Last month we celebrated Thanksgiving. During the Thanksgiving holiday, friends and family give thanks (say thank you) for the people they love. Many people also like to eat delicious food together for Thanksgiving. Some bake pies with fruits, such as apple, cherry or blackberry.
This painting is by the artist Marsden Hartley. He painted a still life of fruit. A still life is a painting or drawing of a group of objects that don’t move (food, flowers, books, etc.). What fruits do you see? Are they red, green, or yellow? What is your favorite fruit?
Now it’s your turn to make a work of art with delicious foods. Let’s use fruits and vegetables to paint fall leaves.
You will need:
- Large sheet of paper or poster board
- Nontoxic washable paints in various colors
- Paper plate for a palette
- Assorted cut produce (apples, broccoli, potatoes, corn, etc.)
- A brown marker or strips of brown construction paper
- Glue
- Protective table covering (plastic tablecloth or newspaper)
- Wet wipes or damp cloths for quick cleanups
To paint leaves with your foods:
- Cover your work surface with paper for easy clean-up.
- Arrange your strips of brown construction paper to create a tree trunk with branches on your large sheet of paper. Glue down the strips of paper. You can also draw your tree trunk and branches with a brown marker.
- Place small amounts of washable paint on a paper plate.
- Let your toddlers choose cut fruits and/or vegetables and dip them into different colors of paint.
- Help them dab the paint-covered produce all around the tree branches, creating different shapes and sizes of fall leaves.
- Once finished, let the paint dry and admire your work of art.