Van Gogh Fingerpainting

Before we began the Van Gogh Fingerpainting, we watched a video on Vincent Van Gogh. The gave a brief summary of his life how he began his artwork, including Starry Night. Once the video was over we were able to do our own painting of "Starry Night." We had the option to try and mimic Van Gogh's "Starry Night" or we could do our own version of it. We were able to used a variety of colors and was encouraged to mix the paints to create a different hue, value, and intensity. The project was done on a 12 x 18 white sheet of paper. I thought the project was fun to create and I also liked being able to use our fingers. I think children would really enjoy this activity because they could be creative with their colors and and use their fingers instead of a paint brush.

For an extension activity a teacher could have their students what a story about their "Starry Night" project they completed. Write about the feelings of their painting or write what they think Vincent Van Gogh was feeling. This activity could be done with young children and older students.

Tissue Collage

The tissue paper collage was another activity we did to go along with Van Gogh's "Starry Night." For this project we used any color of 12 x 18 paper and glued different colors of tissue paper to it. The tissue paper was cut out in any shape and size. We covered the entire paper with the glue mixture. Once everything was dried, students cut out a city block (or another type of background) and glued it to the bottom of their 12 x 18 paper. Next students drew windows/doors on their buildings with a silver marker. Students also used the silver marker to create lines on the tissue paper and in the background. An extension activity would be to have the students cut out any type of background and use something other than tissue paper to use as their background.