Exploring Line: 2 Art Projects to Try

Welcome to Art Club. My name is Holly. I’m an artist and homeschool mom of 3, and today, I am going to show you two fun, easy, inexpensive, and engaging art projects you can do at home with your kids or in the classroom that will teach them all about one of the 7 essential elements of art: line.

Watch my YouTube video for an even better visual example and a bonus project that can serve as a fun ice breaker for students!

In my previous post, I explained how the 7 elements of art are like the alphabet of the visual language and are essential to know if you want to crack the code of the art world and begin to be able to understand and interpret fine art.

Line is the first element of art. You know that a line connects one point to another. Lines can be straight or curved, thick or thin, short or long, solid or dashed. When you hear an art historian or artist talking about the “quality of the line” that’s what they’re referring to - the physical qualities of the lines in a work of art.

So let’s dive into two fun and easy projects you can do today with materials you probably already have around your home or classroom.

Let’s start with what I think is the easiest version: an action painting that mimics the style of Jackson Pollock.

For this project, you’ll need:

• A baking sheet with a lip or a cardboard box big enough for your paper to fit inside

• Mixed media paper or another heavyweight paper

• Liquid paint of some kind – acrylic or tempera works well

• A muffin tin to hold the paint

• A marble or two

• A paper towel and water

• Painter’s tape

• A spoon (optional)

STEP 1

Again, start by taping off the border with painter’s tape. This isn’t necessary, but I find it’s an easy way to elevate a project from merely a craft to something that looks more refined. And that always feels good.

STEP 2

The next step is to tape our paper down to the tray or the bottom of the box we’re using, so that it doesn’t move.

STEP 3

Choose your paint colors and place them in your muffin tin. A muffin tin from Dollar Tree is one of my favorite ways to hold paint when doing art projects with kids! It gives them clear boundaries, it’s cheap, and it cleans right off.

Now, we’re not using a brush to paint this time – we’re using marbles!

STEP 4

Place a marble into one of your paint wells and roll it around so that it gets completely coated with paint. Use the spoon to lift it out of the paint and place it on your paper.

STEP 5

Take your tray or box and roll it around! Roll it gently so that it doesn’t spill over the sides. My kids did this project and even my 4-year old was able to keep the marble on her tray. But if you are worried about the marble slipping away, a cardboard box with larger sides also works really well for this.

STEP 6

You may need to re-coat your marble from time to time. That’s ok. When you’re finished with one color, rinse off the marble and repeat the process with the next. Keep going until you’re satisfied with how your composition looks, then set it aside to dry.

When it’s dry, peel off the tape and admire your action painting.

Painting this way reminds me of the action paintings that Jackson Pollock made. His paintings were made using house paint that he dripped onto the canvas as it was spread out on the floor of his barn! They were chaotic and emphasized the action and performance of painting. Here's a gallery of his images if you’d like to take a look.

This is such a fun project. The lines we make are so unpredictable and have such interesting texture. Do you see any similarities between yours and Jackson Pollock's?

Our second project mimics the artwork of Piet Mondrian.

For this project you’ll need:

• Something heavier than copy paper to paint on. I used watercolor paper.

• Paint of any kind

• A muffin tin or ice cube tray to hold the paint

• Painters tape

• Washi tape (if you have it)

• A paintbrush

• A cup of water and a paper towel for rinsing the brush

STEP 1

Start by taping around the border of the paper with your painters tape. Next, take the washi tape and place pieces all over the canvas of your choice. It doesn’t really matter where you place these pieces of tape – I made rectangles, but you could make triangles or other designs! The areas covered by tape will “resist” the paint and remain the color of the canvas or paper.

(Note: this can be difficult for very young children, so it may be a good idea to pre-tear several pieces of tape, letting the child place them on the paper.)

STEP 2

Once your tape is placed where you want it, start painting. Dip your brush into your first color and paint a portion of your paper.

I used the primary colors – red, yellow, and blue, plus black and white – like Mondrian did. But you can use any colors you choose!

Remember to rinse and dry your brush before switching to a new color.

STEP 3

When it’s dry, carefully peel off all of the tape – including the border pieces. If any paint starts to grab the paper, try peeling it from the other direction.

When we look at Piet Mondrian’s work, we see that he used line to divide the canvas into grids of color. He used both positive and negative space to guide our eyes around the paintings, and he emphasized pure, unmixed colors, shape, and line in his work.

How is your painting similar or different from Piet Mondrian’s paintings?

I hope these projects have inspired you to explore line with your students! I would love to see your finished projects – my Facebook group is the place to post those.

I also have a completely free digital download that covers each of the 7 elements and provides examples in renowned artworks, helpful visuals, definitions, and more.

Thanks for joining me today!