What Inspires Your Art?

What Inspires Your Art? craft

Begin by drawing what you know. Buff your drawings to create rich deep artwork with extra shine!

  • 1.

    Excellent advice for all beginning artists is to write, draw, dance, or act what you know. William H. Johnson (1901-1970) began his life as an artist by copying cartoons from the newspaper. He went on to become well known for his dynamic portrayal of African-American life in the early 20th century.

  • 2.

    Johnson studied art in Europe and lived much of his life there until the Second World War forced him to return to the United States. His distinctive artistic style evolved from his experiences abroad and was finally shaped by the rich cultural life in the area of New York City called Harlem. Using 10 bold colors, he worked with broad planes of paint to capture the energy and vibrancy of time and place.

  • 3.

    On black paper, use Crayola Construction Paper™ Crayons or Twistables Slick Stix to draw a familiar scene--a still life of your cats taking a nap or a portrait of your neighbors walking down the street. Go back over the picture, applying the color very thickly. With a tissue, rub the color to give your picture depth and gloss similar to that of oil paints.