Have fun with finger painting with this handprint art inspired by Richard Long. This process art activity promotes fine motor skills and improves sensory skills.
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How To: The Artwork
Supplies:
- Washable tempera paint – we used gold and silver
- Large pieces of thick paper (We cut poster boards in half.)
- Paper plates
Directions:
This handprint art activity is actually really simple. Give the kids paint on a paper plate and let them cover their hands with paint. Then, they can take their paint covered hands and stamp them onto their papers to make hand prints all over.
That’s it! So fun and so easy! The kids may want to make lots of these pieces!
How To: The Program
The art class I run 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 and introduce them to art history.
Group Activity:
For our group activity, we did some color mixing with our hands! We really dove head first into the whole finger painting thing. I put large pieces of paper all over the floor, squirted washable tempera paint (in the primary colors) onto the paper and then let the kids mix the paint with their hands. They LOVED it!
(One child did not want to get her hands messy, but it is important to practice different sensory skills, so it was a success that she tried the activity with one finger. Next time I hope she’ll try it with two fingers, and then three, and then eventually her whole hand.)
Group Story:
We read Beautiful Hands by Kathryn Otoshi and Bret Baumgarten. It is the perfect book to accompany finger painting activities.
Then, I showed the kids a photo of Richard Long’s River Avon Mud Hand Prints, and we talked about what colors we saw, what shapes we saw, etc.
Individual Art:
It’s time for the kids to make their own hand print art! Set them up with their paint and poster board paper, and they can get started!
Looking for more process art projects? Try these!
- Frida Kahlo fabric flowers
- Betsy Ross flags
- Gerhard Richter squeegee paintings
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