Thursday 31 May 2018

"Draw like an Artist: Pop Art" by Patricia Geis (Princeton Architectural Press)

We're always huge fans of books that introduce kids to art and artists, particularly stuff they may not have seen before...
As my daughter grows up she's inheriting some of her old man's love of art so was delighted to see "Draw Like an Artist: Pop Art" by Patricia Geis.

Patricia's previous book for children (based around self portraits) was a huge hit with us too (you can read our original review here) so let's get up to date with the wonders of Pop Art.

As an emerging movement in the 1950s, but with its roots delving into surrealism, modernism and other early 20th century art movements, "Pop" art was always designed to embrace the ideas and culture surrounding an increasingly 'throwaway' society obsessed with consumerism, the media and fame.

Patricia's book introduces children to 18 artists and their art through a series of fantastic and engaging activities to draw, paint or make.

Pop Art and Andy Warhol, go together like canned soup and crusty bread. 
The book provides a potted history of the artists and their most famous works of art (which is vital for encouraging kids to perhaps begin their own learning journeys by dipping into other resources and online info to satisfy their curiosity). The book also provides resources, sketch pages and collage materials for kids to use in their own works of art.

Roy Lichtenstein. An artist I obsessed over as a lowly art student myself
One of the great things about this book is the fact that it can comfortably work for a wide variety of age groups, and perhaps form the basis of classroom exercises based around these artists.

Utterly fantastic, and superbly presented as we've come to expect from Patricia and Princeton.

C's best bit: Learning more about Andy Warhol and David Hockney.

Daddy's favourite bit: A chance to practice a bit of Lichtenstein-style Comic Strip art.

(Kindly supplied for review)

"Draw like an Artist: Pop Art" by Patricia Geis is out now, published by Princeton Architectural Press.