Inspired by Modigliani
I've always loved the paintings of Modigliani so was delighted when Tate Modern announced its big exhibition of his work. I recently visited, which was fantastic, and came away inspired to run an after school class based on his work.
Children ( and adults) often find portraits the most challenging type of art work and sometimes get nervous about making a start, and upset when it doesn't look just like the person they are drawing. However, with these stylised portraits there wasn't this fear as we weren't trying to create a truly realistic image. After a good look at Modigliani's works and discussion about his style each child had a mirror to look into whilst creating their own self portrait in the artist style. They loved using the chalk pastels and the colourful backgrounds really made their pictures come to life. These pictures were created by 5-8 year olds.
