Looking for a new painting technique that doesn’t involve paint brushes? Blowing into a straw to spread out the paint makes unique art pieces that you can transform into monsters!
Blow painting with straws is a super easy and fun way to make abstract art with your kids. It allows your kids to use their imagination and creativity and the resulting artwork always looks amazing.
We decided to make little germ monsters out of the blow paintings. Especially with so much worry about the viruses going around, these cute germ monsters help make the world a little less scary.
This blow painting art activity is simple so even preschoolers can do it. The beauty is that there is no right or wrong way to do this, so let your child explore what they can make with just some paint and straws.
How to Blow Paint with Straws
Materials:
- Liquid watercolor paint or washable kids paint (we used glitter washable kids paint)
- Straws
- Watercolor paper or thick cardstock paper
- Optional: Googly eyes and glue
- Dropper
- Cups or containers for paint
Instructions:
1. If using washable kids paint, pour the paint into little cups, add a few drops of water, and mix. I suggest testing the consistency to see if your kids can blow the paint easily on paper.
2. If using liquid watercolor paint, simply pour the paint into little cups.
3. Pick up some paint with the dropper and squeeze a little on to the paper. You can also carefully pour the paint from the cups directly onto paper.
4. Use the straw to blow the paint. Encourage your kids to try blowing soft and hard, holding the straw far and near the paper, and blowing in all directions.
5. Optional: Glue googly eyes on the germ monsters after the paint has dried.
Blow painting with straws is one of my kids’ favorite painting techniques. Since there is no one way to paint, they don’t feel the pressure to draw their little germ monsters. I told them to do whatever their little hearts desire!
One fun discussion that came out of this blow painting activity was what the paint on the paper ends up looking like. Basically, we inadvertently made the inkblot test (also called the “Rorschach” test).
For example, my son said that one of his inkblots looked like a witch with a long pointy nose. I thought the same inkblot looked like a seahorse. Very different interpretations!
The googly eyes made our germs monsters so adorable. We made some cyclops ones, others with two huge eyes, and some even had 3 eyes!
And my favorite – the mommy and baby germs.
For other painting techniques for kids, check out: