Kids' Pop Art: Andy Warhol Paint Prints

Andy Warhol is from Pittsburgh. So am I. While I’m not exactly the artist he was, I did spend the summer after college working at the Andy Warhol Museum. During that time I got to meet – or at least look at – celebs that came in to visit. These included Jason Priestly (Brandon Walsh from 90210), Andrew McCarthy (who doesn’t love Pretty in Pink) and Captain Stubing from the Love boat.  Oh yeah, and I got to hang out with some pretty cool pop art too.

 

Just because you might not have a real Warhol work for your little one to look at doesn’t mean that your child can’t take a view at some pop art. Print out a pic from an artsy website, get a reproduction poster or check out a book that features the artist.

Have your child sit down with the art and tell you what she sees. Look at Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans, Marilyns, Flowers or Cows. Show your child several different prints from each series, asking her to compare them and tell you what is like and what is different. You can also delve into the “celebrity” aspect of pop art. Your child might not know who Marilyn Monroe was, but you can explain that she was a very famous actress. Ask your child who she thinks is famous now or who she thinks Warhol would use for his artwork. Chances are you’re going to get a cartoon answer such as Dora, Anna from Frozen, Cinderella or Thomas the Train.

After looking at, and talking about, the art – it’s time to make some!

What You’ll Need:

·         Colorful construction paper

·         Tempera paints

·         A pencil or pen

·         A paintbrush or (if you have one) a brayer/roller

·         A thin foam sheet—Instead of buying one at the craft store, I used the bottom of the styrofoam that my grapes came in. Do not use the styrofoam container that your meat or chicken comes in. Even if you clean it, the container could still harbor harmful bacteria.

·         A craft stick – I used a popsicle stick instead. Or rather, reused it.

·         Scissors

·         Colored chalk

 

What You’ll Need to Do:

1.      Choose a theme. Your child can pick a “famous” person – yes cartoon characters are allowed – or go with a nature theme such as flowers (like Warhol used). Or, she can come up with her own idea.

2.      Cut the foam into a square or rectangle printing plate. I like to use a roughly 5x5 inch size for this art activity, but you can choose whatever size fits your needs. Cut the construction paper
      to the same size. Make at least four pieces.

3.      Your child can draw her chosen picture lightly on the foam plate. She only needs to include outlines. Make sure that she doesn’t add letters or numbers, as these will appear backwards on the final product.

4.      Have your child draw over the pencil lines with the bottom edge of the craft stick. She’ll need to turn it on its side, pressing down to make an impression in the foam plate. Remind her that if she presses too lightly the print won’t work, but if she goes all of the way through she’ll have a hole in her artwork.

5.      Paint or roll one color of tempera over the whole plate. While it’s tempting for your child to press the paint into the lines she’s made, doing so will make the print one solid mass – and won’t allow her drawing to show up.

6.      Press a piece of construction paper on top. Have your child pat it down. Make it musical and have her pretend the paper and plate are drums. Let her make her own rhythm, patting the paint-covered paper down.

7.      Remove the construction paper to reveal the print.

8.      Rinse the tempera off of the plate and repeat the steps with different paint and paper colors. Don’t worry if you don’t get 100% of the paint off. A little leftover paint equals color mixing!

9.      After the paint dries, have your child add extra details or color in parts of the prints using colored chalk.

10.  Line the prints up or (optional) glue them onto a piece of poster board in a series.

 

If you’re looking for more “famous artist” activities check out and follow my Pinterest board!

 

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