“Every child is an artist…The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” ~ Pablo Picasso. Have you experienced this? We have. Our older children are sometimes reluctant to join us in art times. Why is this? I think children and adults need encouragement now and then when it comes to being an artist. Here is help for reluctant artists.
Finger painting with Earth Paints
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Here are some some ideas that might get you and your artists going:
Place Art Supplies Within Sight
- Get all the supplies out. Start doing the art project yourself. Or draw something yourself. Don’t say anything to the children. Just let them notice. And more than likely they will join you.
- I’m going to brag on Phyllis again. I love how she encourages her children in her post, Making School Something With Which They Look Forward.
- Speak to the stomach – get a favorite snack and make it a tea time treat. Put your snack right in the middle of the table near your supplies. Making art inviting goes a long way.
Pick Favorite Subjects and Practice
Let your children paint their favorite characters like Angry Birds art fun!
- My Blue Boat (Teaching Art with Multiple Ages)
- Pete the Cat
- Madeline
- Lentil – shadows and facial expressions
- Cat in the Hat (acrylic tutorial)
- Peter Pan (acrylic tutorial)
Make Art a Habit
- Sketch Tuesday topics offer weekly practice in building art skills. We have found these prompts fun to get the creative juices flowing.
- Just practice.
Try a New Medium and/or a New Resource
The feel of a paintbrush just might refresh the child that is used to crayons. Glue, glitter, mixed media. Declare a day of art so the mess is all during one day and no one has to stop what they are doing. We’ve even been inspired with paint with water pages!
Get Feedback
Your student might enjoy entering art in contests.
- Art for Homeschool – an online art show for homeschool students “Any homeschool student 5 through 18 years old can enter the art show.” We’ve enjoyed this so much!
- Organize an art show in your local homeschool group or co-op. (Pictured above, our Homeschool Expo from last week. Each of those sticky notes on the photos and art entries are notes from the judges – feedback, tips, encouragement!)
- State Fair – our state fair has categories for young artists to enter for all media. Ours offers ribbons and cash prizes!
Be Inspired by a Study of Great Artists
One of my favorite quotes from our Inspirational Art Quotes series!
Many a time we look at a piece of art by a famous artist and we are amazed. We look at the artwork another day and notice something else. Maybe we imitate the style of the artist. Learn a little about shading, perspective, light. Simply seeing great works of art can inspire and encourage reluctant artists. How blessed we are by Harmony Fine Arts plans for art and music appreciation (read my full review at The Curriculum Choice). This resource has grown a habit of creating art into a love of art appreciation. I believe that being an artist and studying great artists go hand in hand.
Barb McCoy, author of Harmony Fine Arts and Handbook of Nature Study, will be visiting and will speak more to this tomorrow – don’t miss it!
The spring hopscotch series is brought to you by these lovely ladies…
Be sure to click over to see all the wonderful series of Spring Hopscotch posts by iHomeschool Network bloggers – 280 posts in all!
- Day 1 – What is an Artist?
- Day 2 – Just Practice
- Day 3 – Paint Landscapes
- Day 4 – Name Every Picture
- Day 5 – Paint Simple Shapes of Fruit and Vegetables
- Day 6 – Art in Motion Waterfall Chalk Pastel Tutorial
- Day 7 – Wear Your Art
- Day 8 – Help for Reluctant Artists
- Day 9 – Nurturing Your Artist in High School by Barb McCoy
- Don’t miss any of our You Can Be an Artist series – subscribe to Hodgepodge!
- Just add chalk pastels and paper for a whole year of tutorials! Browse the store at chalkpastel.com
What’s your best tip for helping reluctant artists? Do you know of an art contest for budding artists to enter?
There are a lot of good advise packed in this post! We have let art drop off our platter this last difficult year, and I have sure seen the difference. Art does inspire creativity in all areas. Thank you for this great advise!
Phyllis – you have had a lot of taking care of YOU that has needed to happen. Thank you for being such an inspiration. I’ve said it before but you are the perfect example of celebrating every day. Pull out the paints and enjoy!
Such great advice, Tricia! This is an area we had neglected in the past, but I have been much better about including art in our home this year. It definitely has made a difference and your point about having the supplies ready makes a huge difference. I have a bag that has our most basic supplies and all I have to do is grab it and some paper and we are ready to go! Thank you for the reminders about the different opportunities to showcase artwork and receive feedback.
I have so enjoyed your Artist Series the last couple of week…thank you!
Oh I love your practical tip – all your basic supplies in a bag – just grab it and add paper. Perfect! Thanks for your sweet words – so happy this series has been a help! I’ve loved seeing the artwork you and your boys have done too!
Yes, we have found that once the kids get a little older we need to encourage them more, provide more variety of art experiences, and just keep at it. Even though my children are all older, I still see them creating art “just for fun” but you can’t push it. I like to create the opportunities and then support them as I can.
Great post!