Next fall I get to help with our local literacy festival by talking about Eric Carle. If you’re not familiar with the name, perhaps you’ll recognize his work:
Beautiful, huh? I’ve done Eric Carle-style painting with my class before, and it’s very fun. His illustrations are not paintings, but collages made with ‘pretty papers’. He paints designs on paper – stripes, dots, squiggles, stamps – then uses them together to make magic!
Except that he doesn’t use regular paper. He paints on tissue paper. When I do this in preschool we just use plain paper, but I’ve always wanted to try Mr Carle’s way. Well, why not now? I bought a cheap pack for a dollar and cut it up.
My work surface at home is an old Van Gogh print I bought at a yard sale. I think it’s fitting.
It wasn’t as hard as I thought. You first paint all over with one color. Actually, if you’re Eric Carle you first paint with matte medium, a substance that stiffens the paper and primes it. WalMart didn’t have it, so I was out of luck. It worked out ok.
As you wait for that to dry you paint many, many more base papers and lay them out all over the dining room. Then you paint designs on the dry papers. You yell at Wally to get off your papers. You wash paint off the cat’s paws.
I asked Lloyd to come and try so I could see the best way to explain it to someone new. He got grumpy, but I think he did wonderfully.
The paper is so delicate it can be frustrating, but once you get the hang of it it’s so addictive. That’s why the sessions are going to be so fun – I’m just going to let people paint while videos of Eric Carle play in the background.
I’m a big proponent of ‘process, not product’. The painting is where the joy comes from, not the making of a thing. However, we’ll also make a thing. Suggestion: One paper strip, two pointy ovals, one circle, several petal shapes.
I call it ‘The Very Grumpy Husband’. I’m sure it will be a best-seller.
Deborah says
Eric Carle is coming?
Lauren says
Nope. Just me. (sad trombone sound)
Brad says
Lloyd’s work is not signed. Get him to sign it before he dies so it can be worth a lot for his posthumous popularity.
Lloyd says
I was oddly grumpy. I’m normally so chipper.
Jill says
Love the flower. If you had told me it was Eric Carle’s from a new book, I would have believed you.
Anonomous says
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! Eric should totally use it in a new book!
Peggy says
I don’t know why it says Anonomous above….
And I’d love to try this. But it seems like alot of work. Maybe one day.
Kristi says
Your paint smock is so clean!!!
I agree with Anonymous Peggy: you should send it to Eric Carle.