Poof Dogs

Kindergarteners examined several dog portraits painted in the 1870's by French Impressionist Edouard Manet. This was not only a subject that our young artists readily embraced, but the children also admired the way Manet captured the texture of animal fur, and even the character of each dog, in his brushstrokes. To make our textured Poof Dogs, students used large watercolor wash brushes to dab tempera paint onto their paper, first making a circle for the head, then adding a cone shape for the dog's neck and chest. The following week, students repeated the same painting technique, using smaller brushes this time, to add eyes, nose, and a collar. For a finishing touch, the children chose a name for their dog, which Ms. Cramer printed onto a metallic paper dog tag.