The web is the most splendid of resources for art imaginable. For the first time it is possible to view full colour examples of almost any artwork you can think of. You can draw online, or download a wonderful array of 'printables' from the web to colour in offline.
VIRTUAL COLOURING is a great way to introduce children to the Internet, mouse manipulation, the use of menus and general computer use. Here are some online colouring-in sites to enjoy.
http://www.kidpix.com/kid_paint.html
KidPix itself, is a wonderful introductory drawing program, which can be purchased and used offline. Using this program children can create virtual drawings. (Image 2)
This program is probably one of the best investments to make in software for Primary school students, as it contains many types of drawing tools and can be used from Preschool through to Year 6
COLOURING.COM is a rather dull looking site, the initial screen is just a list, however, there is a huge range of images here and they can be coloured in online and then emailed to a friend or downloaded and printed out. http://www.coloring.com/pictures/choose.cdc
COLOURING FOR KIDS There is so much to do on this site, you will never run out of possibilities. It's bright and colourful and kid friendly. http://www.coloringpage.org/
ART KIDS This is an online drawing site, children can draw a variety of shapes and use a variety of line widths, to create their drawings. http://www.artkids.co.uk/frames.htm
PAINT ON LINE Here's another online painting site. Using some interesting dots and luminous colours. http://www.worldkids.net/art/artpaint.htm
ACTUAL COLOURING Here are some great sites that contain illustrations designed to be printed and coloured in offline, particularly useful for projects or just for fun.
ENCHANTED LEARNING is a site I love, it has wonderful printouts of animals, some are detailed and labelled, ideal for school projects, or special interests. The illustrations are high quality. This site also offers loads of information about animals, rainforests, dinosaurs, butterflies and much more. It's worth spending some time here exploring. http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/coloring/
FREE COLOURING PAGES this site has links to many different colouring pages and covers many topics. http://www.freecoloringpages.com/
THE NASA SITE has some great rocket ships and outer space printables. Some of these can be coloured online as well. http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/puzzles/coloring/
THE KIDZ PAGE site is a knockout in bright pink and blue, it has games and puzzles as well as printable pages for colouring on a variety of topics. http://www.thekidzpage.com/
SEUSSVILLE Here is a great site about the Dr Seuss books. Lots of activities and games, the resources are great with downloadable printables as well as craft activities. http://www.randomhouse.com/seussville
ABOUT.COM has an interesting range of Artist printables. These include works by Leonardo Da Vinci, Edvard Munch, Vincent Van Gogh and more, these can be printed and coloured in offline. http://arthistory.about.com/library/blprintables.htm
THE ART ASSIGNMENT - Art Research
At sometime during their schooling, primary school children, will receive an assignment, presentation or research activity on an artist. Here are a few sites that will make this a breeze.
VAN GOGH http://www.vangoghgallery.com This site boasts that it contains 100% of Van Gogh's paintings. It also has some excellent information on the paintings as well as a biography. The FAQ page, is most enlightening to view. Students usually enjoy the story of Van Gogh's missing 'ear', full details of this story are given at the site in the FAQ section.
THE ARTCHIVE http://artchive.com/ftp_site.htm This site has a huge list of artists in the sidebar. The artists' biography and selections of their artwork can be viewed here, use the 'picture viewer' for a full screen image. Major art history periods are also covered at this site.
WEBMUSEUM - Paris - is another great web art resource. Major art periods and artists are covered as well as a glossary of terms and bibliography. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/
Additional Art links including Australian Art Resources http://www.virtualteacher.com.au/art.html
HOT SITE
XREFER is one of the best general reference sites on the net. Not only can you research artists and art terminology at this site, you can also use encyclopaedias, dictionaries, thesauri & books of quotations specific references for, science, technology, health, philosophy, place names, language and music. http://www.xrefer.com/ (Image3)
Cathy Brown B.Ed. (HONS) is a Educator with over 20 years teaching experience from Pre-school to Tertiary level, she gives seminars and inservice in Computer Technology and also writes a free email newsletter `Virtual Teacher Read it at http://www.virtualteacher.com.au email cathy@virtualteacher.com.au