. Ultramarine Blue
7. Manganese Blue Hue
8. Phthalo Blue

Day 1

The kid picked the concept from the 3 options i gave him - Landscape in Box technique, Autumn, Galaxy.

The first day can be quite strenuous as the kids have to learn the brush strokes and how to keep within the boundary of the box. So take it light on them. I highly recommend to do this with a 2 day break if kids are new to painting and if they are impatient to sit in one spot for a long time (like my son ;))

Always make clean space before starting to paint. Lay a plastic sheet underneath the painting space. I always recommend anyone to sit in a spot where there enough sun light, most likely closer to the window. Natural light is the Key. Get all the supplies in one place so you wont or your kid wont get distracted running around looking for things. I did not list out pencil, ruler, eraser and water in the list, as they are basic items for any painting project. 

Most importantly, feed your kid well before sitting for the project ;). I know they are always hungry and can make that as an excuse. That can play with their interest to focus and the spoil the attention span.

Now lets get started with the painting.....

Step 1 - Start the project with making the boxes on the art paper. Adults can help with this using a ruler and pencil. Make light impressions.

Step 2 - This technique can be applied to any subject. Few suggestions: Beach scene, Landscape scene, Monument, Animals

Step 3 - Since it is a box technique, kids should work one box at a time.

Step 4 - I suggest starting with areas that has lighter shade and finishing with darker shade.

[Note: The simple theory in art is you can always make a lighter shade to become darker by adding stronger pigments on top of lighter shades but not vice-versa.
In acrylic painting, this is possible as acrylics act as a primer. But i always prefer to have natural light in my paintings when i can avoid adding whites on top of dark colors]

Step 5 - The kid started with painting the sky in light yellow around the Sun with round medium brush to cover the area evenly.

Step 6 - Brush strokes should go from left to right. Please watch the video posted.

Step 7 - Once the light yellow is done, move to the outer areas where the ends of the boxes transition from yellow-orange-red-umber.

Step 8 - Let the painting dry and let the kid take break . Painting one box at a time can be very tedious, meticulous and tiring for a 10 yrs old.

Day 2

The second day becomes a little easier as the kid had already got used to the brush strokes and boundary and have invested some patience

Step 1 - Start with Blue shades, light blues right under under the Sun.

Step 2 - Move to darker shades for the outer boxes. Follow the same technique used to cover the sky.

Step 3 - Once all the boxes are covered along with making the transitions in shades, add an outline with darker shades around the boxes especially the 'T' spots between boxes. Make it subtle. I had to help my son here as the box outlines should be thin and not overwhelmingly prominent. See the photo below where i have marked the T spots.

Step 4 - Now is the time to make the sun shine bright and see the big smile on your kid's face that he is almost there . He told me that the painting looked great. That is my big moment!

Step 5 - Add a good amount of Titanium White in a circular motion. Keep the paint thick so we can make some texture on the sun.

Step 6 - Once sun is done, draw white lines with this brush on the blue boxes right below the sun to indicate the reflection of sun's light on water.

Step 7 - The kid wanted to add some birds on the sky which i thought was a great idea. Make sure the birds are really small to make the sun and the scenery look magnificently big. It is all about the proportions of the objects and relativity.

Hope these step by step pointers help some kid in some part of the world to give this project a try. It is definitely a fun project for Adults and Kids to do together and build some quality time together as a family. The kids will remember these times when they grow, i promise!

Beach Sunset

Do leave a comment and a photo of the finished product if you gave it a try.
Happy Painting and making new memories with kids at home!!!