Art Attack
Art Attack was Britain’s first children’s television program series about art, and was one of CITV’s longest running children’s programmes airing from 1989 to 2007. Throughout this time Neil Buchanan presented the show and is now the face of the Art Attack craft range. The show’s format was designed so that children could easily follow the technique and make their own copy of the project, where they could then use some of their own individual artistic flair.
Unique craft ideas
Art Attack was at the fore-front of art ideas for children. One of the most popular inclusions were the Big Art Attacks whereby Buchanan would create a piece on a huge scale, often on a playing field, tarmac ground or similar. One of the most well known pieces was a picture of Queen Elizabeth II made up of £250,000 worth of banknotes.
Common Catchphrases
Frequently used catchphrases throughout the show included “Come and have a look at this!” or when a piece involved painting or gluing anything that required time to dry or set the presenter would then- with a few slops of paint- pop it to one side and say “And then you’ll have something that looks like this”. Once the project had been finished the present would utter the famous line “Try it yourself” to viewers.
Craft Product Expansion
Nowadays the ever expanding Art Attack range includes projects such as cardmaking kits, scrapbook sets, ceramic painting sets and crafty packs for children of all ages.