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Last week I made some cardboard canvases for my 3-yr old class. They were totally digging the format and each of them painted two or three or more paintings. I cut some pieces big, and some small. I primed some with a light gray paint, and some I left unpainted. I drilled holes in the top corners so that the paintings could be hung (the best part). I used tempera paints
I was able to capture the smile on Martina’s face when she discovered that yellow and blue make green, and yellow and red make orange!
As they got more confident with their painting, they began to cover their whole canvas rather than just painting in one spot. Eventually, they all decided unanimously that they wanted just solid color paintings. I don’t know why exactly, but I went with it. In the end, when the monochromatic ones were all in a row they looked very cool and very constructivist, like Alexander Rodchenko. A triptych!
I love how Madsie kept painting pink canvases for her mama.
I will definitely be doing this project again. The kids loved the cardboard and they loved mixing colors. It would be fun with older kids to set out a still life and introduce them to an artistic style. Like Gaugin or Matisse…painters who really loved their colors!
xo, Bar
Curious… how do you keep the cardboard from “curling” after being wet from the paint?
hi lori…good questions! i do remember them curling slightly. i must have put them under some heavy books overnight. i can’t remember, but i do do that a lot with things that curl. good luck! xo bar
These are so simple and so adorable – I will definitely use this format for some of my older students too! Thank you.
thank you anne! i think this format would totally be great for any age. and you can also cut any shape, AND…it’s cheap! win-win i say. xo bar
What a great idea .. couple questions tho .. how do put those glass cup inside the muffin pan – are they just regular mason jars? Another Q: do you always keep those paints in the middle with the brush on each colors on the table so little hands (I have 6 kids to do art at once) won’t go everywhere? I am just try to figure out the best way to keep those paints organize with 6 kids. Some of them like to mix colors and I don’t want them to put wrong color brush into wrong color paint :- ) Thank you so much for sharing this idea!
hi grace, thanks for stopping by! so i get the half-pint canning jars (8oz size) and put them in a muffin-top pan. for this project i think i left them in the pan because i just had 4 kids. but with more kids i usually just spread the jars across the table so everyone can reach and share. i put one brush in each jar. i do remind the kids to pay attention to where they are putting their brush back. sometimes they put a brush back in the wrong jar, but they are usually pretty good about it. i use this technique sometimes so that i don’t have to give everyone a glass of water and sponge for washing and drying their brushes. it’s just easier this way! as for mixing paint, i tell the kids to mix their colors on the paper not in the jar. if a brush gets really mucky then i just take it and put in a new one. the paints sometimes get a little mucky, but it’s fine because then it’s just a new shade! i put the lids on when class is over and we use them over and over, adding new colors and cleaning out old ones. i hope this helps!! xx bar