An Independence Day Eagle

I can't say I join with all the frenzy over our new president but it is a historic occasion and a time to reflect on the rich history of our great nation. So in honor of that, I present you with an Independence Day Art Project!


This project was done in chalk pastel, which I love for it's superior blendability. Achieving soft and realistic results is really easy with this versatile albeit messy medium.

You will need:

Chalk pastels
pastel paper(construction paper with a rough texture will work too!)
pencil.
silver star stickers(the kind we lived for in elementary school)

Draw the flag in first. You will probably want to use a ruler and plan out your measurements. (What a perfect way to add math skills to an art lesson!) There are thirteen stripes to represent the original thirteen states. I could only fit 12 on mine, but that is okay since it is kind of a cropped viewpoint. There should be 50 stars, but obviously the eagles wings will cover a lot of them, so just eyeball it the best you can. The stars should have one point going up and two going down. You can learn more about the history of the flag at this website.
Enchanted learning also has a great little book you can print out for younger kids to read and color.
Here is a step by step tutorial for drawing the eagle.











When adding color, complete the background first. Add in white stripes first, then red, and then the blue in the star area. blend with your finger, tissue, or q-tip.
Color the beak with a lighter yellow and accent the shadow with a sandy tan. Color the head white and add feathers with blue, brown, and a little black.Blend. Color the iris of the eye with the sandy tan and the pupil with black. Make sure to leave a white accent in the black pupil to show the shiny wetness of the eye. You can color the rest of the body and wings with brown, except for the end of the tail feathers which will be white. Add black happy face shapes to show feathers in the wings. In the body, keep the lines straighter. Add a little extra black to the back wing to make it appear darker and thereby father away. Blend until perfect, add a few white and tan accents on the wings to show lights. Make sure to this in the bones of the wings as well which would catch more light.
Be sure to spay your painting with a fixative to protect it.
(I sometimes use aerosol hairspray for this. It is inexpensive and way less toxic.)