In this Frida Kahlo Inspired Portrait, students create their own self-portrait while incorporating pets and plants while learning about this art master.
Grade Level
4th, 5th, 6th – The examples in this lesson are by 5th graders
Objective
In this Frida Kahlo Inspired Portrait, students will create a re-imagined art piece of themselves resembling art made by Frida Kahlo.
Time
3 – 60 min lessons
Materials
- Pencils
- Crayons
- Black Sharpie Marker – Sharpie Permanent Marker, Fine Point, Black, Pack of 5
- 9×12 Watercolor paper – Canson (100510941) XL Series Watercolor Pad, 9″ x 12″, Fold-Over Cover, 30 Sheets
- Brushes – Acrylic Paint Brush Set, 1 Packs / 10 pcs Nylon Hair Brushes for All Purpose Oil Watercolor Painting Artist Professional Kits
- Liquid Water Colors – Sargent Art 22-6010 10-Count 8-Ounce Watercolor Magic Set
- Or this mini version for homeschooling – Sargent Art 22-6210 10-Count 4-Ounce Watercolor Magic
- Kleenex for blotting paint
Inspiration/Artist
Frida Kahlo
Instruction with Questions
Day 1
Watch the following YouTube clip. It amazingly morphs many of Frida’s famous portraits into one video.
Frida Kahlo Self Portraits – Morphed
There is also some fascinating information about the life of Frida on Widewalls.
Discuss the common items in all of Frida’s artwork. Did you notice the plants, flowers and animals? Why do you think she used them?
Give students additional background on her life. Take caution when showing her artwork from videos. Many sites will reference the darker artwork she created which includes nudity and blood. I did not include them in this post.
Photo
I took photos prior to beginning this lesson.
Copy each photo onto the bottom of an 8.5×11 piece of copy paper and print them in black and white. Here you can see the color version. You may notice the amount of white space at the top of the image. This shows how far down on the copy paper the image appears. Once it is printed, the image will be cut out and glued to the final paper.
In a window, students will tape their watercolor paper on top of their printed image and lightly trace around their head and shoulders. This will help them determine where to have animals pop out.
Day 2 and 3 as needed
On the portrait black and white copy, using multicultural crayons, have students color their skin, hair and eyes. This will add a neat effect. Cut out the head from the copy paper and save for the end.
Students create animals inside the lines they traced on the watercolor paper. This will help it look more organic with the animals layered behind them.
Ask students to include three or more animals in their final image. They should include large branches, flowers and leaves. The plants and animals can frame the page and allow for some sky to show. Once everything is drawn in pencil, students can trace over it with sharpie marker, and colored with crayon.
After the animals and branches are colored, students paint the sky. Once the paint dries, the portrait can be glued on top.
Here are some finished Frida Kahlo Inspired Portrait pieces!
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