The boys love to paint, and have been wanting to paint canvases rather than just watercolor paper. Our home is filled with my paintings, and they love the depth and texture of that vs. paper. So today, we created hand print paintings on canvas. They turned out great - and the boys are very proud of their very own artwork now hanging on the wall.
We started with 6" square canvases. My boys are small, so these were just the right size for small hands. If you have an older child, get a bigger canvas.
We traced each hand on their canvas, and then using oil pastels, the boys carefully colored them in. When done, I outlined their drawings clearly with an oil pastel to help the image pop in the next step.
The boys then painted over the image, using good quality watercolors (I don't believe regular cheapie puck watercolors would have enough pigment for a canvas). The oil pastel drawings resist the watercolor, so the boys could paint all around them, and the hand image remained as well.
After they dried, I used a water based acrylic varnish (optional) over the top to preserve their artwork. We then hung the paintings in the boys room. They are so happy! Great for Father's Day too...
what we used: canvas | oil pastels | watercolors |
Those are AWESOME!!!! I've got a little canvas that Lo can do-we're gonna do that on thursday! How cool-thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI see a father's day gift in this!
Oh those are so cool!
ReplyDeleteI wish I did more artwork with the girls. What treasures the handprint paintings will be. :)
This is absolutely brilliant. I love the texture and tactile feeling of canvas too.
ReplyDeletePretty sure we will be trying this soon. May I use the tutorial on CVK with a link and credit to you?
Robin - I'm flattered. Of course, yes, please use it! :)
ReplyDeleteThose paintings are such a great idea. Your boys should be quite proud.
ReplyDeleteWell done arty family!
ReplyDeleteoh my...these are so incredibly fantastic...what a great piece of artwork to hang on your walls.
ReplyDeletedefinitely going to have to give this a try...oh how lovely it would be to have my boys' hands hanging on our walls.
thanks for sharing the tutorial.
Those are gorgeous! This has been on my list for my daughters to do so we can have some extra art around the house. I've been stumped on what kind of paint to use so thanks.
ReplyDeleteOh Denise, these are great! I will make plans to do this project when we begin to decorate Owen's new room.
ReplyDeleteoh, I love this. A great way to capture those tiny hands!! We might have to do this for Father's day.
ReplyDeleteDenise,
ReplyDeleteThese are simply amazing. My husband prefers childrens art to anything in the world, and looking at these I can see why. I'm not crafty/creative but I'm doing this project.
OIl pastels? Check.
Canvas? Check.
Watercolors? Check.
Kid? Check
Time today? Check.
Thanks so much!
Funny, your first commenter said exactly what I was going to write: Those are AWESOME! I am going to do this with my kids.
ReplyDeleteLisa
You really have a wonderful sense of color. I love all the art projects you do with your kids. What a rich and cultured childhood you are giving them! So inspiring for what I can do with my own kids!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I love these! The colors are fantastic. What a treasure for mom!
ReplyDeleteI did my kids not too long ago, even though most are grown. 21-16-8year olds.
I did a black background with white hand prints on canvas boards.
I love them.
Those are gorgeous! I would love to make one with my little one.
ReplyDeletecool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJen
I just love the wooden table that you always have for projects you are working on. May I ask where you bought it, and is it unfinished wood?
ReplyDeleteIt's gorgeous!
What a fun project. I think we will give it a go too. What a treasure those little handprints will be to you when your two little boys are grown men.
ReplyDeleteLOVE LOVE LOVE this idea. I did it today w/ my kiddos. I posted a bit about it tonight, but will put the official post after I have sealed and hung them. :) (I'll provide a link back to you too!) Thank you for so much inspiration!
ReplyDeleteFabulous. I have a rather dumb question--does the canvas come already stretched across the frame?
ReplyDeleteFantastic idea- they look great- we will definitely try those!
ReplyDeleteOK, I ADORE these hand print canvases!!!! What a great idea. We are going to do this just as soon as I can get to the store and get some canvas. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome ideas - I will definitely be making some as Father's Day gifts!! Once I make them would it be okay to give you a blogshout out by including a link to your blog?
ReplyDeleteWow! That's so great! I love it!
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful project to do with your boys and they turned out great! A treasure for life. Thanks for sharing your project, I'm slowly catching up from my holiday, hope you're doing well!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful idea...Xxx
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful -- we are totally making these! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy @ Let's Explore
Oh my goodness, those are awesome!!! We've got to try that! I usually trace my kids' hands on a stepping stone for the garden each year (and paint it). This is a great idea to bring it inside!
ReplyDeleteWOW! Those are such beautiful keep sakes I will just have to try those out with my three! I love your blog and all of the wonderful beautiful things you do with your family:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful keep sake/work of art to hang on the wall. I will have to try this out with my three. Thank you so much for sharing all of the fantastic things you do with your family!
ReplyDeleteWe are not an art family past crayons and cheap watercolors :)
ReplyDeleteI did this project yesterday with my 7 yr old, 4 yr old, and 2.5 yr old...LOVE IT!!! So wonderful! I have teenagers that thought this was a bit childish, so the compromise is that we are doing a family one for the living room to frame with everyone's prints!
Thanks for the wonderful idea!
What a nice project!
ReplyDeleteI love this project! We are going to make them for fathers day to hang in daddy's office.
ReplyDeleteThank you, for your comments and for posting this technique. It is really great technique for a kid that still feels more comfortable with colored pencils and crayon. ( I tried to leave a note before, but it was not taking.)
ReplyDeleteI posted pictures of our completed handprint canvas on my blog www.mythoughtswhilelearning.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThanks again so much for the wonderful idea! We also did your pansy paintings with my daycare kiddos...so great to USE my pansys that I love that are starting to wilt away with the heat!
Oooohhh, I love these! You have inspired me to do more art with my boys.
ReplyDeleteI did a version of this yesterday with my kids and it (we did one large canvas) came out BEAUTIFULLY. I love it! One question -- when we painted over, the pastels smeared a ton, it's actually part of the beauty, but I'm wondering why ours did that and yours did not. Any guesses?
ReplyDelete"mom" - not sure why that would happen - if you use pure water based watercolors and oil pastels then water and oil shouldn't mix. I have seen dozens of posts from families who have made them and haven't seen any that have smeared yet.
ReplyDeleteDid you do it outside where it was really hot so that perhaps the oil pastels were very soft/melted? Or in the sun?
I am an art teacher among other things and I am so blessed by this idea. What a gift you have!!!!! You should pass this on to magazines, esp. Mary Engelbreits as it is just too wonderful for words! Keep those ideas coming!
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm a daycare provider, and was looking for some good ideas for my kids to do for their fathers. I already knew I wanted them to paint something on canvas (I paint myself, so I have all the supplies), and this is awesome! Thanks so much for posting this. :)
ReplyDeleteMy husband and children made this for me for Mothers Day, do the oil pastels dry or does the varnish harden/seal them? I love them! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWe have made a canvas per year to show hand sizes getting bigger as my boys get older, and I have not had any smearing (they have been hanging on my walls for years), but even with the layer of varnish the oil pastels could smear (depending on how thickly they are drawn) if you rub them hard up against something. Just be gentle. :)
Very cute!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to let my kids make these for their new shared room. So wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI repinned a pin on pinterest for this project, and have thoroughly enjoyed finding your blog from it. I pinned several other activities (all link back to your blog) and wanted to make sure that is okay with you.
thanks for sharing your lovely kid-friendly crafts!
My twin 4 y/o boys just made these for their grandmother's 60th birthday. She is going to love them. They look awesome! Thank you:)
ReplyDelete