Mixed Media and Expressionist Landscapes

Are you looking to brighten up your creative space this winter? Well, you have come to just the right place! My students created these fun, mixed media landscapes inspired by German Expressionist Artists. I love the use of color and bold patterns that is expressed on their canvases.

This project requires lots of little hands creating many smaller parts to create a larger mural.

Create Painted Paper Houses

These are made from old placemats we use when painting. Cut painted paper scraps and glue down to create windows, doors, etc. Small round brushes and black tempera paint create the outlines around the windows and doors.

Create Blue Skies

Another class created bold, brushstroke laden skies. Lots of color mixing and movement can be found in these beauties. The paper is large 36″ display bulletin board paper.

Create Monochromatic Green Grasses

Using a ruler and pencils, students divided up a brown 18″ x 5′ long piece of paper. Next, using large brushes, students painted in the shapes with various shades of green. Consider mixing in white and blue into the green paint to create tints and shades of the green paint.

Once dried, glue the sky and the green painted ground together. Have students cut out small details and glue down.

Chalk and Tempera Paint Clouds

These Clouds are perfect for an added touch to the mural and only take 30 minutes. On a 6″ x 9″ drawing paper, sketch out a puffy cloud. Using chalk pastels, lightly shade the cloud in with one color. Next, outline the cloud using bright, colorful tempera paints.

Creating Trees

Don’t forget to add some fun trees to your landscape mural. These were created by my younger artists.

First, create triangles and stack on top of each other to make a tree. Next, use tempera paint and fill in the triangle shapes. Stamp the edge of the tree with the edge of a piece of cardboard and a darker color paint to outline the tree. Use oil pastels in various shades of green and create little lines to represent the needles of the tree.

Enjoy creating your colorful landscape!