Picasso — Face in the Mirror

Julie Haight
Mark West Elementary

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Subject: Art

Grade: 2

Description: Students will learn about the art style of Pablo Picasso and do a self-portrait in that style.

Supplies:

• large print of ‘Girl in a Mirror’ and other Picasso prints
• 1 sheet of 12" X 18" black construction paper for each student
• 1 box of 12 oil pastels for every 2 students
• samples of steps involved and finished drawings

Background information: Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was one of the most famous artists of this century and was always trying new and different ways to paint people and things. His style changed many times during his long life. Picasso had a great imagination and was never afraid to try new ideas. He loved bright colors and enjoyed mixing things up a bit. Sometimes it looked as if the people he painted had their faces and body parts in the wrong places. You might be looking at a front view and a side view at the same time (refer to print). The nose is where the cheek is supposed to be. One eye is looking in the opposite direction of the other eye. One side of the face is a different color than the other! We are going to be creating our own Picasso portraits, using ourselves as models. This is called a self-portrait.

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Procedure:

1. Draw an oval shape of your head. Use a white or light-colored pastel. Try to fill up as much of your paper as you can with the oval and do not press too hard on your pastel.
2. Draw either a right or left profile view (side view) down the middle of the face.
3. Draw the front view of an eye on the front view side and draw a side view of an eye on the profile side or go wild and change the shape and placement of each eye. Maybe you’ll put one near the forehead and the other closer to the nose.
4. Draw the mouth. Change its normal shape and size. You can make one side smiling and the other side frowning.
5. Make a crazy hairstyle. Draw each hair to show its direction. Make each side a different color.
6. Color in all parts of the face and hair. Color each side of the face a different color. Experiment! Picasso did!
7. Outline every line with a black oil pastel. This will make the features stand out.

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© Deborah Padrick 2003