“Pointing” to Spring
Objective: Although it may not feel like it today (brrrrrrrrrrr), spring is here! Celebrate the season by painting signs of spring (think birds, butterflies, flowers…) Pointillist style! Pointillism is a style of art where small dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Easy to do for children and requiring only a few, simple materials.
Materials:
- Paint (watercolor, tempera, craft or acrylic)
- Paper
- Q-tips
Instructions:
- Begin by discussing and viewing the art of Georges Seurat and how his technique of placing dots of pure color, unmixed, close together creates an optical illusion of blending. For example, dots of blue placed beside dots of yellow will be viewed by the eye as green if you stand back from the image.
- Sketch out your image using a pencil with a simple line drawing. Try not to add too much detail. This can be anything, but lets collectively think of a spring themed image.
- Dip the Q-tip into the paint (try using just your primary colors of red, blue, and yellow, along with white and black) and press the tip into the paint to start making your dots. It’s tempting to try to use the Q-tip like a paintbrush, but try to resist that movement and just focus on the up and down dotting method. The closer you make your dots and the more space you fill up with color, the more effective your work will be.
Fun Fact: Did you know the name Pointillism is also given to a style of 20th century music. Different notes are made separately from each other, giving the sound a texture similar to pointillism. This type of music is also known as (get ready for it……) Klangfarbenmelodie!
