Drawing Lesson: Starry Night Reproduction

The classical way to learn to draw is to copy the great masters. This practice builds confidence and broadens the student's style. Try a close up of Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night" in soft or oil pastels. Good for students ages 8 and up.

The supplies for this lesson are included in the following Masterpiece Kits:

• Multimedia
• Multimedia Junior
• Soft Pastel

Lesson:

Vincent van Gogh was the first Impressionist painter to not just paint what he saw but what he felt. For this reason, he is called the "Father of Expressionism", which was a movement that took place after him.

Print off a copy of this painting to use as a reference while you draw.

Directions:

1. Choose a section of the painting that interests you and cover up the rest with a couple of sheet of blank paper to isolate the composition. (The moon on the top right is a favorite choice for many students.)

2. Lightly sketch in the big shapes of the objects that are in this section with the pencil onto the colored paper. Don't go into too much detail.

3. Working with one small area at a time, look closely at the photo reference and observe all of the colors that van Gogh used to paint that area. Pull those colored pastels out of your set.

4. Fill in each area with "heavy strokes" or "dashes" in the colors that he used. Be sure to follow the direction of his strokes. Don't just randomly fill the page.

Here are examples of this project in both oil and soft pastels:

Oil Pastels	Soft Pastels

© Karine Bauch 2006. All rights reserved.

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