Patriotic Art: Op Art Stars and Stripes

This patriotic art project is a great art lesson for 4th or July, President’s Day, Veteran’s Day, or Flag Day. I’ll show you step-by-step how to make a “Star with Waves”. In addition, teachers can use this lesson for a writing lesson.

Tips for Making the Start for Your Patriotic Art  

In the Op Art Using Stars & Stripes lesson, you’ll find several strategies for drawing a star.

Or you could have students trace the star as shown below. 

use the star templates to trace a star.  Cut out the wave from a box.

Tip for making consistent-looking waves:

  • You can cut the wave shape from any heavy paper.
  • One option is to use part of a cereal or cracker box.
  • Space the waves out evenly.

Adding the waves can be a little tricky. This sheet (shown above) which you will find in the lesson, will help your students avoid some of the pitfalls of making an op-art wave design.

trace the wave down the page, spacing it evenly.  the wave might run off the page.

How to make the blue and red stripes:

I used a blue washable marker to outline every other shape inside the star. Then, while the watercolor was wet, I sprinkled salt on top. As the watercolor dries, it creates little star-like textures in the watercolor.

outline every other shape inside the star with marker.  Paint with watercolor.  Add salt.
outline the background shapes with marker.  paint inside the background shapes.
add shading with a blue colored pencil to your patriotic art to make the stars really stand out
writing pages for the op art star patriotic art activity

This page gives you an excellent opportunity to add some writing to your patriotic art project! Some topics include “Freedom is …”, “Patriotism is …” and “I love America because ”.      

You can see Op Art Stars & Stripes: Patriotic Art Activity on Expressive Monkey’s website and  TpT store

Social & Emotional Learning in Art

Click on this image to get a free copy of this infographic.

Remind yourself and others of the social and emotional benefits of art. This is a great graphic to include in parent newsletters or display in your room.

You can read more about Social Emotional Learning in Art in this blog post.


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Don’t forget to pin this!

An opt art star with a wave pattern running across the entire page. The inside of the star is blue and white and the outside of the star is red and white. The text says, "Op Art Stars - Step-by-Step Demo".
Stacey Peters

Stacey Peters

I create engaging drawing resources that help students build confidence and express themselves through art. I'm a former elementary art teacher of 25 years turned business owner. Giving you the tools you need to bring more drawing into your classroom brings me joy.

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