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Jackson Pollock's first drip paintings were compared to baked macaroni by art critic Howard Devree, still he kept going and soon the entire art world was singing his praises.  Personally, I think he made so many drip paintings were because they were so much fun to make.

Drip paintings are a wonderful way for children to paint because it let’s get see how the paint flows, how the viscosity of the paint affects its appearance on the paper.  They love to see the different color paints run together to make new colors.  And really, there is no way to "mess it up".  There are no lines to go outside of, there are no rules -- just color and movement and fun!

To get your Pollock grove going with your children, you’ll need to get your supplies together.   For this project, you'll need some acrylic craft paints, pipe cleaners, water color, a couple toothpicks, some paint brushes (optional) paper and some cups or an art tray to hold the paints. 

I love using inexpensive acrylics from the local craft store.  For starters, they are more fluid than regular acrylics or poster paints.  Also, the small upright bottles are easy to store (and make it easy to pour back what you don’t use), they come in a world of colors and did I mention -- they are cheap?  Most craft store acrylic paints are about $1.50 or less.    

Children love being part of the entire process when it comes to  -- well, everything.  Have them pour the paint into the paper cups or art tray.  Once you have your paint in its respective cup, do a test “drip” on a scrap piece of paper.  Dip a pipe cleaner into the paint, swirl it around a bit and then hold it over your paper.  If the paint doesn't drip right away, even with some light flicking, it is too thick.  Thin it out with a little bit of water and stir it with a pipe cleaner. Once the paint is the right consistency you can begin.  

When the paint runs this easily, it's ready to be used.  

Find a comfortable spot on a table or the floor and grab one sheet of water color paper for you and one for your child.   I recommend your child wear a smock or an old t-shirt, but it isn’t necessary.  Just be warned that your work surface WILL get messy, but try not to think about it while you are working.  Just relax and have fun!  When you are about to begin, you can show your child (on your sheet of water color paper) what you are going to do and explain it to them while you are doing it. 

For instance, "I'm going to paint on my paper but I'm going to let my paint drip onto my paper."  Swirl a pipe cleaner in the paint and then hold it over your paper. You can say, "If I put a lot of paint on my pipe cleaner, I get really big drips."  Show them how if you hold your pipe cleaner above the paper and then tap it, or move it around, the paint will splatter.  And then, let them do it on their sheet.  They might be shy about it at first, but soon they will splattering and dripping and experimenting with different colors. Remember, things will get messy (we noticed a few paint splats on our floor) but you can always clean it up when you're done.  Enjoy this moment. 

 Once your child has some nice, big fat drops of paint on his or her sheet, show them how they can run a toothpick through the drops to create some thin lines.

As your child adds more and more splatters of paint, ask them if they can see anything in their painting.  As my son was working on his piece, he excitedly exclaimed, "Look, a snake!  And I see a big circle with little circles.  I see blue color inside my red color."

The point of this project isn’t to tell children how to paint, or to let them infer that there is a right or wrong way to do it.   The point is to let them explore with paint and feel confident and happy about their results.  If they begin using the pipe cleaners like a paint brush, that’s O.K.  If they begin to use their fingers, that’s wonderful.  As Pollock himself said about his drip work, "...there is no accident."   Whatever the kids create is theirs and they’ll be proud of the end result.