Some of the world's earliest artists were cave painters who drew charging buffalo, leaping deer, wild horses and other animals on cave walls, most likely to bring themselves good luck in hunting. Using burned wood, soil and leaves, they created strong, black outlines and muted colors still expressive and elegant some 13,000 years later.

MATERIALS

Brown paper grocery bag or brown paper
Pencil
Wide black marker or charcoal
Paintbrushes
Tempera paint in black and earth tones (red, orange, brown, gold)

To begin, help your child prepare the surface of the paper bag so that it has a rough and worn appearance, like that of a cave wall. He should crinkle the paper, spray it with water in the sink (don't soak), then let it dry completely (you can help him use a hair dryer to speed the drying time).

Using a pencil and scratch paper, your child can make a few preliminary sketches of the animals he would like to include in his painting. He may want to follow in the steps of the cave artists, or he may prefer to depict animals he is familiar with, such as cats arching their backs, dogs barking or birds flying in flocks. Whichever subjects he chooses, remind him that he need not include every detail but can make his creatures from simple shapes, such as circles, triangles and rectangles. He should not worry if his animals don't look exactly like those in photographs--after all, neither do the original cave paintings.

Once he is happy with a sketch, he is ready to draw on the brown paper. After making a rough pencil sketch on the bag, he should go over the pencil marks with black paint, marker or charcoal, making sure the lines are thick and strong. He can then add details, such as eyes, ears, horns, tails or antlers. When the black lines have dried, he can paint the figure and background with the earth-tone paints.

To frame the finished drawing, mount it on a piece of black construction paper using glue or rubber cement. If your child really takes to this project, he may want to try creating an even more authentic cave painting, using a large flat stone (available at garden centers) for his canvas and, with your help, natural materials (soil, leaves, dandelions, a charred stick) for drawing.

(Ages five and up)