Vincent van Gogh is my absolute favorite artist, and so I was super excited that we have been able to use Master Kitz The Starry Night by Kidzaw.com to review.
The idea behind Master Kitz Starry Night is really neat. They provide the tools a kid needs to recreate a master painting – in this case, van Gogh’s Starry Night.
The Starry Night kit includes a big, glossy, poster-sized sheet full of information. Directions, trivia, and information about van Gogh are all included. There are also two paint rollers, three bottles of paint, and a large stencil. Also included (but not in the picture) were two large sheets of paper, removable stickers, and some oil pastels.
We chose to take our kit outside on one of our recent and beautiful fall afternoons. It was too nice to stay indoors, and we love taking art projects to the deck. We covered the table with a plastic tablecloth and spread out our gear. Each kid took a sheet of the paper and taped it to the tablecloth. This actually caused some problems, because the tape that was supposed to hold the paper down became unstable when taped to the tablecloth, but since it would be really difficult to use the paint rollers without being messy, we just worked with it.
While the kids worked on their art, I alternately read the directions to them, along with the information about van Gogh and parts of our current read-aloud.
The next step is to stick on six roundish circles. Then, with blue paint in a tray, you use the textured roller to paint the paper.
The paint dried quickly, so as My Big Helper finished each step, she passed the materials to her brother. We were happy to see that the roundish stickers came off the paper easily and were more than sticky enough for another use.
Then, you tape the stencil on top of the paper. With the sponge roller, you roll the open parts of the stencil. This forms the darker foreground of the painting.
This was a bit tricky, because the stencil was folded from being in the box, and we couldn’t just flip it over like we could the white paper. My Big Helper held down each part of the stencil as she painted near it, and it worked perfectly.
When the black paint dries, the next step is to use the oil pastels to fill in the white circles with yellow and orange in swirly motions. You also add shading and more texture to the foreground.
After a remarkably short time, My Big Helper ended up with this. Isn’t it great?
The Master Kitz The Starry Night was really fun to do. The tools made it easy to recreate van Gogh’s famous painting in a reasonable amount of time and to make an easily recognizable version. This would be very beneficial if you’re working with younger kids, in particular.
I also liked that the kit came with enough supplies to make multiple copies of Starry Night. Two pieces of paper were included, and there was still paint and oil pastels remaining. Of course, the stencil, stickers, and paint rollers can be used over and over if used carefully. I can’t wait to see what else the kids think of to do with them!
This it would be a great addition to a study of van Gogh. The speed of the project would allow you to make something you could easily identify no matter your age without getting bogged down in a massive art project. You can work on this kit and still have plenty of time to learn about van Gogh himself.
We did this entire project in less than a single afternoon. We were able to do this because the paint dried quickly, which it did, in part, because the kids were able to lay down single layers of paint – not puddles. If you’re working with younger kids who like to paint and leave puddles on the paper, you might want to use a hair dryer to help the paint dry faster, or to work in multiple sessions.
If you want to help your kids learn about master artists like van Gogh, Master Kitz are great options – and there are several more for other great artists. There are other lines, too, that will help you try a variety of different art styles. I’d really love to try one of the Art Party Master Kitz. They look so fun!
