KIDS: Life-Size Self-Portraits
Self-Portrait, F.M. (2020)
Portraiture month wrapped up with a big way for kids to get involved in portraiture. Art for kids often involves sitting at a table and focusing hard on using those fine motor skills. Which is great! But you'll be amazed at what gets unlocked in children when art gets BIG. Take their art into the gross-motor category with this creative exploration by creating a life-size portrait, and see what happens when kids can use big impact movements on the page. This creative exploration is great for kids of all ages, and is an easy activity to set up and clean up.
SET UP
All you need is a roll of paper, and the colorful medium of your choice. For the ultimate no-mess, high-impact experience, I recommend tempera paint sticks. They are so satisfying to use. Creamy and highly pigmented, they pack a punch of color and are dry to the touch in 90 seconds. They are water-based, so they wipe up easily from surfaces if anything goes off the paper. For this exercise, I also love watercolor cakes. This is a reduced-mess option from mixed watercolors, and you can even use a watercolor brush pen to avoid having to have an open cup of water. All you need to do is dab the brush on a sponge to clean it off before dabbing into the next color. For REALLY little ones, and for kids who need adaptive materials, my personal favorite is crayon eggs! They last so long, and are easy to grasp with the whole hand.
If you’re in need of supplies, you can shop my recommended products by clicking the images below:
Roll out your paper on a clear space on a hard floor, and make sure the paper is long enough to fit your child’s whole body. Tape down the corners (and a few spots along the edges if needed) with washi tape or drafting tape so as not to tear your paper when you remove it. Set up your colorful media beside the paper, and you’re ready to get creative!
GETTING STARTED
Have your child lie down on top of the paper. I like to do this without shoes, as it’s gentler on the paper and prevents tearing. Give your child the option of lying straight or striking a pose! Keep in mind that if your child wants a pose with arms raised, you will need a longer paper than if they were to pose with their arms down. Using a colored pencil or crayon, trace the outline of your child. This is a fun part of the process, and I find that they often want to talk about their poses or if it tickles or if they’ve traced their hands before. When tracing feet, it can be helpful to trace the shadows their feet make, as they will not be lying flat to trace. This also avoids any involuntary kicks from it being too tickly. Sometimes the tracing aspect can provide opportunities to highlight aspects of the portrait, for example, the way their clothing lays or the texture of their hair.
TIME TO GET PAINTING!
Once you’re done tracing, it’s time for your kid to stand up, see their outline, and get to work! Some kids will want to create a realistic portrait down to how their clothes look that day. Others will want to create a portrait that does not adhere to realistic colors and shapes. This is part of the fun! This portrait is snapshot of this moment in time, both in terms of their size and their self-expression!
Kid Art is often Process Art, which means that the exercise itself is the creative expression. Sometimes these pieces are ones that stay around in our homes for a while, and sometimes once they are completed, they have served their artistic purpose. If you choose to hang up your child’s piece, these make great additions to the door of a child’s room, or can be hung in any area of your home as you would with any other art.
The first time I did this creative exploration with my oldest daughter, she was 4 years old. She asked me to paint her skirt (with very specific instructions) and she painted the rest. I loved the result so much that this piece is framed in our dining room. We've made many portraits since, and this first one will always hold a special place in my home.
Self-Portrait, F.M. (2020)
I hope you consider trying this creative exploration with the kids in your life! I’d love to know how they (and you!) found the process! Be sure to leave your takeaways in the comments <3
