Exploring Color and Contrast Through Seasonal Art

This Halloween week, we did some fun and creative projects!

For our youngest artists, we made little monsters using complementary colors. Before starting, I reviewed what complementary colors are and showed them examples on the color wheel. Then, we set out to design our own monsters using two complementary colors. Some students got adventurous and used two pairs of complementary colors, while others came up with their own imaginative designs. A few of the monsters turned out way too cute to be scary—but they looked absolutely fantastic!

With my older students, our project was to create a spooky house using oil pastels. Since our lesson focused on contrast and value, I explained those concepts before we began. Each student used black and yellow oil pastels for their house to explore strong contrasts, and they could choose any colors they wanted for the background.

Some students mentioned they don’t celebrate Halloween, so I gave them the option to draw a regular house—but with the same artistic challenge: make sure to show contrast! Whether spooky or not, the results were amazing. A few houses were truly eerie, while others captured a mysterious nighttime atmosphere beautifully.

By the end of the week, our classes were filled with colorful monsters and hauntingly creative houses. The students really embraced the themes of color, contrast, and creativity, and I couldn’t be prouder of their work.