Crafts for Lazy Parents: Chalk Impressionism

Someone once told me that my love of Impressionism was "pedestrian, boring and the mark of someone who didn't really understand ART."

To which I should have said, "Gee, you're a massive tool. Let's break up right this second."

Or at least, "You know why Impressionism is so popular and well-loved? Because it's freaking beautiful."

One of the many Monet posters in my house.

I can at least say that my love for Monet and his friends  has lasted much longer than that romance did. Anyway, I am a huge fan of introducing artists - or any subject, really - through picture books. While you can of course do the project even if your kids have never heard of impressionism, I like to tie the two together. Some books to get you started are:

 (These are affiliate links.)

Oil pastels and watercolors are ideal for letting kids experiment with impressionism. However, they are also messy and can be pretty expensive. They are not for the lazy (or maybe I should say energy-challenged?) parent.

Colored chalk and construction paper are for the lazy parent.

That totally looks like the ocean, right? Right? RIGHT?

Let kids draw whatever they want on using colored chalk on sturdy paper, like construction paper. You can talk about things that the Impressionists liked to paint - Monet with his gardens, Renoir with his portraits, Degas with his dancers - or just let the kids draw whatever. Encourage them to use lots of colors, but not to color anything in. 

The final step - the fun step - is to blend the colors together, rubbing all the lines together with your fingers. 

Probably your kid's picture will look much better than mine. 

But I still had fun making it. 

When I used to do this with classes of kids, I learned the hard way to make sure they washed their hands IMMEDIATELY after the line blurring. And to make sure to hang the finished projects in an area where brushing against them is unlikely.