This week we did simple pointillism art for kids.

My son has started showing interest in different artists and their style of paintings. More than painting he wants to know more about the artists and their paintings. Last month we did Paul Klee and Kendinsky artist study. He keeps asking me questions like Where did the artist live? Where is he now? Where is his painting right now? If the artist is from Europe , what is his painting doing in a museum in US? I am glad he has so many questions.

After introducing Paul Klee and Kandinsky, I thought of introducing another famous artist to him, George Seurat. George Seurat developed the art style, Pointillism. We created our own Pointillism piece of art!

What is Pointillism?

Pointillism is a painting technique developed by the artist George Seurat. George Seurat discovered that instead of mixing different paint colors, if we made tiny dots of different colors next to each other, it would trick your eye into believing that the colors were mixed together to form the picture. He believed that this style helped his paintings appear brighter and bolder. When looking at Seurat’s paintings up close, you can see all the tiny dots and individual colors. But as you step further away, your eyes mix the colors together and you can see the picture as a whole.

Pointillism Art for Kids

Supplies Required

A4 Sheet

Poster colors

Qtips / Cotton Busa

Pencil

Steps to Make Pointillism Art for Kids

To show my son what is pointillism, I showed him original paintings of the artist. Then I asked him what he wanted to make.  He wanted to paint forest.

You can go for any design.  It can be very simple design such as a rainbow or flower for younger kids or landscape for older kids.

Next, draw your design lightly with pencil on a sheet of paper. My son wanted me to draw the forest for him.

Now grab your paint colors and Q-tip. We took Qtips as our pointillism tools. You can even use back side of your pencil or your fingers or sketch pens if you don’t want to use poster colors.

Then I just showed him how to make dots using qtip. Just dab the qtip with paint and make dots on the paper. I told him to fill up the paper as much as possible with colors.

It was amazing to see him so focused and attentive.  He was so excited. He was quick to share his observation with me “Mamma if I press down lightly I can make small dots and and with more pressure I can create a bigger dot “.

This is an entertaining art project and the results are beautiful.  Here are some of our paintings we continued doing whole week:

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Apart from learning about pointillism, this activity is also a great way to practice fine motor skills and grasp. I also loved it how it kept him busy and he did not lose focus. This art style can be done by kids of all ages. Tell me in comments if you found the activity interesting and will try Pointillism Art with your kids.

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