(No, I haven't forgotten about Summer Dress #3 -
next post, I promise!)
Today Emily, Jenna and I got to do some painting. This is
something we enjoy very much but do very seldom because
of Kate. When Kate is older and no longer paints herself,
sucks on paintbrushes, or climbs onto the table and sits on
other people's wet artwork, we will do this more often, and
with a lower heart rate. Dave occupied Kate for the first part
of our happy session this morning so E and J were
able to be fully engaged in their creating.
Because this is meant to go on the walls of their room, they
painted directly onto white foam board. I got ours (they were
20" x 30") from the local craft store for $1.50 and cut each
into six 10"squares. We used the little skinny sponge brushes
and regular tempera paint undiluted. The girls got to pick
and mix the shades they wanted.
Two of my favorite pieces by Emily: flower and butterfly.
impressionistic shape, then covering it all up with more
paint. I love her bicolor landscapes (top row, left
and bottom row, middle). Kate returned from playing
outside when the girls were mostly done, so it was
safe to let her do one of her own (middle row, left).
When free expression time was over and we had a lot
of left over paint and boards, I did these funny
geometric pieces for Emily's amusement and to show
her some simple regular /repeating patterns
Then it was time for lunch so everything got
cleared away and the boards left to dry.
The boards warped a little when they were dry, as
expected. Tomorrow I will probably brush their
undersides with water and let them dry again, maybe
pressing them flat under something heavy as they dry.
Also must remember to spray fixative on the fronts
to preserve the paint.
If the girls' walls actually had color (instead of the current
bland ivory), we might have left more of the picture white.
But their room badly needs color, so we went all out.
I initially bought the boards for an alphabet wall in
their playroom, but decided to shelve it for now and let
the girls just do something fun for themselves.
That looks like you had a great time with your girls. And those paintings are really cute!
ReplyDeleteVery cute! I love seeing what they can create in their little minds. I did this with my daughter for my husband on Father's Day. Check it out here: http://forwhatitsworth-ornot.blogspot.com/2009/06/while-dads-away.html
ReplyDeleteLovely paintings, and great idea for bedroom decor!
ReplyDeleteI have a warped painting done by my grandmother on a canvas board thing, wonder if your water trick would work to get it straightened out - do you know? I've asked a couple shops about straightening it, and they never have any suggestions (and don't want to touch it themselves).
Very cool! I'd not thought of using foam board for this sort of thing. I've been covering the table with butcher's block paper and drawing squares with magic marker that are about 6 inches across. The kids crowd round the table, pick squares and get creative. They are up like a tile wall that is ever growing in our livingroom. I'll get my act together to show you some time :) The foam board sounds a lot more durable than what we've got going on.
ReplyDeleteHi all and thanks for the comments!
ReplyDeleteMaryAnne: I don't know if the water trick would work on the canvas board - it'd be nice to know in case we ever graduate to canvas! I did the water thing on the backs of the boards last night and they are straight now. Wasn't even sure it would work - it made sense only in theory to me. I'll update this post later to report this.
Kitten Muffin: I love the tile wall idea - I'd love to see that sometime, definitely! It won't warp like the foam board, for sure.
BJ_Mama: Tinted pudding is wonderful! Safe and scrumptious, since it's going in the mouth anyway, no matter what we do to discourage it. And Samantha has great taste in music! The kids' current favorite is Jim Reeves.
The paintings are just lovely and the colours you chose are sure to had some fun colour to your girls bedroom. They looked like they really enjoyed creating art for their room. Thank you for stopping by my little blog.:))
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