Drawing Picasso Cubist Faces with Oil Pastels for Kids

I Introduced my middle school students to the groundbreaking art of Cubism through this engaging project inspired by Pablo Picasso. Students used oil pastels to create Cubist-style portraits, while learning to deconstruct and reimagine the human face using geometric shapes and bold colors. This lesson encouraged creativity, self-expression, and abstract thinking.

National Art Standards Covered:

1. Creating: Students will explore different techniques using oil pastels to create unique Cubist portraits, reflecting their own artistic decisions.

   • VA.1.7a: Develop skills with art tools and materials while creating expressive artworks.

2. Presenting: Students will present their Cubist portraits and discuss how abstraction allows for multiple perspectives and interpretations.

   • VA.1.7a: Analyze how art reflects and influences history, culture, and society.

3. Responding: Students will critique their work and reflect on how Cubism challenges traditional artistic forms and communicates emotion.

   • VA.1.7a: Explore how visual imagery affects perception and understanding of the world.

4. Connecting: Through the study of Picasso and Cubism, students will connect art history with modern self-expression and creativity.

   • VA.1.7a: Understand art in historical and cultural contexts, applying this knowledge to personal creations.

Studio Habits of Mind:

1. Develop Craft: Students will practice blending and layering techniques with oil pastels, honing their skills to create a textured, dynamic look.

2. Engage and Persist: Cubism pushes students to think critically and persist through the process of transforming realistic forms into abstract compositions.

3. Express: The fragmented style of Cubism allows students to explore self-expression in new ways, using shapes, lines, and colors to convey complex ideas or emotions.

4. Stretch and Explore: This project encourages students to take creative risks, experimenting with how abstract art can break conventional norms.

Why Cubism is Ideal for Middle School Students Middle school is a time when students are developing their own artistic voice and starting to question traditional ideas. Learning about Cubism offers a fresh perspective on how art can represent reality in abstract, non-traditional ways. Through this project, students gain the freedom to explore ideas beyond realism, using geometric shapes and unconventional colors to express themselves.

This lesson also fosters critical thinking, as students learn to break down objects into their most basic forms and reimagine them from different perspectives. Working with oil pastels encourages hands-on creativity, making this an engaging and immersive experience. Introducing Cubism in middle school allows students to see that art can be as much about ideas and emotion as it is about form and representation.

Yes, we used oil pastels and blended with the trick of Q-tips and baby oil to make a smoother blending experience. By middle school Picasso has already been taught to most, but to me it is a quick review and I focus on the process of using oil pastels and different techniques in the layering of this medium.

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