Hand prints meet color! My whole family!

  This project is a great one that you and your family can do together. This was inspired by Andy Warhol's soup can prints. 

Process: First I gathered my family together, (I have six kids and a husband) and told them that we were going to do a family artwork. I explained that I needed each of their hand prints and that we were going to make a grid to fit all of our hands on the canvas. My middle son, Jude, helped me to draw and measure to make the grid the right size. After we had drawn the lines for the grid, I explained that I would have to paint one of their hands black and they would make a print on the canvas in their designated box. Then one by one, I painted their hands, they painted each others and soon we had all the prints except for my husband who despises getting dirty. We coerced him into letting us paint his hand and finally we got his hand print on the canvas. 

   When the black paint had dried, we started to discuss color options. We started mixing different colors together each on our own paper plate. Then two kids at a time, began painting around their own hand print. I discussed complementary colors and analogous color combinations that were visually appealing before they chose their specific colors. A few of the colors needed a few coats or needed to be retouched at the end. I was pleased to see the variety of colors and textures created by the kids and how the colors they chose expressed their personality. While we were working, it allowed for time to talk, and the kids enjoyed expressing their opinions about colors and which ones would look good next to one another. As each child finished their painting, they discussed how it added to the final piece until each hand print was complete. A few colors were altered after some discussion due to various visual observations. Here is an image of the final piece. Now I just have to decide where to hang it.