This week I came up with the Galaxy Painting Art Project because we are studying outer space in science right now, and my daughter is very excited about science. She is always asking for more science activities. I am always looking for ways to make art with her and mascaraed it as other things she is more pumped about.
It turns out that if you have a mom who is constantly setting up art projects for you, asking you if you want to paint with her and seems to be somewhat obsessed with making art herself, you as a child of said artist mother, often prefer other things… like science. This painting session is a product of that fun dynamic.
Please don’t misunderstand, I love science, too! I also love that my daughter is her own person with her own interests. I just have only so many skills to offer…
Wherever you are in your outer space studies, whether you are studying them at all or you just thought this painting looked fun and like something that would occupy your child for a moment or two, I hope you enjoy this galaxy painting art project as much as we did.
Some quick, easy Solar System resources for you:
- season 1, episode 1 “The Magic School Bus” (OG, not re-imagined) Ms. Frizzle and friends head to outer space (on Netflix)
- StoryBots (on youtube)
- head to solarsystem.nasa.gov AMAZING!
- As always, library books!
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Elements of Art we discussed:
- Texture
- Space
- Color
Supplies:
- Canvas Panel
- Acrylic Paint (we used violet, magenta, titanium white, and phthalo blue, but you could use other colors if you prefer! Just scroll down on the product page to see the individual colors.)
- Paint Brushes
- Paint palette, plate or whatever you like to use to hold paint
- Toothbrush
- Cotton balls
- Water for cleaning brush
Step 1: Set up your work space for your Galaxy Painting Art Project.
Step 2: Next, we started painting with the light pink, but if you have chosen other colors that’s great. I would just recommend starting by blocking in some lighter colors. Usually in painting it’s best to work light to dark (simply because it’s easier to cover light colors with dark colors rather than dark with light).
Step 3: Add the darker magenta around the light magenta, blending with the brush a bit as you paint.
Step 4 + 5: Add the dark blue one section at a time, blotting with the cotton ball right after each section. Doing it quickly while the paint is wet helps create the fuzzy, cloudy texture.
Continue steps 4 and 5, mixing in violet when you feel led to add it, until your canvas is full and you like the painting.
Step 6: Go back over painting with cotton ball to keep creating the cloudy texture effect. The paint will mix in places which helps create the outer space look!
Step 7: Finally, use white paint on the tooth brush to “splatter” paint over the canvas. Adding water to the brush first makes for a better consistency.
Step 8: Admire the artwork! Your Galaxy Painting Art Project is complete! My daughter was so proud that she created this on her own.
Done!
I hope you enjoyed it! We’d LOVE to see YOUR Galaxy Painting Art Project! Tag me on social media and use the hashtag #amybaileyart or comment below to let me know how it went!
