Tag Archives: Painting with Straws to Make Crazy Critters and Much More! Another Fun and Easy Art Project for Kids

Painting with Straws to Make Crazy Critters and Much More! Another Fun and Easy Art Project for Kids

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This week we’re going to use straws to make Crazy Critters and so much more–combining a little drawing with straw painting to make:

Fuzzy hair for a Happy Clown, Fabulous Feathers for a Peacock, a Lion’s Colorful Mane

Supplies

  • Construction-type paper, pencils, scissors, etc.
  • Runny paint, either watercolors (add lots of pigment) or add some water to tempera paints
  • Containers, brushes, spoons, paper towels, etc.
  • STRAWS

Let’s get started with Crazy Critters

  1. Use a spoon or loaded brush to put a puddle of paint on your paper
  2. Use your straw to blow the paint in different directions  Note: It works best if you get down and blow ACROSS the paint puddles
  3. Add more paint as needed
  4. You can add different colors and let them blend
  5. Let dry and add details to make creatures

Now draw a Happy Clown and give him or her Fuzzy Hair!

  1. Draw a circle for the clown’s face
  2. Use smaller circles and curvy lines to finish his face
  3. Use straight lines and another circle shape to draw his hat
  4. Apply paint puddles around the sides of the clown’s head  Note: it’s best to apply the paint on just one side at a time as paint dries quickly. This applies to the peacock and lion, too. Apply the paint and blow it outward in  small sections at a time.
  5. Use a straw to blow the paint outward to create Fuzzy Hair for your Happy Clown!
  6. Let dry and color the clown’s face and hat

 

Now draw a Peacock and add Fabulous Feathers

  1. Draw a small circle for the peacock’s head
  2. A little below the head draw a larger circle for its body
  3. Connect the head and body with curvy lines for a skinny neck
  4. Use curvy lines to make small wings on each side of the body
  5. Use straight lines to draw long legs and some toes
  6. Working gradually around the body and head, and sometimes changing colors, apply paint puddles and blow these outward to create the Peacock’s Fabulous Tail!
  7. Let dry and color your peacock’s body

 

Now draw a Lion’s head and give him a Colorful Mane

  1. Draw a longish, curvy circle for the lion’s head
  2. Draw 2 small circles and dots for eyes
  3. For its nose draw 2 straight lines down from the eyes
  4. A ways below the eyes connect these 2 lines with a roundish nose
  5. On each side of the nose draw a circle for the lion’s cheeks
  6. Finish the lion off with curvy eyebrows and ears
  7. Working gradually around the body and head, and sometimes changing colors, apply paint puddles and blow these outward to create the Lion’s Colorful Mane!
  8. Let dry and color your lion

For this last picture I went back and added more yellow paint to the lion’s mane and only blew it out a little to create a fuller mane than the original one.

Molly and I are sure you can think of other creatures to draw and add paint to with your straw. How about the blowing mane of a running horse, or wings for a butterfly?

It’s lots of fun to experiment with Straw Painting!  And you can use any left over paint to make more crazy critters!

Molly and I hope to see you right back here next Friday for Another Fun and Easy Art Project for Kids!

Meanwhile, go back and try this Mother’s Day project from a post on May 11, 2019, for a great Mother’s Day project titled Children’s Art Project for Mother’s Day, Inspired by Monet’s Love of Flowers

 

 

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