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Kandinsky's Colors

Children will be inspired by the colors in Kandinsky's artwork to create a colorful painting of their own.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was a Russian painter who said that color directly affects people's emotions. He also had something called "synesthesia" which is a condition in which one sense triggers another. Kandinsky actually saw colors when he heard music and heard music when he painted. Show some examples of Kandinsky's colorful paintings such as his "Squares with Concentric Circles" or "Composition IV." Ask children how the colors make them feel. Does yellow radiate warmth as it did for Kandinsky? Do certain colors make them feel happy? Excited? Anxious?

  • Step 2

    Have students create a colorful piece of artwork using images of Kandinsky's paintings as inspiration. Then can draw images with crayons and then fill in the images with paint. Encourage them to use colors that are meaningful to them.

  • Step 3

    When their work is dry have them present their art to the class and talk about the designs and colors they chose and why. Ask them to solicit feedback from classmates about how the colors made them feel.

Standards

ARTS: Speculate about processes an artist uses to create a work of art.

ARTS: Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches.

Adaptations

Music played an important role in Kandinsky's painting. Play some snippets of various music styles - perhaps some upbeat jazz, delicate classical, and twangy bluegrass. Have children color along as each style plays. Then have them look at their drawings and note how the images and colors changed when different music styles were played.

Play a music and art movement game. Give every child a large sheet of paper and have some music cued up. Tell students to start coloring when they hear the music. When the music stops they should stop drawing and move over to the drawing of the person to their right. Then when the music starts again they will add to that person's drawing. Continue for a few rounds and then admire the collaborative artistic creation.