3 Activties to Spark a Love for Art in Your Child

Can We Just Hug a Painting?

Art isn’t just for galleries.

We believe art it’s for little hands, curious eyes, and tiny hearts that sometimes don’t yet have all the words.

Art is another language, a way for even babies and toddlers to say: “I feel happy,” “I’m frustrated,” “I have something to show you.”

So, how can we invite art into their world in a way that’s fun, meaningful and maybe just a little bit messy?

Let’s meet some artists who are perfect companions for this journey:

Jackson Pollock: Marble Paint

Ever feel like your toddler is full of wild energy? So was Jackson Pollock. He didn’t paint pretty flowers or careful portraits. He splashed, dripped, and threw paint to express how he felt- no rules, just pure feeling.

Try this at home:

Grab a tray, paper, some paint, and a marble. Drop the marble onto the paint-splashed paper and tilt the tray around.

Watch the marble dance and draw. You’ve just made your first Pollock-inspired masterpiece!

Henri Matisse: Snip, Snip, Collage

When Matisse couldn’t stand to paint anymore, he picked up scissors and started cutting: huge colorful shapes like dancers, leaves, and snails, and made art that took up entire walls.

Sounds familiar? Toddlers love cutting, gluing, sticking, and rearranging. So let them!

Try this at home:

Cut out bold shapes from colored paper and make a wall-sized collage or a tiny one on canvas.

Start by showing them Matisse’s, The Snail. There’s a secret tiny snail hidden in it. Can they spot it?

David Hockney: Yes, That iPad is Art

If you’ve ever caught your child using crayons as snacks or painting their toes, we feel you. But art doesn’t have to mean mess.

Enter: David Hockney. He’s a brilliant British artist who at times paints using...wait for it...iPads. His vibrant, joyful art shows that creativity can live right on a screen._‍

P.S. Speaking of useful ways to use technology (ahem, ahem…)

Try this:

Pull up a drawing app and let your child create digital doodles. No cleanup, no stained shirts, just pure expression. (And maybe a new screensaver?)

Bonus tip: Traveling this summer? Don’t miss Hockney’s exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris! Your kids will love it!

Art isn’t about perfection. It’s about feeling, exploring, . Whether your child is smearing paint, cutting paper, or swiping digital colors, what they’re really doing is saying:

“This is me”

So let them be.

Want more creative inspiration for tiny hands? Stay tuned, Bubu Island is full of it!

‍