Starry Night Finger Painting

         This project was the first of two in a unit on Vincent van Gogh.  As motivation for both of the van Gogh projects we watched a YouTube video that meshed the song, Vincent by Don McLean, with pictures of various works by van Gogh.  We discussed the common factors of van Gogh’s paintings and how they changed through the years.  After this we did a painting with our fingers on very large paper (about the size of a desk top) using Starry Night as inspiration.  Students were told to utilize the lighter colors first, and gradually add the darker colors in.  Also, they were encouraged to take their own twist on Starry Night.  In my example, I changed the city to a field and added three cows.  The key to this project is to make sure that you use large paper.  Because students are using their fingers, which are rather large in comparison to many paintbrushes, the larger the paper is, the better the outcome.

          An extension activity for this project would be to have the students write a short story on a topic of interest to him or her.  From that short story, students would create a finger painted landscape that depicts the scene of their story.

          Another extension activity would be to have students create a series of finger paintings in the fashion of various artists from different cultures.  Students would learn about each artist and how their culture has influenced his or her creations.  From this, students would create their own finger paintings in the style of the various artists.