In the Style of Vincent Van Gogh

In Grade 2, we have enjoyed looking at some of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings. He used vivid colours and wild brush strokes to express how he was feeling when he painted. This term, different people have helped us to use pastels, paint and computer software to create our own pictures in the style of Van Gogh. Take a look at our slideshows to see our work.

We read books about Vincent Van Gogh and learned about his life. This book was really good and told about his life through the eyes of a boy called Camille who lived near to Vincent.

Van Gogh made his paintings seem alive with colour. His colours were so bright and beautiful you can almost smell the flowers he painted, or feel the bright sun. His brush strokes give everything a feeling of movement. Trees, stars and people feel alive.

Krys Mann came in to help us to learn how to use the art computer software, Painter, to create some Van Gogh pictures. She showed us how to use special brushes and encouraged us to paint with vivid colours, just like Vincent did. We used a stylus pen to help us. It was tricky at first but we soon got the hang of using them. See our creative computer pictures on the slideshow below:

We have also created our own ‘Sunflowers’ paintings in Art class. Vincent often used the oil paints straight from the tube! We used powder paint. They are not as bright as the oil paints that Vincent used but it was fun to mix up the colours we wanted. We used a variety of brushes and different strokes to create the flowers in our own unique arrangements. Watch a slideshow below of our sunflower paintings and see us busy at work:

Etosha, a past student, came in to help our class while we were using the pastels to create ‘The Starry Night’. We really tried to use wild strokes and to mix colours to capture the swirling wind and bright stars, just as Vincent had. Take a look at our drawings in the slideshow below:

This a ‘You Tube’ video of ‘The Starry Night’. We really liked watching this and seeing all the different versions of this famous painting. Which one is your favourite? Listen to the words. The song is actually written about Vincent Van Gogh.

This is a PowerPoint Presentation to download with lots of Van Gogh images. Do you recognise the music again?

If like us, you feel inspired, why don’t you have a go at creating your own painting in the style of Van Gogh. Here are a couple of websites that let you paint online:

Paint ‘The Starry Night’ online.

Create a landscape painting in the style of Van Gogh.

Or you can explore his work and have an adventure and as you get sucked into a Van Gogh painting. (Good for older children)

Van Gogh is such an exciting artist – we have really enjoyed learning about him! We hope you have had a good time looking at our work.