This is a great kid’s painting idea that will have your kids coming back for more. My little miss 3 just loved pouring and exploring with the paint. This kid’s painting idea can be done with all ages. It is a little bit messy, so you’ll want to set this up on a large dropsheet. We chose a nice warm day and did this outside on the deck. It was easy to contain the paint to the taped off areas though, even with a little one in charge – so you could easily set this up inside too.
The final artworks are really interesting, with heaps of texture and movement, and every one is unique. They would be a great addition to any teenager’s bedroom wall. Just match the paint colours with any theme of their room, then hang them in sets of three for visual appeal. We used smaller canvases as this was easier for smaller hands, but for older children you could use much bigger canvases.
Something we learned with this activity is that you can be really bold with the amount of paint you pour on. The more paint, the more interesting the final piece of art!
Kid’s painting idea – pour and press
Materials you will need:
Canvases
Paint colours of your choice (we used colours that would match our daughter’s room)
Washi tape
Thick paper
Squeeze bottles (optional)
What to do
This is a great activity to set up outside on a warm day. Lay down your dropsheet and tape down enough thick paper so that it’s larger than the size of your canvas. It’s a good idea to use thick paper otherwise the paper can pull off and stick to your canvas once it gets wet. If you have a good heavy-duty plastic dropsheet, you could skip this step, tape straight on to this, and then wash off at the end.
Next, tape the shape of your canvas onto the painting mat with Washi tape. This will give you and your children an area to pour the paint into.
Now for the fun part! Pour a range of different colours onto the painting mat. We used Resene Wild Thing, Resene Cosmos, Resene Solid Gold and Resene Renew.
Once you’ve finished pouring, place your canvas onto your paint, using the tapped off area as a guide. Now press down firmly and feel free to move it a little and squash it around a little bit, to create some movement. Then just peel it off.
Tips for creating interesting effects
Don’t go light on the paint. We definitely found a little more paint gave a more interesting result.
If you have two canvases, instead of using the painting mat for pouring onto, you could try using one canvas for pouring on and the other one to press on top. This creates a very cool symmetry effect.
Let the first press dry, and then try a second or third press to add more depth and interest to your pieces.
Our kids are learning and developing…
Fine motor skills – Practising fine motor skills helps small children perform everyday skills like cutting, self care tasks and pencil skills. Small children practise their fine motor skills by using the small muscles in their hands to pour, and squeeze the paint.
Problem solving – This form of art allows kids to be inventive and express themselves freely with paint. When kids are given opportunities like this they are starting to develop a sense of innovation that will be important in their adult lives.
Language skills – When creating art you’re providing your child with the opportunity to learn words for colours, shapes and actions. After creating this piece with them talk about what they like, how it makes them feel and even think up interesting names for it.
Check out our activities page for more great kid’s art and painting ideas.
