The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

student can overlap and blend colors by pouring in the same spot, or he can create a more striped effect by spacing the poured areas. The important thing is to let each child make the decision as to what color, and where.

For the exceptional child who may struggle with more figurative art, this provides a chance for non-brush painting activity, which is better for a child whose movements are often spastic. Also, for the exceptional child with focus issues, this kind of large activity painting provides a creative outlet without the extreme discipline of a project that requires finer motor skills and intense concentration.

Once the student has squeezed out an amount of color onto his “poured painting” to achieve the desired effect, the paint needs time to dry. It is best to leave the painting in place exactly as is for a few hours, outside. The thinned paint should easily wash off the table surface that was used as an easel, but I would not recommend using the squeezie bottles that had paint in them for any food product, once you are finished!

Another option is to hang all the wet paintings carefully on a clothesline with clip clothespins. Go back and make another poured painting at the tabletop on its side! I have found that students like to do several of these paintings so that they can explore different color combinations and pouring techniques.

Another option is to provide a spray bottle with plain water in it. After the colors have been poured on, the student can step away and spray the surface with a light mist of water to see what happens to the color. Or, conversely, mix up a diluted solution of paint in a spray bottle with a color not used anywhere else, and let the student spray that onto the poster board as a last step. The idea is to apply paint to the surface without using a brush and to achieve a wonderful explosion of color.

Morris Louis started off pouring his
thinned paint in loose veils of color in
the mid 1950s, but by the time he reached
the next decade, his paintings were much
more controlled. Long, even stripes of
color on a field of stark white became
the norm. Instead of poured paintings
in which the pull of gravity is obvious, as
the paint puddles at the vertical bottom,
Louis planned his works horizontally
or diagonally. Louis became one of the
foremost artists in a small group known
as color field painters. 2

Pat has been drawing and painting since she was able to hold a crayon. Pat has a degree in art education, a teaching credential, and has taught art in Pennsylvania and California. In addition to being the master artist for the See the Light ART CLASS and ART PROJECTS DVD series, Pat teaches art and chorus at a charter elementary school in the Los Angeles area. Pat lives in a windy part of southern California with her husband and two almost-grown sons.