What are shamrocks? Shamrocks are the young sprigs of the clover plant. They are also a symbol of Ireland and are associated with St Patrick’s Day. Finding a four leaf clover is thought to bring you good luck!
Shamrock Splatter Painting
Ever tried to find a lucky shamrock or four leaf clover? Why not try out a fun and easy process art activity for St Patrick’s Day this March. Create a shamrock splatter painting at home or in the classroom with a few simple supplies. Simple St Patrick’s Day art for kids inspired by famous artist, Jackson Pollock. We love simple St Patrick’s Day activities for kids!
JACKSON POLLOCK – THE FATHER OF ACTION PAINTING
Famous artist, Jackson Pollock was often called the Father of Action Painting. Pollock had a special style of painting where he dripped paint onto large canvases on the floor.
This way of painting was called action painting because Pollock would move very quickly across the painting, pouring and splattering the paint in drips and in long, messy lines.
Sometimes he threw the paint onto the canvas – and some of his paintings still have footprints on them from when he stepped in the paint
Create your own fun and unique shamrock art for St Patrick’s Day with your own action painting techniques. Let’s get started!
MORE FUN SPLATTER PAINTING IDEAS
WHY DO ART WITH KIDS?
Children are naturally curious. They observe, explore, and imitate, trying to figure out how things work and how to control themselves and their environments. This freedom of exploration helps children form connections in their brain, it helps them learn—and it’s also fun!
Art is a natural activity to support this essential interaction with the world. Kids need the freedom to explore and experiment creatively.
Art allows children to practice a wide range of skills that are useful not only for life but also for learning. These include the aesthetic, scientific, interpersonal, and practical interactions that can be discovered through the senses, intellect, and emotions.
Making and appreciating art involves emotional and mental faculties!
Art, whether making it, learning about it, or simply looking at it – offers a wide range of important experiences.
In other words, it’s good for them!
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE SHAMROCK ART PROJECT!
Shamrock Scrape Painting for St Patrick’s Day
This art activity only requires a few materials that you might already have on hand. You only need paint, white cardstock and our free printable shamrock template. You can also draw your own shamrocks too!
Make a green shamrock with two shades of green:
Or make a rainbow version:
We also made a rainbow using paint and scrape painting. We were inspired to do this after making a version for a book we read, called My Color is Rainbow.
This book is about kindness, acceptance and openness and pairs perfectly with any rainbow activity. To make a rainbow that fits with the story of the book, first draw out a white arch with a sharpie on white cardstock. Then have kids scrape the rainbow across. They loved this activity and love the book even more!
You can also just have kids scrape the paint across into the shape of a rainbow on plain white cardstock:
Supplies Needed For Shamrock Scrape Painting
- Acrylic Paint
- White Cardstock
- Thick cardboard (for scraping)
- Free Printable Template – you can get the template at the bottom of the post on the email form that shows a preview of the template
Note – to make a large rainbow, we used a 12×12 size of white cardstock. You can still do the same activity on regular-sized paper too!
Watch the video tutorial here!
How to Scrape Paint a Shamrock and Rainbow
1. First, print off the template. You can get the template at the bottom of the post on the email form that shows a preview of the template.
2. To make the rainbow shamrock, first apply paint in the order of the rainbow across the top of the page.
3. Using a long piece of cardboard across the page, apply even pressure on the cardboard and scrape the paint down the page.
Some tips:
- The bottom of your cardboard needs to be flat so that it will evenly scrape the paint down
- Your cardboard should be thick so that it does not bend when you use it for scraping
- Make sure the paint line goes across the width of the shamrock so you fill the whole space with the paint
Once you’re done scraping, allow the paint to dry. Then you can cut out your shamrock shape.
To make the green shamrock you can do a similar pattern as the rainbow, by alternating two different colors of green.
Or you can add little dollops of paint inside the shamrock with two different colors of green:
Using a smaller piece of cardboard, you can now scrape the paint into different directions to get a scrape painting effect.
To scrape paint a rainbow, add each color of the rainbow with paint on the left side of the paper. Then using a piece of cardboard, scrape the paint into the shape of a rainbow.
We love how easy this one is for kids to make! They will be delighted with their final results and will want to do it over and over again!
Punch some holes into your shamrocks and you can make a banner to decorate your house or classroom.
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