Jackson Pollock Art for Kids

Next up in our study of paintings by famous artists is Jackson Pollock. This is wonderful way to introduce art for kids. Paintings by famous artists should be introduced to kindergarten, preschool art activities, or as art for homeschool .

I will admit, I am not very into abstract art. And in my head I am thinking – see even my kids can make a painting just as good. But I want to expose my children to a wide variety or styles without interjecting my prejudices – so I kept those thoughts to myself =-) I do have to admit it was FUN to flick and drip paint at our canvas – really fun!

Famous Artist Jackson Polluck

Jackson Pollock was an American painter and major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. He is known for his unique style of painting – dripping! He liked to make LARGE canvases where he would drip or flick paint. Although figures and shapes are not present in his art, critics say there is a lot of expression and movement. If you are not familiar with his work here are a couple examples of his art:

First we read about Jackson Pollock:

Famous Artists for Kids

Then we got to paint like Pollock! I decided it would be best to set-up outside since the idea of paint being dripped and flicked sounded messy – that was a GOOD call! If you try this (and I highly recommend you do) please do it outside with washable paint!

I set out our washable Crayola paint and a variety of brushes. They each had a large easel size sheet or paper to drop and flick on. Within a couple minutes Minnie decided she preferred traditional painting and went about painting in her own style.

Goofy on the other hand really enjoyed this style. He actually developed his own style by throwing the brush at the paper. I love his creativity and spark!

After taking some time for Goofy to become familiar with the style and develop his own flair – I gave him a canvas to create on. He loves creating art on canvas – it is more permanent =-)

Here is his final piece of art. He not only enjoyed making the art, but surprised me by really liking the pictures of Pollock’s art too.

Jackson Polluck Lapbook

We added Pollock to our study of famous artists – a lapbook from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler. We now use theses FREE Famous Artist Report Form along with whatever artist we are studying. It was more practical long term to fit more in, plus we were studying artists not included in the original lapbook.