Explore art history with this wildlife process art inspired by Rousseau. It’s perfect for toddlers and preschoolers to enjoy.
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Wildlife Process Art: The Monkeys by Rousseau
What you need:
- Canvas, panel, or thick paper
- Green, yellow, and white paint
- Paintbrushes
- Fake or real leaves/plants
- Pictures of monkeys (computer printouts or magazine photos)
- Craft glue
- Scissors
What to do:
- First, encourage the child to paint the canvas. They love to mix the paints, which is wonderful because it’ll give them a great jungle-like background.
- Then, stick the monkey pictures (we used two per child) onto the paint. The wet paint will act as glue.
- We stepped away from our paintings for about 15 minutes to let them dry a little bit. When we came back, we cut the plants how we wanted them and glued them onto the canvas. (You may need to help the child cut the plants, especially if you’re using fake plants.)
- Let dry and show off to family and friends!
We had so much fun with this multi media art project. The kids loved working with the paint and the glue – both paint and glue are the messiest kind of fun!
This is a process art project, meaning that it is about the process of creating rather than creating a perfect product. The kids are practicing fine motor skills and improving creativity and self-confidence with this project. Check out more about what process art is and how to incorporate it into your child’s activities with this video.
And that’s that – Rousseau-inspired wildlife process art for toddlers and preschoolers! Comment below with ideas, comments, or questions!
Looking for more art history projects for toddlers and preschoolers?
- Richard Long Handprint Art
- Piet Mondrian Shape Art
- Susan Schwake Marble Painting
- Vincent van Gogh Plant Painting
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