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Published in the United States of America.

Published By:

Crystal Foth | Fine Art Mom

Contact: [email protected]

Pasadena, California, 91107

www.FineArtMom.com
 Pablo Picasso Self Portrait

In this project we are going to create our own self-portrait from construction paper
inspired by Pablo Picasso.

So who is Pablo Picasso?

Let’s find out...

Who:

Pablo Picasso was born Pablo Diego José

Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de
los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad
Ruiz y Picasso on October 25th, 1881 in
Málaga, Spain. Now isn’t that the longest name
you’ve ever seen!

What:

Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor,

printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet, and
playwright.

Easy Art Project For Kids: Pablo Picasso Self Portrait FineArtMom.com Page 1
 When:

Picasso was born on October 25th,

1881 and lived until April 8th, 1973.

Where:

Picasso was born in Spain but spent

most of his adult life in France.

Why:

Picasso was an amazing modern

artist. He was the co-founder of the
famous Cubist art movement in the
early 1900’s.

During this time period, some artists

looked at their subjects in new ways
and re-created them using different
shapes and angles.

● Cubist paintings use

blocks of shapes and
bright colors.

Picasso’s father was also an artist

and art teacher.

You can say that art was a part of

Picasso’s life from a very early age.

Picasso was a very realistic painter

(that means you can recognize the
subject matter), before his art
became more abstract (that means
you might not be able to recognize
the subject of the art).

Abstract art might just be lines,

shapes and colors. You may or may
not recognize what subject the artist
is depicting.
Easy Art Project For Kids: Pablo Picasso Self Portrait FineArtMom.com Page 2
 Our inspiration piece for this art project is this painting:

Woman Turned Right from 1934.

If you notice, her eyes appear to be looking

forward, while her nose and mouth appear to be
turned to the side. You can see both angles of her
face in one painting! Cubism at work!

This portrait is a great example of the use of large

shapes and blocks of color to abstract the woman’
s face.

The added details like the lines in the background

and the outlined shapes add another layer of
interest to this painting.

So let’s get started...

Supplies needed for this project are:

● colored paper (construction or card stock)

● pencil
By using our affiliate links to art
● scissors supplies, we will receive a small
commission of your purchase.
● glue sticks Thank you for your support.

● oil pastels

If you do not have oil pastels, you can also use:

● markers
● crayons
● paint pens
● various drawing supplies

Oil pastels are opaque so they show up nicely on

any color, but any drawing supplies will do!

Easy Art Project For Kids: Pablo Picasso Self Portrait FineArtMom.com Page 3
 ● Next step, ask your child to draw
a self-portrait.

Tell them to have fun and be creative

with their drawing.

The less realistic their drawing is, the

better for this art project.

We’re taking a little journey into the

world of abstract art and Cubism for
this art project!

We will be using the drawing of the

portrait as a template to cut out shapes
to recreate the portrait in colored paper.

● Make a photocopy of the

drawing if you’d like to
preserve the original drawing.

● To “abstract” our portrait, cut

around the shapes and separate
the drawing into pieces.

● Next use each piece of the

drawing as a template to trace
each shape with a pencil on the
colored paper of your choice.

Be bold pick bright colors!

● Once you have all of your shapes

traced, cut them out with
scissors.

Keep track of each shape as you cut

them out so you can easily recreate
your portrait with the cut pieces of
paper.

Easy Art Project For Kids: Pablo Picasso Self Portrait FineArtMom.com Page 4
 Now comes the fun part!

● Pick one sheet of paper to be the base for the cut pieces to be glued on.

The color doesn’t really matter since most of this sheet will be covered with the
cut pieces of paper.

Now it’s time to put our portrait together again.

● Arrange each piece so you have them in the right places.

● Coat the back of each

piece of paper with a
glue stick and attach it to
the base piece of paper.

Start with the largest shapes

along an edge first then fit the
other pieces with that one.

Voilà!

Now it’s
on to the
final step
to add
some fun
details
with oil
pastels.

Easy Art Project For Kids: Pablo Picasso Self Portrait FineArtMom.com Page 5
 Time to make your portrait come alive!

Oil pastels for children are a

great alternative to crayons.

They blend smoothly, add

bright colors and add fun
texture to your artwork.

Oil pastels show up better

on darker paper because of
their opaque quality.

● Add colors, textures,

details, outlines,
anything you’d like
your final artwork.

Take some cues from your

inspiration piece…

● Are there any large

areas you’d like to
color in a different
color?

● What patterns and

textures can you add
to the background?

● What personal details

can you add to make it
look a little bit more
like you?

Have fun and let your

imagination take you
for a journey exploring
Cubism and abstract
art!

Easy Art Project For Kids: Pablo Picasso Self Portrait FineArtMom.com Page 6
 Your finished artwork!

Frame your work and proudly display it. I hope you had fun with this project and
learned some interesting facts about Pablo Picasso.

Easy Art Project For Kids: Pablo Picasso Self Portrait FineArtMom.com Page 7
 About The Author

Hello! My name is Crystal Foth. I am a mother,

artist, and teacher who has worked in Fine Art
education for the last 17 years.

You can find me at FineArtMom.com, where I

share my creative pursuits and encourage other
creatives to do the same.

I believe everyone can achieve their artistic

dreams with the right instruction and guidance.

The wonderful world of art and creativity is for

everyone!

You can read more about me at FineArtMom.

com/about-me/.