Vincent, living to paint

In the series of art picture books by publishing house Leopold, there is now the beautiful book 'Vincent, living to paint', written and illustrated by Janneke Ipenburg. A must-have for schools!

Content
Since childhood, Vincent has loved drawing. However, he is rejected by the art academy and goes to work as a preacher in Belgium. There, his passion for drawing starts to itch again. He sketches the miners with their gray, weathered faces. But he becomes ill and depressed, and returns home. Despite his mental fragility, he continues to draw and paint fanatically..

When his father passes away, Vincent moves to his brother Theo, who is an art dealer in Paris. Here, he comes into contact with modern artists like Gauguin and Seurat. The somber drawing style from his time with the miners and The Potato Eaters changes from brown brushstrokes into loose dots and dashes in bright colors.

Vincent travels to Arles in the south and continues to paint tirelessly. Portraits, sunflowers, landscapes. Unfortunately, he barely sells anything, drinks too much, and becomes confused again. He is admitted to a clinic, and even there, he continues to paint. But Vincent feels that he is getting sicker and sicker. He returns to Theo and rents a room near Paris. In 1890, he takes his own life.

'Vincent, living to paint' is the result of a collaboration between author/illustrator Janneke Ipenburg, publishing house Leopold, and the Kröller-Müller Museum, which will host a major Van Gogh exhibition starting September 15th 2026.

Review
There are already so many (children's) books about Van Gogh that I couldn't imagine 'Vincent, living to paint' would actually add anything new. But the opposite is true. What a fantastic book! In rich, evocative  language, Ipenburg takes the reader on a journey through the painter's life. In doing so, she does not shy away from his mental health issues and brings Vincent to life without making it feel too heavy. A nice bonus is the extra explanation at the bottom of each page.

Full-page illustrations bring the text to life, looking as if they were made by Van Gogh himself. This way, we see The Potato Eaters, The Café Terrace at Night in Arles, and of course, Starry Night. "We can only speak through our paintings," Vincent writes just before his death in 1890.

In the Classroom
'Vincent, living to paint' is a wonderful book to use in your art lessons. Who was Vincent? What was his life like? What did he paint? Which colors did he use? How can you recognize his later paintings?

Algemene gegevens: 

• Publishing House: Leopold
• ISBN: 9789025890360 
  
• Number of pages: 40
• Published: July 2026
• Reading age: 8+ ; read-aloud age: 6+ 

Use my lessons about Vincent van Gogh on this blog: painting, printing and mixed media.  

Stormy winter night (water resist) 

Vincent van Gogh's chair (printing) 

Van Gogh's bedroom (printing) 

Starry night (mixed media) 

Starry night (painting) 

Pumpkins like Yayoi Kusama

What do you need?

• black construction paper
• colored paper
• black marker 
• black fineliner
• scissors and glue
• white pencil

About the artist
Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (1929-2026) creates paintings, sculptures and large installations with mirrors and lots of light, symbolizing infinity. All her artworks have one thing in common: polka dots. That's why she's affectionately known as 'the princess of polka dots'. 

From an early age Kusama wanted to make art, but her traditional Japanese parents didn't like this. That's why Kusama left for NewYork and joined artists there, including Andy Warhol. 

By adding all-over marks and dots to her paintings, drawings, objects and clothes she feels as if she is making them (and herself) melt into, and become part of, the bigger universe. She said:

‘Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos. Polka dots are a way to infinity. When we obliterate nature and our bodies with polka dots, we become part of the unity of our environment’.

View and discuss artwork of Kusama. 

• use of large and small polka dots 
• backgrounds are often filled with triangles
• use of bright colors
• her installations suggest infinity

What to do?

1. Draw three pumpkins on the colored sheets and cut them.
2. Draw bigger and smaller dots on the segments using black markers.
3. Draw triangles on the black sheet with a white pencil - start with a zigzag line.
4. Paste the pumpkins on the black sheet.

Works of art are made by students of grade 4. 

Swimmer - like David Hockney

I found this lesson on the blog 'Use your coloured pencils' of Anne Farrell. I used this lesson to tell about artist David Hockney and his swimming pool paintings.

What do you need?

• white drawing sheet 
• oil pastels
• liquid water color in blue and green
• brush
• jar with water

If you want a frame: 

• dark blue sheet
• toilet roll
• tempera paint

About the artist

The successful British artist David Hockney (1927-2026) was born in Bradford, England. He studied at the Royal Academy in London. His first works were anecdotal and ironic. In 1964 Hockney moved to California, where he developed a more realistic way of painting. The main themes at this time, are pools, landscapes and portraits.

From 1966 David Hockney increasingly used photographs for his paintings. He made ​​collages containing just photographs. After 1980, Hockney's work became a more expressionistic character. His work shows influences of Picasso. Besides paintings, Hockney also makes drawings and etchings. 

Hockney died ont the 11th of June in 2026.

Instruction
Look at artwork of David Hockney, especially those with swimming pools. Discuss how people look like under water - flowing hair, lighter skin. What causes the shimmering surfaces on the water and what do they look like?

What should you do?

1. Draw yourself in swimsuit and color with oil pastels. 
2. Use white oil pastel to draw a water pattern of wavy horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines in the background .
3. Paint the picture with blue and/or green diluted colored ink. The oil pastel will resist the ink.
4. If you want a frame: stamp circles with a toilet roll and tempera paint on a dark blue sheet. 

Artworks made by students of grade 4 and 6. 

Country pennants

What do you need? 

1. white drawing paper 
2. felt tip pens
3. black fineliner
4. black paper

Instruction
Each country has its own specific things: national anthem, flag, language, traditional dish, monument, special events. When you think of the Netherlands, certain symbols immediately come to mind. While some are stereotypes, such as clogs (wooden shoes), we no longer wear in daily life—they remain uniquely characteristic of our heritage. Other iconic Dutch symbols are windmills and canal houses. Also discuss some other countries and the typical things that go with them.

Discuss the term: pennant. Students will recognize them from the sports club. What is the purpose of a pennant? What do you notice about the shape? (symmetry) Show a number of shapes and discuss 
the difference between a pennant and a flag.

In this lesson children will make a pennant with characteristics about a self chosen country. The pennant should have four distinctive things to recognize a country, so other children will instantly know to which country the vane belongs. In one of the sections they should draw the flag of the country they have chosen.

What should you do?

1. Think of a country you want to make a pennant for and which typical things belong to it.
   
2. Draw a pennant with a pencil and cut it out.
3. Divide your pennant into four sections.
4. Draw characteristic things of the country in the sections. The country's flag must go in one of the sections.
5. Color it in with felt-tip pens.
6. Outline everything with a black fineliner.
7. Glue your pennant onto black paper.

Drawings made by students of grade 6. 

My collection from the sea

Before

After summer holiday it's fun to draw objects you found on the beach: shells, starfish, crabs etc.

What do you need?

• white drawing sheet 
• aquarel pencils or watercolor paint
• brushes and water
• black paper
• scissors and glue
• black fine marker

What should you do?

1.  Divide the white sheet in four strips of 7 cm. 
2. Draw horizon lines in the strips. 
3. Draw things you may have found on the beach and sketch as lightly as possible. 
4. Color the shells with watercolor paint or aquarel pencils. Make shades by diluting the colors more or less. 
5. Paint the beach yellow/gold and the air light blue. 
6. Let dry.
7. Outline shells and horizon line with a fine black marker. 
8. Cut the four strips and paste them with 1 cm between on a black sheet.

Artworks made by students of grade 6. 

Sailboat regatta

What do you need?

• two sheets drawing paper
• sandpaper
• tempera paint in blue, green and white
• brush
• colored paper
• brown paper (grocery bag)
• glue
• large blue sheet

What should you do?

1. Spray blue, green and white paint on a saucer. 
2. Lay a sheet of white drawing paper on your table, small size up. Paint it with colored waves. Don't mix the colors on the saucer, but dip the brush in two or three colors. 
3. Let dry.
4. Take the second white sheet and lay it on the table with the small side up. Cut a piece of sandpaper as wide as the sheet and 8 cm high. 
5. Paste it on the bottom of the sheet.
6. Tear the painted sheet in wavy strips. Be sure all strips have two wavy sides. 
7. Place the strips overlapping on the white sheet. Start below. Place the second strip partly under the first one, the third under the second etc. Paste down the short sides of the waves only on the left and right side of your sheet.
8. Cut boats out of a brown paper bag; bigger ones below, smaller ones at the top (perspective). 
9. Cut masts out of the paper bag and sails out of colored paper. 
10. Paste the boats between the waves and paste the long sides of the waves at the same time. 
11. Paste sails and masts on the boats. 
12. Paste your artwork on a blue sheet. 

Artworks made by students of grade 4.

Sunglasses

What do you need?

• black construction paper 
• white drawing sheet
• color pencils or markers
• scissors
• glue
• silver and gold marker

What should you do?

1. Draw half sunglasses against the fold of a black sheet. 
2. Cut out. 
3. Draw a summer scene on the white sheet and color it. 
4. Put the glasses on it and slide until you see the best part. 
5. Paste the glasses on the drawing and cut them again. 
6. Decorate the glasses with gold or silver marker.

Made by students of grade 6. 

Still life with fruit

What do you need?

• corrugated cardboard
• scissors
  
• white drawing sheet
• tempera paint
• brush
• glue
• colored construction paper
• fruit

Instruction

Show still lifes of fruit in different styles, for example Caravaggio and Cezanne. How is the fruit arranged? Why at that way? Which parts are light and which parts are dark? What does that mean? Then provide each group of students with a bowl of different fruit types.

What should you do? 

1. Paint the fruits (no drawing first!) after a good observation. 
2. Cut a fruit bowl out of cardboard. 
3. Cut out the fruits with a small white edge. 
4. Stick them on a colored sheet and let them overlap. 
5. Stick the cardboard bowl. Some fruits will partly disappear in it. 

Artworks made by students of grade 3.

Elements of art: space, color, value. 

Marvelous Medusa?

What do you need?

• black construction paper A3 size
• tempera paint in blue, green, black and white
• brushes
• jars with water

The myth about Medusa

Medusa, a woman from Greek mythology, lived in a country where the sun never shone. Medusa begged goddess Athena to be allowed to move to a sunny region, but Athena refused. Medusa told everywhere that Athena would not let her go, because otherwise no one would pay attention anymore to the beauty of Athena. In another version of the myth Medusa would have made Athena mad because she kissed Poseidon in Athena's temple. Athena took revenge by changing Medusa's beautiful hair into a nest of snakes. Athena also ensured that everyone who looked at Medusa would freeze immediately. Finally Medusa is killed and decapitated by Perseus, with help from Athena. From Medusa's blood the winged horse Pegasos and a giant are born. After this Medusa's head is offered by Perseus to Athena. Athena put the head on her shield to freeze her enemies.

What should you do?

1. Draw Medusa's head with a pencil on the black sheet.  
2. Choose only cool colors to paint face and snakes. 

Artworks made by students of grade 5 and 6.

Op art cube

What do you need?

• white drawing sheet 21 by 29 cm
• pencil
• ruler
• markers
• scissors 
• glue

Give students a copied print of a cube or let them make their own. I did it with a guided instruction.

What do you need?

1. Lay the sheet in front of you with the small side up.
2. Draw dots on top and bottom of the sheet on 7 and 14 cm.
3. Connect the lines from top to bottom.
4. Draw dots on the left and right site of the sheet on 7, 14, 21 and 28 cm 

5. starting at the top of the sheet.

6. Connect the dots. You have 12 squares and 3 small rectangles on the bottom.

 

7. Number the squares from left to right. 
8. Draw a cross in square 1, 3, 4, 6, 10 en 12.

9. Draw strips of 1 cm on the sides of square 2 and 5. 

10. Draw strips on the 3 sides of square 11. 

11. Draw a cross in the remaining narrow strips at the bottom of the sheet. 

12. Draw optical illusions in square 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11. 

13. Color with markers and outline with fine black marker.

14. Cut the cube and paste the sides together. 

All artworks made by students of grade 6.

Dutch flower bulb fields

What do you need?

• drawing sheet 20 by 10 cm
• color markers
• fine black marker
• ruler
• pencil

Situated less than 30 miles from Amsterdam, the town of Lisse is widely regarded as the center of Holland's bulb district. Each spring the area turn into a sprawling blanket of fantastic color as millions of Dutch tulip, hyacinth and daffodil bulbs emerge in perfect rows. 

Show pictures of Dutch bulb fields like these and talk about perspective. 

What should you do?

1. Draw a horizon line about 2 cm from the upper edge. 
2. Put a dot in the middle of this line, the vanishing point. 
3. Draw lines from the bottom and sides towards that vanishing point.
4. Color the bulb fields with bright colours. 
5. Color walkways between the bulb fields. 
6. Color the sky. 
7. Draw with a fine black marker some buildings on the horizon, like farms, windmills etc.

Artworks made by students of grade 4. 

Self portrait like Modigliani

About the artist

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (1884-1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor. Modigliani's paintings fall under Expressionism. He painted nudes and highly stylized portraits. He painted long, oval faces with elongated necks and long limbs, giving the characters a melancholy mood. The skin is often rusty and all forms are outlined. Eyes, noses and mouths are not on the 'right' place, but still offer a balanced and credible image.

Instruction  
Look at Modigliani's paintings with the students and discuss the salient features:

• faces are elongated
• faces are often skewed
• use of warm colors
• all shapes are outlined in black

What do you need?

• black construction paper A4
• oil pastels
• colored paper for background

What should you do you?

1. Divide the black sheet into 8 sections. 
2. Draw an oval, starting at the middle line to slightly above the center of the top section. 
3. Draw a neck from the head to the middle bottom section.
4. Draw shoulders, eyes, nose and mouth. 
5. Trace pencil lines with black oil pastel. 
6. Color the portrait with oil pastels. Do not touch the black lines. 
7. Color the background until you don't see any black. 
8. Paste the work on a colored sheet.

Artworks made by students of grade 4-6.

Fancy chicken

 What do you need?

• drawing sheet A3 
• oil pastels
• tempera paint
• brushes
• colored paper for background 

What should you do?

1. Draw a horizon line on the drawing sheet. 
2. Draw a chicken.
3. Color with oil pastels in bright colors. 
4. Paint a background with tempera paint.

Works of art made  by students of grade 6.

What's in your egg?

 

What do you need?

1. white drawing sheet A5 
2. charcoal
3. yellow sheet for background 
4. hairspray

Surprise!
Imagine you crack your egg on Easter Sunday and it turns out to contain something completely different than egg white and egg yolk ... Draw this fantasy with charcoal on a white sheet. 

Practice first 
Never worked with charcoal? Then practice on a scrap paper first. 

Draw lines, blur them by swiping with your fingers, create shadows, erase the charcoal with a kneaded eraser. Charcoal stains quickly, so clean your  fingers regularly.

What should you do?

1. Draw two halves of an egg. 
2. Draw in between what you imagine is in the egg.  
3. Draw the surrounding. 
4. Fix your drawing with hairspray. 
5. Paste the drawing on a yellow sheet. 

Made by students of grade 3.

Charming chicken

What do you need?

• blue and yellow construction 
• oil pastels
• glue

What should you do?

1. Draw a chicken on the blue sheet, using the tutorial on How to draw a chicken. 
2. Color in bright colours. 
3. Draw a horizon line and color the ground. 
4. Draw something on the horizon line, for example a fence or farm. 
5. Tear the edges of the blue sheet and paste the chicken on a yellow sheet. 

Drawings made by students of grade 6.