Simple Joys of Splatter Paint

I still remember discovering the joys of splatter painting. I have a distinct memory of being in the painting corner of my playschool center and experimenting with splattering paint onto paper clipped to an easel. I loved seeing the different shaped blobs and noticing when colors overlapped. I also remember being encouraged later on to not splatter paint quite as much.

This week's forecast looks pretty rainy and splatter painting seemed like a great connection to rainy days. There's something about the way the paint drips across paper that reminds me of rain splashing against windowpanes. And although I figured it could create a mess, I couldn't wait to introduce Big Brother to the joys of splatter painting.

The materials are simple: paint, paper, and brushes. I scored these great paint containers with lids at a yard sale a few weeks ago, but any kind of container can be used. And we added to our paint color selection over the weekend, so we were excited to use purple and orange. But again, any range of colors can be splatter painted with. (I did use washable paints, because I knew we were going to get it on more surfaces than the paper.)

We read a cute book based on the traditional rhyme "Rain, rain, go away" which featured a lot of umbrellas. So I used a fine point sharpie marker to draw umbrellas onto the paper. 

I was planning on setting the painting up on the kitchen floor, and planned to just clean up A LOT afterwards, but the rain cleared up and we were able to head out on the deck. 

We found this easel in good shape in a "free" pile at the end of a road. It makes a great deck toy, as we already had an easel mounted in the living room. We always keep our eyes out for deals.

And now to begin splatter painting. I modeled how to splatter the paint and Big Brother's response was . . . 

"I don't want to splatter paint, I just want to paint." 

Bummer. 

But in an effort to encourage his own creativity I decided to let it go. (Despite being a mildly heartbroken mama who thought she was showing her high energy boy his soon to be favorite thing.) 

But then after some painting, 

on his own whim, he decided to give it a try. 

(I promise I didn't bribe him with chocolate, although I freely admit to using that in other situations like trying new foods and posing for a family photo.)

He really got into when he discovered the paint didn't just go onto the painting, it could fly in lots of directions. It was particularly amusing to us both when a huge blob of blue landed 10 feet away in the garden. Good thing it's washable. 

Little Brother watched from his seat, and yup, he even got a little paint on him. 

Big Brother experimented with different arcs and ranges of closeness. And he still did a lot of "smearing" after he'd splattered. 

Despite his initial resistance he enjoyed it. And I of course had to get in there and experiment a little too . . . together it was a lot of fun for this rainy morning. 

The last splatter painted umbrella of the morning.