Art With Ms. Klubeck: Starry Night (with a twist!)

Art level: Middle School
Materials required:

2 worksheets given prior to project for practice
Black construction paper
Oil Pastels (they were encouraged to use cool colors)

Concepts taught: Line design, balance and mood

Ahh, Starry Night. This is one of my absolute favorite Van Gogh pieces. I always thought it would be cool to make a Starry Night piece but to do a rendition on it. So, for my art internship at Ringwood Public Library last semester, I had my middle schoolers approach this piece in a different way. I call this, Starry Night (with a twist!)

Students were asked to examine Van Gogh's Starry Night painting, and then create their own masterpieces. They did not have to recreate the original piece. Instead, they were allowed the freedom to replace elements of the picture with something completely different. For instance, they could get rid of the big tree on the left and make it into a whole new landscape. After practicing different line variations that are present in the piece (swirls, broken lines, etc), the students were to think about how to incorporate Van Gogh's line design into their Starry Night pictures. So, while the students could change the scene, they still had to include Van Gogh's line variations and 11 stars.

This is the worksheet they worked on prior to starting the project. We experimented with expressing various moods through pattern/color. They loved this.

Then, I provided students with a "movement" worksheet to practice line. They traced over an existing pattern and added to it.

Then, they got started on their Van Gogh pieces in pastel. Needless to say, I was completely impressed by how well these kids were doing. Mind you, they're only 11!


This student consistently refused to use color. However, we were using oil pastels on black paper so he HAD to. He ended up pushing himself and doing really well! I love the illumination affect from this one.