Drawing Ideas for Kids

How to Make Frida Kahlo Portraits for Kids

February 1, 2025

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This is a fun Frida inspired drawing prompt for kids. Explore identity with kids & create personalized Frida Kahlo portraits for kids.

Updated February 2025

I wanted to do a Frida Kahlo inspired project for some time now since I really admire her work, as well as her husband’s, Diego Rivera.

Frida’s portraits, inspired by nature and artifacts of Mexico, are so powerful and expressive in many ways. She constantly included autobiographical elements in her work, combining fantasy with realism in a very unique way.

After reading a short book about Frida’s life and sharing with the children some of her most known artwork, we entered into a conversation of identity. What makes you YOU? What defines you as a person? What are your likes and dislikes? Your thoughts? Your fantasies?

It was so interesting to listen to the children speak and share their ideas and interpretations on these open-ended questions. We then proceeded to start working on our Frida portraits, with headpieces that identified each and every child.

Frida Kahlo Portraits for Kids

MATERIALS

Black Sharpie
Frida’s face printout (If you missed it, clear your cookies and refresh this page!)
Colored Sharpies
Transparency film
White cardstock (we used 12 x 18 in)
Chalk markers (optional)
Washi tap e

Time needed: 45 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS

Print image of Frida
Start by downloading a simple image of Frida’s head and printing it out. You can do a google image search, or you can use our free download! (If you missed it, clear your cookies and refresh this page!)
Trace the Frida outline onto transparency film
Place a transparency film on top of the Frida print out and tape the four corners onto the cardstock.

Trace Frida’s face onto the film (not her hair though) using a black sharpie.

Remove the Frida print out from behind the film and leave the tape on each corner of the film, holding it to the cardstock.
Begin drawing the Frida headpiece
Ask the children to start working on their Frida headpiece.

Be sure to include things that identify them, things they like, fantasies, dreams; anything that speaks to them and to their unique character and personality.
Add color!
Finally, once they have drawn the outline of those headpieces they created, set out the colored sharpies and the chalk markers and ask them to start adding color to their creations. I like using the chalk markers because they really pop up beautifully on the transparency film, but sharpies work great too.

And that’s it! You can frame these or just tape to the wall! They will be so fun, colorful, playful and for sure an inspiring way to learn about the life and work of artist Frida Kahlo.

coloring frida headpiece — Photo by Catalina Gutierrez

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How to Make Frida Kahlo Portraits for Kids

big kids, elementary classroom, low mess, tweens

Catalina Gutierrez

Catalina is the founder of Redviolet Studio, a mobile art experience for children. She is originally from Colombia but has been based in Miami for the past 10 years. Catalina teaches after school art classes for preschool and elementary kids and sensory art & play classes for toddlers. She is very interested in the Reggio Emilia approach to education where the children lead their own learning process with the teacher being more of a facilitator rather than a voice who shows them where to look and what to find. She loves crafting with her boys and a good process art session. Catalina also has an amazing art & play activity guide for purchase through her website that The Artful Team highly recommends!

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