Superhero Cityscape Art Project with Van Gogh

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I knew my kids loved superheros, but I definitely underestimated how much they would love making these Superhero City-scapes inspired by Vincent Van Gogh!



Besides being a fun art project, these superhero city-scapes were an introduction to a new famous artist, a fantastic fine motor skill exercise, and a wonderful creative outlet.  Each child had their own "narration" to tell about their art work as they created it and when they finished!


We began by sharing a picture of "a famous painting," Van Gogh's Starry Night.  The kids loved talking about the techniques they could tell he used to create a fun visual effect.  I told them that we would be using pastels to create a sunrise special effect similar to Van Gogh's.  I was totally inspired to make a swirly background after I saw this kindergarten art project, and I knew my kids would love tying it in to superheroes!  





After they made the background, I invited them to use black, red, yellow, and orange construction paper to create city buildings, windows, or whatever else they wanted to include.  This was where their creativity really began to shine!

My son explained that his swirls were actually portals that bad guys were using to sneak into his city!  He used buildings on the right side of the page to represent the mayor's office and home, and a black strip near the middle to represent a volcano!  Eventually he added a black "cloud" at the top of the page too.



Check out the fine motor work here!



My daughter, who is a little older, explained that she was so inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night that she wanted to create more blended swirls, landscapes, and a barn (instead of sky scrapers).  So much of art is personal expression and creativity, that I encouraged her to make it however she wanted!



Eventually everyone finished, and we "mounted" their masterpieces on black construction paper and hung them on our wall!  If you do a similar project, be sure to include a circle time or group moment when everyone can share their creation.  Truly, hearing their narratives was one of my favorite parts of this project!






Do your kids love superheroes?  What kinds of superhero activities have you done?


This year I'm joining a fantastic team of bloggers to share activities that are appropriate for 2nd graders!  Once a week, this team will bring you fun, interactive, hands-on activities and printables that are perfect for this age group!  Mine will also all be easy to adapt for kiddos from PreK - 3rd grade, since those are the ages I work with!  This week the team is bringing you loads of "Superhero" ideas!  Check them out:
Super Hero States of Matter from Look! We're Learning!
Super Math Skip Counting from Sugar Aunts 
Superhero Pattern Stones from Rainy Day Mum 
Super Hero Reading Logs from 123 Homeschool 4 Me 
I am a Super Hero! Writing Prompt from Creative Family Fun 
Superhero Contractions Memory Game from School Time Snippets 
Superhero Cityscape Art Project with Van Gogh from Preschool Powol Packets 
Super Hero Self Portrait from Still Playing School




I may share at any of these parties!



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Comments

Kristina said…
Such a fun project!
August 20, 2015 at 8:51 AM
Unknown said…
What a fun idea!!!
August 20, 2015 at 9:20 AM
Unknown said…
I love this! I would never have thought of mixing art and superheroes!
August 20, 2015 at 1:19 PM
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