If you’ve ever wondered how to unleash your child’s creativity while embracing the joy of playful messiness, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’re jumping into the wonderful world of outdoor messy painting with kids. Children possess an innate sense of wonder and curiosity, and there’s no better way to nurture these qualities than through art. When you combine the freedom of the outdoors with the kaleidoscope of colors offered by messy painting, you open the door to a world of creativity and self-expression.

I find that any time Jaxson is having a tough day, is having difficulty with his emotions or is just generally in a bad mood…if we get outside and do something creative, it immediately changes his demeanor. We spent some time this weekend experimenting with our new watercolor paper and thought I would share some tips from our adventures! Let’s roll up our sleeves and get messy! 🎨

Preparing Your Painting Space: If you have a concrete patio or sidewalk, that’s great, but if not, you can put down an old sheet in the grass to sit on! The best part about painting outside, is that you can just wash it off, without worrying about messing anything up like your furniture. You’ll want to gather your painting supplies and make sure to have plenty of water and snacks.

Choosing the Right Paints and Tools: I’m a HUGE fan of the tempera paint pucks. Literally the colors can get all mixed up, you can pour huge amounts of water on them (every kid will do this) and they will still last forever. Ok, maybe not actually forever…but you get the picture. This paint dries really quickly, easily washes off of both your kid and your stuff.🌟I’m convinced it’s filled with magical powers.🌟 You’ll also want a few paint brushes of various sizes, a cup of water and of course paper or canvases! I really love the small watercolor pieces of paper, but anything that is blank will work.

Creative Messy Painting Ideas:

1.Abstract Art: Just let them scribble scrabble, with zero plans and you’ll end up with something beautiful to put in a frame. You can encourage them to try different colors and practice mixing colors to see what new colors you can make! If you have a really little one, this is such a great opportunity to practice your colors and as they get older, you can include things like writing the words out in their respective colors!

2. Hand and Foot Prints: Who doesn’t love a good handprint to remember just how little they were? Make sure to gets lot of wet tempura paint and cover their whole palm using a paint brush. I like to do one hand at a time, so it doesn’t dry out too fast. You can also have them walk in the paint/water mixture that’s on the ground and then step on the paper to get a footprint! Pro Tip: Always date the back of your artwork. Trust me, do you even remember what you did yesterday?

3. Nature Prints: Take the messy painting fun to the next level by incorporating elements from nature. Collect leaves, flowers, and twigs, and have the kids dip them into paint before pressing them onto paper or canvas to create beautiful nature prints.

4. Splatter Paint: Teach your kid how to flick the paint brush to create a splatter effect! It’s so much fun to change up the colors and create a unique piece of art each and every time!

5. Painting with Toy Cars: Dip toy cars’ wheels in paint and let the kids roll them across the paper, creating colorful tracks and designs. I definitely recommend this for an outdoor car or one that you don’t mind getting wet, since you’ll need to wash off the paint. You can use different cars with varying types of tires to show similarities and differences in the tracks!

Clean up and Display: After you have finished your time outside, the fun isn’t over! I let the paint pucks dry out just a bit before putting them in the art tub. Art tub? Absolutely! Make sure you have a plastic tub that you can just throw everything back in when it’s dry. It’s so easy to have your paper, brushes, paint, etc. all in one place! I have a piece of twine that hangs up in out kitchen for us to display his art! We use little miniature clothes pins to attach them and change out the artwork every couple of months! I put the previous art work in one of those plastic scrapbook containers!

Outdoor messy painting isn’t just about getting paint on clothes or creating a masterpiece; it’s about fostering imagination, nurturing creativity, and encouraging a sense of wonder. As parents, caregivers, or educators, we play a vital role in providing an environment where kids can explore, play, and make beautiful messes. I’m so grateful for the memories I have of these slower times with Jaxson!

Tell me what you plan to do for your next creative play in the comments below and subscribe to my blog for more fun and creative ideas!

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