Making the most of the sunshine

With the glorious sunshine continuing to brighten our days, The Art Room has taken lots of inspiration from the beauty and warmth of summertime. From smiling suns to vibrant wildflowers and delicate insects, our young artists have been celebrating the season through colour, creativity and imaginative making. Over the past two weeks, we have explored a range of different techniques, discovering how careful craftsmanship and a little patience can transform simple materials into joyful works of art inspired by the natural world.

Last week, as the temperatures sizzled outside, we kept things cool after school by creating cheerful, paper sun-spinners, designing four different sunshine faces full of personality before adding brightly coloured patterns and decorative details.

To complete their sunny creations, the children had a go at making their own paper beads from strips of recycled magazines. Rolling the paper around a paintbrush handle into neat little beads required plenty of concentration and perseverance, but the finished results were well worth the effort, adding a beautiful handmade touch to their unique and vibrant designs.

This week, once again, we looked to nature for inspiration as we painted bold floral landscapes set against glowing, golden summer skies. First, the children learnt how to blend acrylic paints to create a smooth ombré effect, carefully transitioning from light to dark using colours that sit next to one another on the colour wheel, to provide a rich background and the perfect setting for their summery scenes.

Once their skies had dried, the children layered colourful flowers and grasses onto their paintings using paintbrushes, sponges and cotton buds. Experimenting with different tools allowed them to create a variety of textures and marks, bringing their natural scenes to life with depth and movement.

To add a striking three-dimensional finishing touch, we revisited the acetate tracing technique we first explored earlier in the year when creating our colourful self-portraits. Choosing either dragonflies or butterflies, the children carefully drew the outline of their insects onto acetate with black pen before painting each tiny section with vibrant acrylic colours. Once dry, the insects were carefully cut out and 'released' into their compositions, where they proudly settled amongst the flowers, catching the light like little jewels to complete each sun-filled, summer scene.

The children did a fantastic job following each stage of these projects and approached every different technique with enthusiasm and care. Their patience, creativity and attention to detail really shone through and everyone should feel incredibly proud of their colourful summertime masterpieces. What a wonderful way to round off the term and celebrate another fantastic year of creativity, imagination and growing confidence in every one of our young Art Room artists!

Places for our summer workshop on 11 August and our September afterschool classes are already filling up, so reserve your place now to join in with the painting, drawing, making and - most importantly - smiling at The Art Room. Book here