I made this colorful canvas art to add to my kitchen decor...
(Yes my kitchen is accented in crazy bright colors. That's how I roll.)
The idea stems from an artwork by Russian abstract painter, Wassily Kandinsky - "Color Study: Squares with Concentric Circles."
I like to use this painting to get my little art students to experiment with shape and color. It's a fun project. The results pack a great visual punch, but don't require a ton of skill. If 3- to 8-year-old kids can do it, you can too! Here's how...
Supplies:
Canvas - Mine's 8 x 10, but any size will do
Pencil
Ruler
Assorted acrylic paint - I just used 10 different colors of craft paint. (I was too lazy/cheap to bust out the good stuff.) It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive.
Mod Podge (or whatever clear coat you like).
Start by drawing a grid of squares right on your canvas. You can make them as big or small as you like, with however many rows/columns as you want.
Next, just start painting circles within circles!
(They don't have to be perfect, anything circle-ish will do.)
Seriously, it's that easy.
Sometimes I started in the center and worked my way out.
Sometimes I started with an outside ring and worked my way in.
Whatever floats your boat.
And after I finished each set of circles, I filled in the background square.
If you make a circle you don't like, let it dry and come back to it later.
Acrylic paint can be painted over...it's pretty forgiving.
But - you may find that a circle you thought you hated ends up looking great once you see it with all the rest. So don't stress. The "imperfections" are what make it interesting, I think.
Once your paint is dry, paint the sides of your canvas. (I went with black, but you can't really tell in the photos.) Then give it a clear top coat, and you're done.
It's a fairly quick project that can be customized with ANY color scheme. And it's super kid-friendly. (You could have each child do his/her own version and hang them all together in their bedroom or playroom. That would be so cute.)
And you don't even have to use a canvas. I normally use watercolors on watercolor paper with my art students. Then you could just throw it in a frame. So many possibilities!
