Mary Cassatt is an American impressionist painter who focused her work on the relationships between mothers and children. Not only is her work touching and inspiring, but also her life was as well. She overcame many obstacles in order to pursue a career as an artist-including the misconception that women’s jobs were strictly inside the home!
Celebrate this important woman in history with an activity that you can do with your child. She’ll create a painting that demonstrates a special moment between mother and child, such as Cassatt’s painting entitled La Toilette, 1891. This painting will tap into her creativity as it shows her a new style of art. And, this framed masterpiece makes a great Mother’s Day gift!
What You Need:
❑ Canvas (any size)
❑ Pencil
❑ Acrylic paints (suggested colours: titanium white, cadmium red, cadmium yellow, pthalo blue, pthalo green, burnt umber or burnt sienna)
❑ Paintbrushes (small, medium and large)
❑ Container of water to clean brushes
❑ Paper or plastic palette to mix paints
❑ Small spray bottle of water
What You Do:
- Before your child begins his piece, he must plan it. He can do this either by brainstorming and sketching scenes from his childhood, or he can pencil directly onto his canvas. However, if she chooses the second option, make him draw very lightly and erase carefully as he should avoid too much pencil or eraser residue on the painting surface.
- Make him set up the canvas where he’ll be able to leave it for a few days. Make sure it’s a room that doesn’t have things that could be easily ruined by paint, such as the garage (without cars!). He should also dress in clothes that he doesn’t mind getting a little messy.
- After he has planned out what he will draw, make his pick out all of the colours needed for the painting and place a quarter-sized drop of each colour onto the palette.
- Begin painting! Acrylic paints have many different shades of each colour and different colours have different tones, so he may need to experiment by mixing colours to choose what is best for the piece. Mixing colours can be challenging, but these tips will help you get started:
❑ Red and yellow make orange
❑ Yellow and blue make green
❑ Blue and red make purple
❑ Red, yellow and blue can be mixed to make a skin tone. Add white to this mix to make a lighter skin tone, or add more blue or a brown to make a darker skin tone. - As he works on his masterpiece, be sure to wash the brushes as he changes colours and soaks them in water between uses. Acrylic paint dries quickly, so be sure to spray the palette with water if it sits out for more than 30 minutes or if you notice it starting to become sticky and dry.
- Invite him to work on his painting at his own pace, taking breaks if needed, until he feels that it’s done. If he gets frustrated, take a look at Mary Cassatt’s work for ideas about shading and colour choice, or have a look at the real-life photos of people and children to help guide his painting.
