When we look at art, we use our eyes and our feelings. Artist Alice Baber painted her feelings, not pictures of people or houses.
She thinned her paint so it looked like colored water, then poured and dripped it onto a canvas. Some colors would soak into the fabric. Others seem to float on the surface.
This painting is called “Sound of the Red Dance.” Look closely: what colors do you see? Baber believed colors had sounds, just like music. If red is a sound, what sound is it? A drum? A clap? A big laugh?
What shapes do you see? Baber loved circles and ovals. Try making a big circle in the air with your arms.
Now it’s your turn to make a painting that uses water.
For this activity, you will need:
- white paper
- washable paint
- a cup of water
- a paintbrush
To make your painting:
- Cover your work surface for easy clean-up.
- Dip your brush in the cup of water and paint it all over the paper. The whole page should look shiny and wet.
- Dip your brush in one paint color. Touch your brush gently to the wet paper and watch the color spread on its own.
- Rinse your brush, then add a second and third color near the first one, letting the wet paint drip onto the paper. Let the colors flow into each other and mix. You can tilt the paper gently to help them move.
- Try making big, soft oval shapes like Alice Baber.
- Let it dry flat, then admire your art.