Resources for Castles Art Project

Watch the Video

Setting the Stage

Photo credit: Bruce Crane, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Medieval castles were large fortified (made stronger or secure) structures where kings, lords, and other high ranking people lived along with their families, servants, tradespeople etc. The earliest castles were built in the 9th or 10th centuries. They didn’t all look exactly alike, but most had a big wall around the outside (curtain wall), towers, and a keep (the largest tower and most safe area where the people lived) inside the wall. Most castles can be created using a few simple shapes: squares, rectangles & triangles. Some had a few towers and some had many towers. What will yours look like?

Supplies Needed for Insider's Club Members (or if you're a box subscriber & want to purchase additional supplies)

•Recommended book – optional: A Year in a Castle by Rachel Coombs. You can purchase it or find it at your local library. We couldn’t find a read aloud of our book but here’s another one called The Very Last Castle

•Something to cover your work surface like butcher paper, an old shower curtain or tablecloth, or a garbage bag and some paper towels or rags.

•Mixed Media Paper. It should be a heavier paper that is made for wet media/mixed media. But doesn’t need to be as heavy as watercolor paper. You can also use just printer paper but it will crinkle when you use wet paint on it.

•Paint to Dip Your Sponges In. You can purchase something like this washable paint, or use any pourable acrylic, craft paint or tempera paint that you already have. You could probably even use old house paint.

•Sponges. We love these Miracle Sponges because they’re super easy to draw on and cut, but regular sponges that do not have a rough scrubbing surface will work.

• Paper Plate or something to pour your paint on to. You could also use the styrofoam plates that come under meat and veggies, a foil pie plate, or even a piece of wax paper. It just needs to be large enough to lay your sponge in the paint.

•Dark Colored Marker to add detail. Something like this.

•Download Project Plan

•Print Basic Castle Shapes

•Print Basic Castle Layout

*Some of the product links above are Amazon affiliate links. We receive a very very small commission if you purchase through them (which we hope you will if you purchase supplies!) They do NOT affect your price at all!

Taking It Further Video

Here is one website to help you explore the art of Paul Klee (pronounced Clay).

Taking It Even Further

Experiment with printing using other objects around your home for more fun!

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