Free Robot Monster Printable!

My son will be two at the end of September.  When  I tried to get him dressed this morning, he kept saying no to every shirt I pulled out.  "Robot!  Robot!  Robot!" he repeated.  I guess he has reached that age where the only shirt he will wear is one that has a robot on it.  Unfortunately, he only has three robot shirts and two are sweatshirts.  It is a super hot day here, so those are out of the question.  The other robot shirt is in the laundry.  I made a good case for the monkey shirt- and he finally agreed- although he definitely was not happy about this.

So in honor of my little robot lover, I decided I needed a robot monster.  (The above robot monster is only my working sketch- I will reveal my finished little robot monster later).  I generally begin all of my monsters with a quick hand drawn sketch before sitting down and working on the computer.  My daughter liked the sketch- and asked if she could color it.  I made a quick copy and she was very happy.  Of course, she made the electricity coming out of the rabbit ears into a nice princess crown.

I thought- maybe somebody else out there would like to color my robot too!  So, I made a pdf file that you can download.  Just click the monster below!

Happy Coloring!

Artist Series- Basquiat

So, I have been out of commission for a while.  Between teaching, being sick, working my regular job, and taking care of sick children- life has been hectic... which really is pretty much usual.  Fortunately, the class I teach is almost over- and my life will resume to its slightly less hectic state. 

Although I have not been blogging as of late, I have been making art into the wee hours of the night.

I figured it would be a good time to talk a bit about what I have been doing!

I have been working on my artist monsters!  I have been having so much fun researching artists and their images and incorporating them into my little creatures.  I also have had a great time using the monsters to teach my daughter a little about the artist that each monster is inspired by. She definitely has her favorites, and it has been wonderful to see how our aesthetic is so similar.  I want to find ways in my posts to share a little about the history of the artist and what images inspired my creature.  I also want to share possible ways that we can create fun directives to make the artist come to life for our children. 

I will start by introducing one of my newest little monsters, King Basquiat!

 

This little monster is inspired by  

Jean Michel Basquiat.

 Born on December 22nd, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York.  His father was Haitian and his mother was of Puerto Rican descent.  He was a super bright child, who could read by age four and loved making art. Jean  Michel spoke French, English, and Spanish by the age of 11.  Although he was a gifted youth, he had a difficult childhood.  He was hit by a car when he was seven, his parents became separated, and he ran away from home at age 15.  He always made art, and would sell his art as a means of taking care of himself.  

Jean Michel Basquiat's imagery is child like, bold, and full of emotion.  It often can remind the viewer of his start as a graffiti artist.  Other images look as if they have been drawn on a chalkboard.  His trademark is a golden crown.  His artwork can be found in collections all over the world.  Sadly, his life was always somewhat troubled, and he died at only 27 years old in 1988.  Here are some of my favorite images.

There is a beautiful children's book with a poem by Maya Angelou and illustrated with the artwork of Jean Michel Basquiat called, "Life Doesn't Frighten Me."  Definitely worth checking out!

 

Ideas for next steps

1. One thing that I love as an art therapist, is learning about artists who really used artwork as a means of working through emotions or as a means of support.  Basquiat is one of these artists.  Teaching children about how art can be used as a coping strategy is an excellent way of helping kids deal with their own emotions.
2. Use black construction paper or black canvas and oil pastels to have your child draw their own "Basquiat" inspired imagery. 
3. Basquiat painted lots of postcards that he would send to his friends or sell on the street.  Have your child make a postcard and send it to someone they love.  Help them put the stamp on it and put it in the mail! 

That's it for now!  Promise I will write again soon!

Meet Grrr nica- Picasso monster!

I decided that for my newest set of monsters, I would take my inspiration from artists that I love. I actually love a lot of obscure artists, so decided that it would probably be better to choose artists that I love that others love as well:-)

It is a lot more difficult than I thought to create a monster that others would recognize as inspired by Picasso- but I had a ton of fun trying. In the end, this little monster is one of my favorites.
My favorite Picasso painting is Guernica, which is a pretty tragic painting to inspire a fun piece of child friendly art... but I think I managed to capture the bull figure a bit in my horns and eyes.

I also knew I wanted to include Picasso's signature striped shirt.

So, do you think I captured him in my little monster?

And if you haven't entered my giveaway for February,
please click the link and leave a comment.

Winners will be announced on February 28th!
Thanks for visiting!

Giveaway,,,

Leaves of my tree is a great little blog that is hosting a lovely giveaway for a set of alphabetty monster prints and an adorable little owl from make more friends. They are so totally cute. So please stop by and check it out the blog and all of the giveaways!

The set of four prints that I am giving away are for four monsters of your choice- personalized in whatever way makes you happy.

I love grouping my monsters based on who I think would be friends. My latest grouping involves "adventure monsters". In this set is adventure monster, birdie monster, rocket monster, and one of my favorites- snorkel monster:-) But you of course, can choose whatever four monsters you want!

And soon will be the One World One Heart Giveaway- so check back at the end of the month!

Valentines Day Cards!

I am so excited to have finished my first set of valentines day cards for my ETSY store. I really wanted to use my little monsters, because I felt they were well suited for the holiday with their little heart tummies. You can click on the picture above to check out the listing. I am planning on making a set for myself and giving them out at work and to the kids I work with:-) I remember when I was young, I would always get so anxious around Valentines day because I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea just because I gave them a valentines day card that read, "Be my valentine" - so I tried to make these less romantically exclusive, if you know what I mean.