The Imagination Tree

Creative play and learning for kids

  • Home
  • Start here!
  • Welcome
    • About Me
    • Popular Posts
    • Play Challenge
    • Subscribe
  • Age
    • Baby
    • Toddler
    • Preschooler
    • School Age
  • Activities
    • Literacy
    • Numeracy
    • Creativity
    • Physical
    • PHSE
    • Science
  • Resources
    • Spaces
    • Toys
    • Books
  • Contact
  • Kindness Elves

Rainbow Comb Paintings

February 21, 2013 by Anna Ranson

Enjoy a fabulous art process using combs and brightly coloured paints, to explore textures and patterns with kids! 
Painting sessions with young children are much less about creating an end result and finished product than they should be about exploring materials in an experimental, hands-on way. This fun activity teaches kids tout using new materials in a different way, investigating how to create patterns and textures and observing colour mixing.

 We recently found this great selection of plastic combs at the £1 shop and stocked up on them ready to do some fun experimenting with what effects we could create when dragging them through paint. Using a baking tray lined with tin foil, we squirted in some bright, ready-mix paints in rainbow colour order and dipped the combs into it to pick up some colour on the tips.

First they tried scraping the paint onto the paper this way, but it was hard to pick up enough to make many marks, so we quickly modified our idea by squirting the paints directly onto the paper and then scraping the combs through straight away. The results were gorgeous! We found the wide-tooth comb was the most effective although the fine combs did create an interesting contrast of tiny lines.
When we added larger amounts of paint, the colours merged together in a beautiful marbled effect after the comb was dragged through.  Some sections looked like the patterns in peacock feathers!
Next I tried squirting the paint on in three wavy lines of colours, then asked them to experiment with combing the paint in a downward stroke to see what would happen as they combined. The result was a beautiful ocean-like effect!

 We did the same again using two colours in a swirly heart shape, and they combed in criss-cross patterns to blend and mix them together.

We did find that the colours quickly merged to become a gunky brown sludge if over-painted and mixed through. So after a couple of experimental attempts we talked about simply dragging the colours until they were just mixed, then moving onto the next piece of paper. It helps to have lots of papers ready to go, as once they have started they are very keen to work fast!
These could look stunning as papers to cover notebooks or cut into shapes for the front of birthday and thank you cards for friends!
If you enjoyed this post then check out our hundreds of other art and craft ideas for children here!
What they are learning as they play:
creativity: experimenting witha  range of media, creating textures and patterns using everyday materials, combining colours to create new ones
motor skills: dragging an object, baby grip, hand/eye co-ordination, wrist and hand muscle strength
Never miss a play idea again! Sign up to have all posts delivered straight to your inbox.

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurnerJoin us on The Imagination Tree facebook page for daily play ideas and conversation with the early years community!


Related Posts

  • Counting and Addition Activity Tray
  • Alphabet Sound Machine
  • Nature Exploration Table Nature Exploration Table
  • Counting and Measuring with LegoCounting and Measuring with Lego
  • Counting with Beads and Pipe Cleaners Maths Activity
  • Count and Sort Posting Box Maths Game

Filed Under: Art, Art and Craft, Comb, Painting, Patterns, Preschooler, Rainbows, Texture, Toddler Tagged With: Preschool Ideas

« Baby Play: Circles Treasure Basket
Exploring Capacity with Coloured Water »

Comments

  1. Deborah Alter-Rasche says

    February 22, 2013 at 5:26 am

    That heart looks so cool!

  2. Payday loan lenders says

    February 22, 2013 at 8:15 am

    I love it, they are so creative and amazing, I’m impressed with that…

  3. Anonymous says

    February 22, 2013 at 10:45 am

    Reduce heat; simmeг, uncovered, for 35
    to 40minutes or to dеѕirеd consistency,
    ѕtiгring oсcasionally. From there we movеd on
    to dinneг, a staggeгing sρread of mouth-wаtering options prерared
    for us by local restaurant legend 5 & 10. Νow yοu’re ready to be creative with the outside of the cake.

    My site :: mario batali pizza pan and griddle

  4. Wild bird seed says

    February 22, 2013 at 11:05 am

    Very creative thinking, Paintings looks amazing.

  5. Mamiczka says

    February 22, 2013 at 11:11 am

    Rewelacja!

  6. PragmaticMom says

    February 22, 2013 at 1:12 pm

    These comb paintings are lovely! What a great idea! Pinning and tweeting it.

  7. despina hatzi says

    February 22, 2013 at 2:45 pm

    very creative and really great idea! what kind of colours did you actually use for your paintings?

  8. gina says

    February 22, 2013 at 4:34 pm

    Love this!
    On a different note every time we paint the paper ends up rolling – it never stays flat once dry. Does this happen to you too? How do I keep them flat for hanging?

    • Anonymous says

      February 23, 2013 at 4:40 pm

      Once you are done painting tape the paper to flat area until it is dry. It will stay flat.

  9. Anonymous says

    February 23, 2013 at 11:26 am

    THIS is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  10. christina says

    February 25, 2013 at 3:28 pm

    this looks like fun, my little one (2.5 yrs) isn’t always so interested in paint in any form but she might get a big kick out of this.

    by the way, if you happen to have suggestions for the type of paints you use most often, for this kind of thing or whatever, I would love to hear them. I see “bright, ready-mix paints” described in the post, is that just tempera paints? something else non-toxic? do you ever use powder and mix it yourself? thanks.

  11. Reveilmilitant.Org says

    July 29, 2013 at 12:37 am

    A person essentially lend a hand to make drastically articles or blog posts I’d condition. Right here is the brand new I actually visited your online web page and as much as right now? My spouse and i astonished using the analysis you’ve made for making this particular send remarkable. Outstanding procedure!

Trackbacks

  1. 21 Blogs with Creative Spring Activities to do with Your Preschooler | Summer Nanny says:
    April 24, 2013 at 2:17 pm

    […] Rainbow Comb Paintings Take a big tooth comb and some finger paint and explore the texture that the comb creates in the paint with your preschooler. […]

  2. צורות שונות לעבודה עם צבע – רעיונות יצירה לילדים לקיץ | הזמנה ליצירה says:
    July 4, 2013 at 7:09 am

    […] מקרטונים החתוכים בצורה משוננת. ברוח הדברים, גם עבודה עם מסרקים על תלוליות צבע, היא תהליך […]

The Imagination Tree on FacebookThe Imagination Tree on TwitterThe Imagination Tree on PinterestThe Imagination Tree on G+RSS feed from The Imagination TreeThe Imagination Tree straight to your inbox

Search The Imagination Tree

About The Imagination Tree Hello and welcome! I'm Anna, Mama of 4, early years teacher and play enthusiast from the UK! Click here to read more about me.

The Kindness Elves Store
Play Ideas on The Imagination Tree

Create with The Imagination Tree

Makes on The Imagination Tree

Sign up for our FREE emails:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT