Inspired by the Greats: Applying Famous Painting Techniques to Watercolor
Inspired by the November 2020 Kids Box created by artist Nicole Miyuki,
we made an alternate version for teens and adults to learn about the great artists in history in a hands-on way, too! In this blog post you'll learn what the styles of 3 famous artists were and how you can apply the same techniques to add visual excitement to your own art. The more you practice the styles of artists you're inspired by, the easier it becomes for you to develop your very own!
Before we take a look at the watercolor inspired projects, take a look at the tutorials from Nicole's box for some extra free education!
FOREVER FIELDS
What makes Van Gogh's style so unique is his use of strokes to create motion. Like his famous "Starry Night" painting, we applied short, small strokes to create movement and visual interest in the sky of this interpretation of our "Forever Fields" gouache project. In larger landscape areas, Vincent tends to go for long, wavy, smooth strokes.
VIEW original KIT
[VINCENT VAN GOGH STYLE]
[ORIGINAL]
Other project ideas to try in Van Gogh's style:
PAPAYA
Piet Mondrian is most known for his painting "Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Gray, and Blue." We took his style of using blocks of color to re-create the Papaya project! This particular technique is special because from a distance, you can't tell the image is made up of small blocks. But the closer you get, it's just shapes!
VIEW original KIT
[PIET MONDRIAN STYLE]
[ORIGINAL]
Other project ideas to try in Mondrian's style:
SUMMER SUNFLOWER
Georgia O'Keeffe is best known for her flower paintings. She simplified the shapes and forms of nature, creating a unique style that she's remembered for today. This style is a combination of abstract and realistic, allowing the way something makes you feel to influence the strokes. The key is to be lighthearted about it, using fluid strokes and hard lines between color changes.
VIEW original KIT
[GEORGIA O'KEEFFE STYLE]
[ORIGINAL]
Other project ideas to try in O'Keeffe's style:
Share your creations with us!
Join the conversations and make friends with other artists just like you in our Let's Make Art: Watercolor Facebook group!