Blue Dogs Everywhere!

I have long had an appreciation for Louisiana cajun artist George Rodrigue (1944-2013), famous for his colorful and graphic blue dog paintings.  Here is a short video about him if you're interested.  

My 7-12 year old students in homeschool elementary classes and Afterschool Art Club created their own giant blue dog paintings, complete with unique backgrounds.  I walked them through the steps of drawing a blue dog, first in their sketchbooks, and then enlarged onto 12x18 thick paper.  We taped off the edges so we would get a crisp white frame in the end.  The kids used bingo daubers filled with India ink to create a bold outline around their dogs, then they used acrylic paints to add bright colors.  We talked about color choice to create contrast and visual interest.  What a fun project!  Check out the slideshow of their work.