In this article, the author describes a unit on monsters wherein students were charged with painting an imaginary character and, in so doing, demonstrated mastery of expression, organization of space, control of paint media, and application of the elements of art. Students discovered how color and line could be used to convey expression. The media in this unit can be varied by allowing students to use oil pastels on smaller areas, saving the paint for large areas of their pictures. (Contains 1 online resource.)