Kids paint with string

After I finished my string painting the other day, the kids decided it looked fun enough to try. It worked pretty well. I had done this at art school using ink, which created a cleaner black line, but I wanted this to be waterproof so I used thinned acrylic paint. Here are the steps:

1. Add water or acrylic medium to black acrylic paint to thin, until it is an ink-like consistency.

2. Prepare area and child to get messy. Get out a few paint brushes to scrape off excess paint, and a paper towel.

3. Cut a piece of string about 6 inches long.

4. Have the child hold the end of the string and then let it dangle into the paint, soaking it. It must be quite wet to create a fluent line. Just play with letting the string drag and dangle to create different shapes. Reapply paint as needed.

5. Let paint dry completely.

6. Using watercolour and a medium sized paint brush, have the child paint several spots of the painting with one colour at a time. After painting about 3-4 spots one colour, rinse the brush thoroughly and pick another colour. When most of the spaces are painted, voilà, you are finished.