Back to School Portrait

I like art projects that combine drawing and writing. This is a chance for students to write about their summer, and draw themselves for their first art class. 1. On 11" x 17" paper, students lightly drew a simple outline of a body, saving room at the bottom for their names. 2. Next, they add clothes and details to the body to reflect how they looked during the summer, or the first day to school. All the lines were traced with a black Sharpie marker. 3. Students use a ballpoint pen to write in the background a description of what they did that summer. This is to be done quickly, and if they make a mistake, they should just cross it out and keep going. The goal is to not worry about making things perfect, just filling the space. 4. Lastly, pass out liquid watercolors and have the kids paint all of their picture. Once again, if colors happen to run into each other, just let them go, accidents can look pretty cool sometimes.