Big & Bold Self-Portraits by Ks and 1s

For the past two weeks the kinders and first graders have been working on their big and beautiful self-portraits using chalk and/or oil pastels. These can be very messy materials but the children have persisted - despite fingerprints, smudges, and pink, chalky shirtsleeves.

To begin, we learned about what makes an artwork a self-portrait (a portrait made by the artist of him or herself) and how that is different from a portrait (made by the artist of somebody else). We looked at some self-portraits by Frida Kahlo and Vincent Van Gogh. We talked about what we noticed in these self-portraits and how the artist could have made them. 

Next, the children each selected a flesh toned pastel to use while they followed along with me as I showed them how to make a big "U" for the face, and half-hearts for the ears. We talked about the other features we needed to include - football shaped eyes with circles inside them, an upside down "7" for the nose, and a line or crescent shape for the mouth.

The hair proved the most challenging because hair can be extremely varied. I showed them that hair can have a shape - from how it sits on the forehead to the top of the head and down past the ears - we looked at each others' hair and the shapes that we saw. The children did their very best to try to capture all of their unique personal details!

Once the main features were in place, including a neck and shoulders, the children got to coloring. They were encouraged to fill in all of the white, outline their head and features, and make it their own!

I love each and every one of these lovely self-portraits!