10 Edward Hopper Art Projects for Kids
Learn about celebrated American artist Edward Hopper and his love for landscapes with these fun and easy Edward Hopper art projects for kids.
“If you could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint.” ~
What Edward Hopper said above is another way of saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. For instance, look at the painting Nighthawks below. What do you see?
At first glance, you see a diner with four people inside. However, when you take your time to analyze the painting, you’ll notice more details about each person, including that one man seems to be quite lonely. The street is deserted, and other shops are shut, indicating this is probably quite late.
We can go on and talk about each person in detail as well as the street, but you see how much a seemingly simple picture tells us! That’s the magic of American artist Edward Hopper‘s work – the amount of detail is just incredible!
Hopper is considered one of America’s top realist painters, and his work focused mainly on landscapes and scenes from American everyday life, particularly diners, motels and gas stations. His work often had a melancholy, isolated feel – very unexpected for someone born and brought up in New York!
Since July is the artist’s birth month, it’s a great opportunity to learn more about his life and work, with these fun and interesting Edward Hopper art projects for kids.
10 Edward Hopper Art Projects for Kids
1. Edward Hopper Step-by-Step Tutorial
Edward Hopper realized he loved art right from childhood and went on to study art at the New York School of Art. He was impressed by French Impressionist artists like Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet. This led him to develop his signature style focusing on the movement of light and shadow, as well as solitude. This tutorial from Art Projects for Kids tries to recreate that feel with a solitary lighthouse and a house, seemingly in their own worlds.
2. Edward Hopper Lighthouses Art Project
Hopper painted many lighthouses, the first of which was Squam Light. It was probably the loneliness of the lighthouse that attracted him, watching as the ships sailed by. Party in the Art Room helps us explore light and shadows through this painting project.
3. Edward Hopper Art Lesson
If you examine Hopper’s work, you’ll find that most of his subjects are either scenes of American life or landscapes, particularly seascapes. His seascapes are quite popular, featuring rocks, lighthouses and sailboats in great detail. This project from Meet the Masters examines these subjects, using multiple techniques such as paint and paper collage.
4. Edward Hopper Transportation Art
Edward Hopper was attracted to boats from childhood. In high school, he planned on becoming a naval architect, building models of sailboats and ships. In fact, his first signed oil painting was Rowboat in Rocky Cove and the first painting he sold was Sailing. Painted Paper Art helps us celebrate this aspect of Hopper with this mixed media project.
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6. Painting with Edward Hopper
Hopper put in a great deal of effort before starting out on a painting project. He made notes about every aspect, making rough sketches of the same. He was particular about how to place each element in his painting so that there was balance. Tinkerlab encourages us to try it too, by adding details over Hopper’s work.
7. Edward Hopper-inspired Houses
If you look at most of Hopper’s iconic paintings, you’ll notice that most of them are quite dark, with lots of shadows and dark tones. This probably happened after his trips to Paris, where he studied Rembrandt and was impressed by its dark palette. Doodlebug Dabblings tries out some dark tones in these house paintings inspired by Edward Hopper.
8. Edward Hopper Lighthouse Watercolor
Hopper worked with a variety of mediums to create watercolors, oil paintings, etchings and pencil sketches. He also worked as an illustrator – a job he hated but had to do because he needed an income! Use these Edward Hopper art projects for kids to mix techniques, like Susie of All Trades has done here.
9. Edward Hopper Tempera House Painting
Edward Hopper loved painting houses, particularly Victorian mansions. Art for Small Hands shows us how to create our own house painting with tempera paint. As for his own house, it is now on the National Register of Historic Places and is both a tourist destination and a community cultural center.
10. Edward Hopper Pencil Cases with Stickers
Edward Hopper knew early in life that he was going to be an artist, and he even wrote “Edward Hopper, Would-be Artist” on his pencil box! Learn Play Read celebrates that ambitious spirit with a fun pencil case project for little kids.
Many artists’ lives are quite dramatic, with lots of controversies and eccentricities. However, Edward Hopper lived a normal, quiet life with his wife Josephine. He was quite the introvert, and didn’t even like talking about his art; when asked, he simply said “The whole answer is there on the canvas.” We hope these Edward Hopper art projects for kids have inspired you to find your purpose on the canvas too!
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