Art Themed Golden Afternoons

We are very lucky to be able to extend our students' artistic opportunities across the school through Golden Afternoons. Take a look at the fantastic artwork happening during Golden Afternoon.  

If you have a special artistic talent which you would like to share with our students, please get in touch. 

Self Portraits 

Self-portraits give artists a chance to explore both their appearance and their identity. By looking closely at their own features—such as the shape of their eyes, the curve of their mouth, or the way they hold themselves—artists learn to observe with greater care. But self-portraits are not just about what we look like; they also help us express our feelings, interests, and individuality. Through this creative process, students can discover more about who they are, build confidence in their artistic skills, and celebrate what makes them unique.

Rembrandt

In Golden Afternoon, our students have been learning about Rembrandt, an artist celebrated for his remarkable self-portraits. Throughout his life, Rembrandt painted himself many times—sometimes confident and proud, other times curious or thoughtful. His portraits show how his appearance changed as he grew older, but they also reveal his emotions through expressive brushstrokes and careful detail. Inspired by his work, pupils created two self-portraits: one that shows how they look on the outside using mirrors for accuracy, and another that reflects who they are on the inside—their feelings, interests, and personality. This activity encouraged children to observe closely, think deeply about their identity, and express themselves with creativity and confidence.

Jean-Michel Basquiat 

During Golden Afternoon, our students have also been discovering the dynamic artwork of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Basquiat’s paintings are instantly recognisable for their energetic lines, bright splashes of colour, and symbolic imagery. He used his art to explore ideas about identity, encouraging viewers to think about what makes them unique. Inspired by his approach, pupils spent time reflecting on their own interests, talents, and the things that bring them joy. They then created expressive self-portraits by starting with a watercolour wash, sketching their features in bold black pen, and layering vibrant colours over the top. This activity helped students see that their individuality is something to be proud of—and that art can be a powerful way to share who they are.

Picasso 

As part of Golden Afternoon, our students have been exploring the vibrant and imaginative world of Pablo Picasso. Picasso, a famous Spanish artist, who was known for his bold use of shapes and colours, especially in his portraits. He challenged traditional ideas about art and showed great confidence by expressing feelings in new and creative ways. Inspired by his work, our students created their own Picasso-style self-portraits, either by arranging pre-cut shapes or by designing their own abstract features. Through this activity, they learned that creativity is an act of bravery—and that expressing themselves with confidence can lead to truly unique artwork.

Notan 

Notan is a Japanese art form that explores the relationship between light and dark. It focuses on the use of positive and negative space, creating balance and harmony in artwork. By understanding Notan, we learn how to make striking compositions that attract the viewer's eye! The children made beautiful artwork using this technique in an activity called expanding the square. Do you want to have a go at creating your own Notan? Watch this youtube video to expand your own square. ( Notan Beginner Demonstration)

Frottage  

Frottage is a unique art technique that involves making texture rubbing from natural surfaces. Artists like Max Ernst used this method to create fascinating artworks. By exploring the textures of objects around us, we can reveal new and imaginative images that spark our creativity. As part of their golden afternoon, the children have been investigating their school grounds by using crayons to create rubbing of leaves and a variety of other surfaces. They used layering to create some magical, imaginative designs. Great work!

Decoupage  

In Art Explorers, the children have been learning all about decoupage. Decoupage is an artistic techniques where you decorate an object gluing on paper cut outs. These pieces can be layered to create depth and texture in your artwork. The students cut or tore materials into various shapes before arranging them and gluing them into place. 

Fantasy Maps 

In our Fantasy Maps Golden Afternoon, the children explored their creativity by designing their own magical worlds! Using rice to sketch out the outlines, they learned how to draw various landscapes like forests, lakes, rivers, swamps, and mountains. They also studied creatures and practiced designing settlements, all while experimenting with unique fonts to label their maps. Drawing inspiration from books like The Lord of the Rings, Beast Quest, and Harry Potter, the children created imaginative and detailed fantasy maps of their own by blending elements from their favourite stories with their own original ideas.

Comics 

Our students have been applying their art skills creatively in our Comics Golden Morning. The children have been designing their own characters and plots to create their own brand of comics. Kashia has been inspired by the popular Manga style to create her comic. 

Famous Artists - Keith Haring  

At Cambourne, some children have chosen to delve into the world of art by studying famous artists. This week they started with the famous Keith Haring. Keith Haring was famous for creating murals with bold, bright colours with thick outlines with a cartoon style. Our students have been creating their own murals in the style of Keith Haring in a variety of creative ways. Bodhi wanted to create a mural using just dogs because he loves them. He cut them out and arranged them to make his mural. Alfie decided he would use the window to trace his favourite pictures to create his mural. Kayla decided to use Keith Haring as inspiration and sketched her own mural freehand. 

Funny Faces 

We love to laugh at HCCPs and our golden afternoon was the opportunity to do just that as well as learning about a very famous artist. Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526 – 1593) was an Italian painter who is now well known for creating portraits made out of fruits and vegetables as well as lots of other object. The children in their golden afternoon looked at the different examples of his work and then tried to create their own work inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. What do you think of these funny faces? 

Finger Painting

Another artistic opportunity for our students was to explore the potential of finger paint. Armed with only finger paints, paper and a pen, the children were able to create a wide variety of artwork using their imagination. By using a thumb print, the children were able to create people, flowers, animals and much more.