Paint!

We have gotten into the paint around here, oh yes, yes we have. The photos above are from a few weeks back when we used finger paints for the very first time. I had the table covered in craft paper and all of our tools and materials ready to go when Rylie woke from her nap. After a nibble on a snack, she was ready to go. She was hesitant at first, checking out the scene and examining all of this new stuff. We started with a small amount of paint in a pie tin. One thing I will do differently next time is keep the bottles of paint out of sight because they became a bit of a distraction for her. I had picked up a few fun things to experiment with along with the paints: combs, cookie cutters, straws, chopsticks. All of which are ideas that I got from this book.

This week we got out the brushes and a canvas I had on hand. After reading this post, I was inspired to let Rylie create her very first painting on a canvas that we could hang on the door to her new toy & art closet. To prepare the scene, I laid a drop cloth on an area of our living room with the most space and covered a low table with craft paper and set her up with three different colors of paint. These paints are easily washable so I had no reservations about her painting in such close proximity to our couch. Towards the end she did get bored with the canvas and began studying the surrounding area for other surfaces to paint upon. That's when I said, Rylie do you want to Splash (this is our saying for bath time) and her focus was shifted from painting on furniture to coloring on the walls in the tub. This was a fascinating exploration, and just like Meg, I snapped oodles of photos, more than I can count.



I was intrigued while watching her work through all of the different thoughts and ideas she was having about the whole experience. She would not be restrained to just the canvas. No way! She used her whole body.






And she is already exhibiting signs of a trained artist. Here she is summoning her muse:

Mixing paints to create the perfect avocado green:
And signing the back of her painting: I am eager with anticipation as we take the first steps on this art exploration together. As long as Rylie shows interest in creativity and making things, I will always be there to provide gentle encouragement. It is a true privelege to watch her personality and creative spirit emerge. I sit in rapt attention (when I'm not clicking away at my camera) to see what she will do at the next turn. Between the two of us there is oh so much learning going on.




Here is her lovely canvas now, dry and prominently displayed in our living room.