This preschool art famous artists lesson plan will teach your preschool class all about two famous artists, Vincent Van Gogh and Jackson Pollock. Your students will enjoy looking at two paintings from these famous artists and recreating their works. Students will enjoy becoming artists.
After teaching this preschool art famous artists lesson plan, your students will able to describe what an artist does. This lesson works great with the other lesson plan in this series about types of media used in art. It can also work on its own.
Materials
Copy of Starry Night by Van Gogh for students to see
Copy of Convergence by Jackson Pollock or another print by him
Manila paper or finger paint paper
Paint
Paintbrushes
Information on Vincent Van Gogh and Jackson Pollock (optional)
Jackson Pollock (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists) by Mike Venezia (optional)
Vincent Van Gogh: Sunflowers and Swirly Stars (Smart About Art) by Joan Holub (optional)
Prior Knowledge
Review what types of media are used to make art. Talk about what art is and how it is made.
Teach
Tell students that a professional artist is someone whose job it is to make art, such as paintings or sculptures. Explain that famous artists have their paintings in art museums. Ask students if they have ever been to a museum. Explain that an art museum is a building that houses famous works of art.
An option is to share some details about Van Gogh and Pollock. A wonderful idea is to share facts about their childhoods. You can easily get information from the Internet or a reference book if you choose to do this. A couple of titles to use as a reference include Jackson Pollock (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists) by Mike Venezia and Vincent Van Gogh: Sunflowers and Swirly Stars (Smart About Art) by Joan Holub.
Show students the copies of Starry Night and Convergence, or the Jackson Pollock print that you brought in. Allow students to discuss what they think about the paintings. Talk about the colors used in the paintings. Talk about the stars and the night sky in Starry Night. Talk about the patterns in Convergence. Discuss the differences between the two.
Procedure
Explain to your students that today they will be recreating either Starry Night or Convergence. Allow students to choose which print they want to recreate. Then, pass out paper, paint, and paintbrushes to your students and have them repaint the picture. Circulate around the room assisting as necessary.
Assess
While students are painting, go around the room and ask each student what an artist is.
Extend
Visit a local museum and look for works by one of these artists or another famous one.
Host an art show. Use the paintings made from this lesson plan and the other lesson plan in this series. Hang students’ artwork around the room. Invite parents to come in and view students’ very own preschool art famous artists collections.
This post is part of the series: Art Projects for the Preschool Classroom
These art lesson plans provide projects that will help establish art appreciation in your preschool classroom. These projects will enhance your students understand of art and what art actually is. They will enjoy creating their own artwork while learning about media used in art and famous artists.
