Fingerprint Pointillism Painting for Kids

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A Painting for Kids Project + Art History Learning, Too!

Considering my first career was as an art teacher, I’m a little embarrassed (and sad) to admit that I haven’t done many art history inspired projects with my own kids.

Maybe it’s because I was left a bit jaded from the stress of teaching it to rowdy ninth grade boys and restless seniors with their eyes on nothing but graduation.

Or maybe it’s because I get intimidated by all of the art supplies and art history options and the thought of fitting one more thing into our busy life.

Either way, when I was invited to join some of my favorite fellow bloggers in a month long series entitled “Exploring Famous Artists,” I knew it was just the kick in the once-an-art-teacher-always-an-art-teacher pants I needed.

So I chose one of my favorite artists from art history – Georges Seurat – and came up with this fun fingerprint painting for kids (perfect for my preschooler but fun for kids of all ages, too).

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First, the Simple Low-Down on George Seurat:

A French painter – who lived from 1859 – 1891
A pioneer of the Neo-Impressionist technique called Pointillism – using small dots/strokes of complementary colors (instead of mixing paint colors) to make more vivid tones
Was fascinated with the science of color and how our eyes see it

Georges Seurat (French, Paris 1859–1891 Paris); Study for “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte”, 1884; oil on canvas; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Sam A. Lewisohn, 1951. Learn more about Study for “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” here.

Fingerprint Pointillism Painting for Kids – Inspired by Georges Seurat

Supplies:

coloring pages from a kids coloring book with big, simple illustrations
washable kids paint
a simple kitchen sponge cut into pieces and slightly damp (optional)
a small plate or paper plate
paper towels (for cleaning little fingertips between colors)
examples of paintings by Georges Seurat

Steps:

First, choose a coloring page with big, simple illustrations. J.C. chose from an animal coloring book.

Put some paint on each piece of sponge. (I cut one kitchen sponge into 4 pieces and limited our paint selection to just 4 basic colors.) These small paint sponges will be your kiddo’s “stamp pads.”

You could also just put paint on a paper plate or reusable paint pallete. But using the sponges like “stamp pads” makes for less paint on little fingertips and therefore less mess.

Look at examples of paintings by Georges Seurat with your child and discuss the basics of Pointillism (explained simply above and on this great art history website).

We looked at examples in two of our favorite children’s art history books:

The Usborne Art Book about Color (Currently Out of Print, but check out the other Usborne Art Books, too!)
The (Usborne) Children’s Book of Art

I read J.C. the children’s book text about George Seurat and Pointillism while he painted.

Show your kiddo how he can press his fingertip onto the paint sponge then make fingerprint dots – like the dots Seurat painted with – on his coloring page.

Make sure to show him how to wipe his finger clean between colors.

Encourage your little ones to explore the use of different colored dots within a single shape or space on the coloring page.

Then, let your little one have fun! Don’t stress about fingerprint dots being perfectly spaced or just the right colors.

The looks of the final painting doesn’t really matter; your child’s exploration of color, paint, and art history does!

It’s not about the final product, it’s about the EXPLORATION! #kidsart

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Follow Along with the Exploring Famous Artists Series!

Make sure to hop on over to the Exploring Famous Artists page (on the fun and inspiring blog, Messy Little Monster) and pin it or bookmark it to follow along with the art history fun all month long!