Inspired by an important artist, toddlers and preschoolers can paint with black and white – a great process art activity!
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*Thank you to Meri Cherry for the idea for black and white painting. We added the de Kooning element.
Willem de Kooning’s Black Untitled inspired a black and white painting project, and Meri Cherry’s post Process Art for Toddlers – Experimenting with Black and White inspired the nuts and bolts behind this particular de Kooning-inspired process art.
What you need:
- Thick black paper
- Black paint
- White paint
- Paintbrushes
- Painting tape
What to do:
- First, before beginning the project with your child, cover the edges of the paper with painting tape, creating a frame. When you peel off the tape at the end of the project, it’ll leave a beautiful matte-like frame that will give your child’s process art a really great final touch.
- Then, encourage the child to use the black and white paint, as well as the paintbrush, to paint the paper. They can paint however they’d like! They can mix, make shapes, etc.
- Finally, when the project is dry. Peel off the tape and display!
The kids always love to free paint, so they had a blast with this project! Some even wanted to use their hands instead of their paintbrushes, and that’s more than okay with me! I love how they practiced fine motor skills, dived into a sensory experience, and improved their creativity!
Looking for more activities to do with your little one? Check out these:
Inspired by Susan Schwake, kids can paint with marbles!
Inspired by Kandinsky, kids can create a masterpiece using scissors, paper, and glue.
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