The Georges Seurat Inspired Process Art (Painting with Bricks) is not only a simple activity for introducing Seurat and pointillism but also for learning about circles.
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Plus, you probably already have all of the materials at home: toy bricks, washable paint, and a canvas/paper!
*Thanks to Raising Little Super Heroes for the inspiration to use plastic bricks as paintbrushes. We added the Seurat element.
How to: The Artwork
Supplies:
- Paper or canvas panels (We used 12×12 canvas panels.)
- Toy bricks
- Fluorescent washable tempera paint
Directions:
First, squirt the paint onto a large paper plate or other paint pan. The kids need to be able to press the bricks fully onto the paint.
Second, the kids should press the raised side of the bricks into the paint.
Third, the kids can stamp the paint-covered bricks onto their canvases. Look at those circles they made!
And that’s it! It’s simple, but my toddlers and preschoolers spent about 20 minutes working on their projects! They really just LOVE LOVE LOVE paint, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of the learning they did without even realizing it: shapes, colors, fine motor skills, creativity, etc.
How To: The Program
My art class allows 2-5 year olds to explore art and engage the senses to help them understand the world around them. Exploring famous artists and their work allows kids to see that they are capable of making beautiful, creative artwork. Plus, exploring famous artists provides a unique way to teach children about basic art techniques.
Group Activity:
Before the kids arrived, I put out a long piece of bulletin board paper on the ground. I found a bunch of circle materials they could paint with – paper towel tubes, plastic cups, cupcake liners, and pom-poms. I also put out washable paint. When the kids arrived, we started our class with using those materials to paint on the bulletin board paper. They were free to explore the tools and paint however they wanted. I love giving them this time to explore with no limitations.
Group Stories:
Next, I had the kids sit on the storytime cushions to listen to Lots of Dots by Craig Frazier.
This book has very few words and teaches kids different places we see circles (bike wheels, the sun, ice cream scoops, etc.)
We then looked at some of the pictures in Sunday With Seurat by Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober. This board book contains Seurat’s artwork with a little poetic blur about the scenes he painted. I didn’t read the book, but I did show the pictures and explain that the artist used very tiny circles to make the pictures.
Individual Art:
Then, finally, it was time for the art project! The caregivers were wonderful about helping their children stamp the bricks onto the page rather than spread like a paint brush. (It’s totally fine for the kids to spread their paint, but I am glad they all stamped at least once! It’s so good for them to learn new tools and techniques.) The highlight was the paint, as usual. They painted for about 15 minutes. I was proud that the parents let the kids dictate which colors they wanted to use and where on the canvas they stamped and spread.
So fun!
Looking for more great process art ideas? Try these:
- Kandinsky collages
- Pollock’s yarn painting
- Matisse cutting practice
- Delaunay shapes and colors
- da Vinci frescoes