Painting

I’ve never been the crafty type. I am not an artist, I’ve given up on scrapbooking at least three times and the extent of my pottery experience is painting a mug at Plaster Playhouse. But Shawn inspired me to step out of my comfort zone of coloring (with washable markers) inside the lines and letting the girls get a little messy with some finger paints. Truth be told, I was looking for a way to keep the girls from the eighty-nine degree, 100% humidity back yard. Movies weren’t motivating them and they were tired of the playroom. So, I pulled out the paints, some sheets of paper and their paintbrushes.

Initially, the girls stayed on the paper. Audrey is as precise about her paint as she is about her markers. I think she was around twenty-eight months when she began coloring within the lines of a picture. Her attention to detail is amazing, and when she is working, she zones out completely. So, she began dabbing her paintbrush neatly into different colors and painting a portrait of polka-dots, making certain that she did not mix any of the paint colors.

Meanwhile, Maggie had tossed her paintbrush aside for a more convenient tool. Fingers. Soon enough, she had mixed all the colors of her palette until it was a wet mess of brown. She plopped her hands on the paper for a bit but soon became bored with this form of art. So, she squished her fingers together and giggled at the sounds of the paint oozing through her hands and onto her bare legs. Once there, the floodgates were opened. By the time she was done, Maggie had painted most of each arm, her belly and the bottoms of her feet. When Audrey spied what Maggie was doing on the other side of the table, she shook her head in disbelief and continued to quietly paint. But Maggie and I coaxed her to try it too and so she took her paintbrush and gently dabbed a bit on her arm. And then some more. And still more.

When I announced that it was time for a bath, both girls protested. They were having too much fun and they didn’t want it to end any time soon. But I knew if I didn’t put an end to it now, my Beans wouldn’t be the only things covered in paint in the kitchen. Thanks again to Shawn for suggesting this activity. I will definitely come back to it to fight the boredom (and the heat).