Handpainting art for kids with special needs

Hand Painting

Painting with hands (sometimes called finger painting) in schools is often considered to be appropriate for younger children only and not for older students. this is wrong. Painting with the hands is a method of application used by many working artists. It is a wonderful way to become immersed in the medium, it is the most direct way to apply paint to a surface and it is very much a tactile experience. The paint can be applied and worked into a surface in many ways. Paint can be poured onto the hand and then applied onto the surface ready to be worked. It is an activity that most students rarely tire of and produces individual and unique results.

Hand painting is probably best done on a table and then printed off, onto paper. This gives the artist plenty of room, a good surface to work on and helps recycle paint for the next art work. On other surfaces, such as those listed below, painting can be done on the actual surface and then printed from it.

Listed here are some of the variations that can be made with hand painting to produce different tactile sensations and a range of art works.

Hand paint on:

Sand paper
Corrugated cardboard
acetate sheets
clear plastic i.e. perspex or laminate.

Create patterns in the paint with:

blocks
rulers
fingers
feet
duplo blocks
forks
paint brush ends

Combine paint with:

sugar
salt
sand
liquid soap
soap flakes
glycerine
shaving cream

Note: Glue can be worked into the paint to assist in the adhering of materials such as sand and salt. Clag glue is suitable. PVA or wood glue is suitable to help the paint adhere to plastic or glass.

Some variations include:

Bright colours on black paper
Yellow paint to print on black paper and vice versa
White paint on black paper and vice versa
Hand paint of paper on an art easel
Hand paint on 3D shapes, such as a cardboard box (which may be primed with white paint first)

Some unique examples of hand painting

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