Straight to the Pointillism Art

Time

Art & Crafts

4 3 2 1 Early-Mid Stages

Benefits

Participants

One to One, Self Led or Group Activity

What you need

Thick paper (any size)
Scrap paper
Colouring-in images, from your favourite colouring book (make sure they’re clear and large)
Various coloured paints
Non-plastic cotton buds

Intro

Pointillism is using lots of dots to create a masterpiece. You might not have heard of this technique before – but we bet our bottom dollar you’ve seen it somewhere.

Like all art, there is no right or wrong way. And with pointillism you can enjoy the meditative nature of colouring in with dots and creating an image bursting with colour.

You can either colour in a ready-drawn image or create your own design

Top tip

Why not draw an outline of the person’s initial and invite them to fill in with dots? This effective and striking letter can be put somewhere around the home or in their own room

The Activity

Since this is a new style of painting, show how to dip the cotton bud into the paint and dot it onto the scrap paper several times in random pattern
Ask each person to have a go on the scrap paper, to get a feel for painting with dots
Once everyone has experimented, switch to the image they’ll be working on
Give each person a piece of thick paper or a ready-drawn image to paint on
Use just one colour at a time and dip the bud gently into the paint, so there’s not too much on it
Dot repeatedly until you fill the image or complete your painting with as many colours as you like
Leave it to dry
Pop your work of art into a frame, or why not turn it into a card and send it to a loved one, telling them all about your new-found artistic skills?