Ideas for Art Projects

Use these ideas for art projects that entertain and create interesting pieces of art. Use everyday art supplies found around most homes, schools, discount or hobby stores to create these art projects. Oil pastels and various paints of your choice make up the main supply list. Because they use easy techniques but also offer an opportunity to create a beautiful more advanced product, both children and adults will enjoy these art projects.

Create a beautiful reflection that looks as though you spent hours drawing it carefully. First, fold a large rectangular piece of paper in half lengthwise to create a long, skinny rectangle. Leave the paper folded but be sure you have the top half of the original rectangle facing up and the fold at the bottom. Using oil pastels create a waterscape scene that could be the shore of a lake, beach, pond or stream. Color in no sky or water features as these will appear with a watercolor wash later. The bottom of any trees, bushes, flowers, fences, umbrellas, people or chairs should reach the bottom of the rectangle where it is folded under. Use thick coverage with the oil pastels by applying pressure. When finished, unfold the paper and refold it so that the drawing you just created is inside the folded paper. Position the paper so that the back of the drawing you just created faces up. With a craft stick, apply as much pressure as possible without tearing paper or breaking the stick, and rub the back of the drawing you just created so that it transfers to the clean half below it creating your water reflection. Rub until you are satisfied with the results and the entire picture has transferred. Complete the project by first opening it, then painting over it with a very transparent or watery blue wash of watercolor paint. The oil pastel resists the wash of paint but the blue colors the paper without drawing areas such as the water, sky and reflection. Let dry.

Create black, shadowy shapes then use your imagination to turn them into objects in a drawing. Mix black tempera or acrylic paint with water until about the consistency of milk. Have white drawing paper of your choice ready. Place a straw about a half inch into the black paint then place a finger over the end of the straw so the paint remains in the straw. Drop the paint carefully onto the white paper in a location of your choice. Use the straw to blow the paint around the paper creating black, shadowy shapes and lines. Repeat until you are satisfied with the amount of black shape and line design on the paper. Allow the black to dry for 15 minutes or until mostly dry. Study the black shapes and lines while turning the paper in every direction. Decide on a scene, desig, and creature or object that you see emerging from the black shapes and lines. Use colored pencil to complete the project by adding the needed details to turn the black shapes into the picture you saw emerging from them.

Create one or several of these art projects and hang them as a grouping. Choose a color to focus on for each collage you make. Acquire an art board, poster board or heavy paper in that color for the base of your collage. Make a collage using magazine clippings, found objects, interesting scrap papers, photographs and bits of your own drawing that are tints and tones of that one color. For example, for a blue collage, gather items of colors from turquoise to navy to baby blue. Once you have several items gathered and trimmed neatly, begin laying them out in an eye appealing arrangement on the colored paper base. Use arrangements of any type that appeal to you. Glue only after you decide on the final arrangement of the items. Glue neatly and give the final product a coat of half glue and half water mixture to seal and protect it. Let dry.

This idea for art projects works well for a child's art project or as an adult's piece of artwork. Realize a rainbow of colors when you simply place quarter sized dabs of red, yellow and blue on each hand then press the hands together and twist slightly. For a child, simply help them to place the paint on their hands as above then twist them together. Afterward, let them experience how the colors magically changed to create the secondary colors of orange, green and purple then press their hands to white paper to create handprint art. For adults, experiment by adding white or a bit of black to the primary colors. You might also try creating shades of one color by using just one color with white and black. The handprints you create might be part of a study of hand drawing anatomy when other renderings such as drawings of hands are added to the paint prints. Additionally, adults may want to experiment with hand positions when pressing the print as well as how many different ways to place the hands on the paper to create an abstract piece of artwork.

In this idea for an art project you must first choose two artists with different styles with which to become slightly familiar if not already familiar with them. For instance, you might choose DaVinci, who painted realistically or scientifically, and Andy Warhol, Pop Artist. Choose one painting by either artist that you would like to recreate in the other artist's style. The title of your art project becomes, for example, "What if Leonardo DaVinci had painted Warhol's famous Marilyn Monroe picture?" or "What if Warhol had painted DaVinci's Mona Lisa?" Recreate the artist's work but in the style of the other artist. Use the media of your choice choosing either to recreate in the original artist's media, the other artist's media or a media of your choice. This art project requires thinking and studying of the two artists carefully but with remarkable and fun results.