George Seurat a French artist born in 1859, invented the pointillism art technique. Pointillism involves painting with tiny dots of color that do not blend with each other, leaving tiny spots of white between the dots. When viewing a pointillist painting from a distance, your children will be amazed how the colors blend into a shimmering, vibrant composition.
Supplies
You do not need expensive art supplies to create art with your kids. Pointillism requires only fine tipped markers or paintbrushes. Young children get better results with fine tipped markers because the points remain uniform. It is hard for kids to make tiny dots with a paintbrush but older kids might enjoy using a brush.
Choose a variety of colors, whether using pens or brushes. Sakura water brushes work very for pointillism. The waterbrush actually has a barrel, similar to an ink barrel that is filled with water. This is convenient if you want to paint outside with your kids. The water brushes result in an authentic watercolor painting.
A medium to heavy drawing paper works the best for pointillism because the colors stay bright and do not run into one another. If the paper is too thin, it tends to curl when thousands of colored dots are painted.
Pointillism Technique
Explain to your kids what pointillism is and have them decide on what they want to paint before they begin. If they have trouble deciding on what to paint, have a picture ready for them to copy. Having a picture as a guide helps the children visualize the colors they want to use.
You can also use objects for a still life, photographs, pictures from magazines or ask a family member to be a model.
Sketching the outline of the picture in pencil and then filling the spaces with dots works out well for young kids. Drawing the picture first also helps with kids that want a realistic pointillism painting. Show your children how to use a stippling movement with the marker, tapping the tip gently onto the paper making dots. Continue stippling until the painting is finished.
Make sure the kids know that the colored dots should not touch each other but should be very close to each other. The colors are not mixed because the shading is created by placing different colored dots in certain areas of the painting. Young children’s pointillism paintings usually resemble modern art with bright shapes and colors blending to form a picture. Older kids usually use more colored dots to form highlights and shading.
Have your kids experiment with different sized tips and brushes to see which ones they feel comfortable with. Fine and extra fine tips work the best for detailed paintings. A toddler would probably like using a large tipped marker for easy handling.
Time
Completing a pointillism painting takes a long time. If your kids seem to be tired, continue the painting another day. Your kids will be astounded when you place their finished artwork across the room and they see what they have created.
Reference:
Childs Elementary School: Pointillism, Based on Study of G. Seurat
