Starry Night Printable Book & Art (Van Gogh Study)

I believe that some of the most open-minded individuals when it comes to art are children. And I believe that art is a means for expression, understanding and acceptance of other cultures, as well as a visual chronicle of history.

Now I have a confession to make.

I have been TERRIBLE at exposing my son to fine art. I have no excuses. I have a degree in art history. I worked in an art museum. Heck, I even gave tours there as a volunteer docent. I don’t know what my reservations have been, but it’s time to end the shame and begin sharing some of my dear friends – legendary artists from around the world – with my son. This is my first attempt.

It was inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting. I have seen pictures of it a thousand times and it still leaves me breathless. When I went to the library to look for children’s books about it and left empty-handed, I felt defeated. Not to be thwarted, I made my own book as an introduction to Vincent Van Gogh.

My son fell in love with making books when he was in kindergarten. He still loves it. As he read the Van Gogh book, he asked me, “Is this a library book?” Flattered, I answered “no.” He responded, “Good. I can keep it.” YEAH! My efforts were worth it! (To make your own copy of the book I made, download and print the first three pages, flip the stack of papers over and download and print the remaining pages on the back. Put the pages back in order, fold in the middle, and staple on the fold.)

I had a few goals with the book:

• To show my son where Van Gogh lived (notice the small painting of Holland on page 2).
• To explain why he painted the way he did (using color to portray emotion).
• To get my son thinking about how colors can convey feelings.
• To help my son recognize that there are many variations of each color (e.g. there are hundreds of yellow colors).

He read the book, completed the pages that required it, and then I showed him the painting that inspired our activity in a book I had. Next, he made his own starry night picture.

Supplies:

Marker/colored pencils

Dull lead pencil

Sytrofoam tray (think ground beef or chicken packaging)

Small rolling pin wrapped in cling wrap (or a brayer)

Acrylic paint

Aluminum foil

Gluestick

White paper

First I had my son draw a village, street, or city at the bottom of a piece of paper. Then I gave him the Styrofoam tray and told him to use the dull pencil to draw on it the night sky and how he felt about nighttime. (My son just learned about space in school so he is still full of awe.) His sky had many shapes. I had to admit, it wasn’t at all what I expected. He drew big circles for planets and asteroids. He even threw in a comet. It was space-tacular!

When he was done, we squirted some blue and black paint onto a sheet of aluminum foil and ran our covered rolling pin through it and then over the tray. When it was totally covered in paint, we flipped it over and pressed it onto white paper. It revealed a mirror image!

Then we cut out his streetscape and glued it below. Voila! My son’s own Starry Night was complete!

Want to explore the connection between color and emotion further? Share My Many Colored Days with your child. This untraditional Dr. Suess book is one of my absolute favorites for talking about feelings!