Talking Pictures for Children 

Talking Pictures is an online resource for children and their adults based on artwork from the Crawford Art Gallery Collection. We will share creative prompts for happy talk and play every Wednesday. 

You can download an Irish language version of this page in PDF format here.

About the artwork

This artwork is a painting on paper by an artist called Leo McCann. It is called Self-Portrait as a Bandit. A portrait is a word used in art to describe a painting, drawing or sculpture of a person. In this artwork Leo is a robber, a bandit. He is wearing a big hat and a scarf around his face to disguise his appearance.

Let’s Play!

Can you imagine that you are somebody else?

Draw your portrait as somebody else

Are you…….a robber, a princess, a very angry person, Spiderman, a baby, an explorer, soldier, a grown up, a man with a long, long beard, a nurse, a builder, bald, a rock star, a scientist, a pirate, a cowboy, a baby fox in its burrow, a wizard, a waitress, a fire fighter, a king, a mum or a granny

Can you imagine yourself as a tiny baby? Describe your day.

Imagine yourself in 50 years’ time: what will you look like?

Can you describe your life in the future?

Let’s Put on a Disguise!

The word disguise means to change the way you look, so that other people do not recognise you.

Find things around your home that you can use to create a disguise

Ask an adult if you can try on some of their clothes, maybe a coat and a pair of shoes

Make a disguise, with a hat, glasses, sheets, blankets or tea towels, a scarf.

Are you an adventurer in hiding? Who are you hiding from and why?

Go on a top-secret mission as a spy, draw a suitcase with 5 different disguises for your secret mission.

Draw some tiny but fantastic costumes: try out different hair styles, big dresses, coats, makeup, moustaches, false teeth, goggles, crowns, cloaks, veils, a shield.

Write a story about being in disguise? You could imagine that you have travelled to a different time or place.

Maybe you miss your grandparents, your aunt or uncle or your cousins. Pretend that you have swapped lives with them, what would that be like?

Perhaps you are a bandit! Pretend that you are a bandit who has robbed lots of money, how will you spend your riches? 

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