It’s not going to be easy for them. We made a fabric painting for Father’s Day and I asked them to re-do it three times. It was the sizing in the fabric and the types of paint we used that caused the need to experiment. By the final go, the three-year-old didn’t want to paint anymore. I did let them choose the colors and paint any way they wanted. I am working on the control issues.
In the end, we went with a washed canvas fabric (to remove sizing) and acrylic paints mixed with water. The kids squirted the paint on with squirt bottles to create puddles. Then I cut the fabric into strips, stapled the strips to an old wooden frame and the five-year-old weaved the strips together. I would like to do another one with just three or four nice bright colors and keep the canvas intact. The uncut painting looks good, doesn’t it? I was thinking of the work by Helen Frankenthaler. I have always loved the rich, bleeding images she creates with unprimed canvas.
