Picasso Tinted and Shaded Self-Portrait

Pablo Picasso's Blue Period, in which he painted only blue paintings of sad subject matter, is a good example of how an artist used color to reflect his feelings. Ask children to think of the different feelings associated with colors before they choose the main color for their self portrait. 1. Students draw a simple self-portrait with pencil on a heavy piece of paper. It's a good time to review the basic proportions of the face (eyes in middle of oval, nose halfway down, etc.) They trace the pencil lines with a black Sharpie marker.
2. Students choose one main color - red, blue, green or yellow are good.  Distribute this paint on a paper plate with a little black and white. Students can mix many variations of the main color by adding a little of each color together on the plates.
3. Students fill in each area of their drawing with a different color of paint. If some paint is watered down enough, they can paint over the black lines.
4. The entire face and background is painted and let dry. When complete, black lines may be traced again to make them stand out.