Art Projects With Pastels

Make colorful portraits, mobiles and stained glass works using pastels.

Pastels are sticks of pure artist pigment. They are an ancient medium used by many renowned artists through the centuries like Chardin, Edgar Degas, Watteau, Copley, Delacroix and Millet. By letting students experiment with the media of pastels, you allow them to gain an appreciation for this type of art. Artistic techniques are only perfected through practice and experience. Getting children familiar with oil and chalk pastel techniques will better equip them to create their own pieces.

Construction Paper Stained Glass

This project uses glue, chalk pastels and construction paper to create a piece of artwork that resembles stained glass. Have the kids use glue in a tipped point dispenser to draw a picture on construction paper. Just outline a general shape, like a heart, house or animal silhouette, so that the glue creates chambers of space on the page. Use pictures of real stained glass pieces to inspire the children and help them create their own picture. Let the glue dry for 24 hours. Color in the chambers with chalk pastels for a stained glass look.

Fine Art Replica

Get students interested in historical fine art.

This is a hands-on approach to teaching students about the great artists, like Monet, Van Gogh and Picasso. Provide a variety of prints of these artists' famous paintings and let the kids choose among them to find one they like. Have them make a replica of the painting, with oil pastels. This introduces students to the media of pastels, teaches them different techniques and familiarizes them with fine art. By intimately examining the aspects of intricate historical paintings, students learn about perspective, color, proportion and style. Seal the pastel painting, by spraying it with hair spray or an aerosol art sealer.

Mobile

Take a pastel painting to a third dimension. Cut out shapes from construction paper that all correspond to a theme. Themes could be anything from stars and moons, hearts of different sizes, simple circles, animal shapes or clouds and raindrops. Trace and cut out the shapes. Color them in with pastels, to give the shapes character and add color to your mobile. Make a cross out of two Popsicle sticks and glue them together. Tie four pieces of yarn to each end of the cross. Secure the yarn with glue, so it will not slip off the end. Glue your paper shapes, at different lengths, along the yarn. Add two or three shapes per string.

Pastel Portraits

Let kids draw a portrait of themselves or each other on a piece of white paper. Use black pens or markers to get a dark outline of a portrait. Use the marker to outline the face and hair, draw the eyes, nose and mouth. Place a clear sheet of acetate over the white paper, letting the dark outline shine through. Color in the portrait with oil pastels on the acetate. Once colored, remove the sheet of acetate from the white paper and tape it onto a sheet of colored construction paper. The kids will find it interesting to see their drawings without the black outline. Fill out the portraits with pastels, allowing some of the construction paper to show through.

References

• Connecticut Pastel Society: About Pastels
• Art Projects For Kids: Kandinski Oil Pastel Circles
• Family Fun: Pastel Portraits

Resources

• Arts For Life: Cloud Mobile
• Deep Space Sparkle: Chalk Pastel Flowers Art Project
• Kinder Art: Stained Glass Look-A-Like