ACTION PAINTING

The outdoors is a great place to try action painting, a method most often associated with the artist, Jackson Pollock, and characterized by bold gestures that engage the whole body, the use of splattering, dripping, pouring, and sometimes non-traditional tools.

If doing this with children, try it with just one artist working at a time. Emphasize how important is that no one walks across a painting surface on the floor (because of the slipping hazard). Remind everyone to be mindful of where they are aiming their paint, and leave plenty of room around the child working so that they can move freely. You’ll need to tarp the surrounding area.

To create an economical, large painting surface, check creative reuse stores for canvases or large rolls of heavyweight paper, or make a surface using cardboard and/or builders paper.

Lastly but importantly, if this activity sounds very stressful, or not appropriate for your space or your group, definitely skip it! There are plenty of other ways that children can have fun with paint.