Poppy Mural

What you need

  1. Extra-large white thick card
  2. Paint – sky blue, white, 2 or 3 shades of greens, red and black
  3. Mix of textured paintbrushes (sponge, thick bristled etc)
  4. A picture of a simple poppy scene - download resource

Intro

What’s more beautiful and cheerful than a poppy? A sea of them! This activity, which can be spread out over a few weeks, guides you how to paint a field of poppies. You can even swap paints for tissue paper and create a collage instead. 

Since the poppy symbolises remembrance for those who died fighting in World War 1 – and hope for a positive future and peaceful world – this is a good activity for VE Day or Remembrance Sunday.  

The Activity

First session 

  1. Gather the group around a table
  2. Show everyone the poppy picture and discuss how you’ll recreate a similar scene over a number of sessions
  3. Set your white card to landscape and paint ¾ of it sky blue with the textured paint brushes 
  4. Paint some white patches of cloud here and there to create clouds
  5. Let the paint dry 

Second session 

  1. Use a light and mid green to paint blades of grass at the bottom of the picture. Simply paint lots of upwards strokes randomly, leaning them left and right, so they look like they’re blowing in the breeze
  2. Let the paint dry  

Third session 

  1. Lightly draw pencil outlines of the poppies randomly along the landscape at different heights, making the stem thick
  2. Paint the stems first, using the darkest green
  3. Next paint the poppies a lovely rich shade of red 
  4. Leave the paint to dry 

Fourth and final session 

  1. Paint the middle of the poppies black with a textured brush 
  2. Once the murals are dry, hang them on the wall to brighten up any space

PDF Resource