After the success of Finn’s process art canvas, he was commissioned to make a second large canvas for Nain and Taid’s house. He had been given the request for something with sea colours on it, so I let him take full creative control.

Resources

  • Canvas
  • Poster paint
  • Shower puff
  • Textured roller
  • Paint brush
  • Sensory ball
  • Coriander
  • Washing up brush

Method

Finny started off using a shower puff to give the textured effect of the sand on the beach.

He left a bit of white space between his sandy beach and his ‘turquoise part’ of his sea.

He used a textured roller, moving it in different directions.

“The water gets darker the deeper out you go.”

He flipped the canvas upside down to have better access to the deeper water. He painted large curved waves in dark blue.

He layered up some purple paint.

He covered up his white areas with the purple waves.

He mixed white and black together to get grey paint.

He used an old sensory ball to make prints. These were his rocks and pebbles on the beach.

He added some brown to the grey, to make some brown sand.

He uses some fresh coriander to make seaweed prints on the beach. He started off with green seaweed, then added some purple too.

He painted the sand castle that they built on their last visit to the beach.

He then used a paint brush and added a blue moat around Greedy Green’s castle. Every time they build a sandcastle, the green spade Greedy Green tries to invade it. He added a tiny painting of Greedy Green next to the castle, along with a little orange crab further along the beach.

Finny used a washing up brush to add white to the crest of his waves.

When he’d finished, he invited Ioan in to talk him through his painting.

DfES Early Learning Goals (2017)

Physical development

ELG 04 – Moving and handling:

Children show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. They handle equipment and tools effectively.

Expressive arts and design

ELG 16 – Exploring and using media and materials:

Children safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

ELG 17 – Being imaginative:

Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories.