Infant/Toddler Painters

In the same way we would not push a child to walk, no matter their developmental stage, we should not hand an infant or a toddler a brush, paper, and paint and then be perplexed because they first want to feel the bristles of the brush or the slippery wet of the paint across the palm of their hand," notes Christina Aubel in her Beginnings Workshop article, "Toddlers as Scientific Colorists."

"We should not wonder why they grab hold of the paper, waving a chubby fistful of paper in the air, smiling at us as if to say, 'See! I know how to lift, grab, and wave!' We should not be impatient when they take their time to examine the shiny ferrule that joins the brush to the handle.  They are telling us through their actions that they want and need time to study the brush and the paint in the same way an infant studies her wiggling toes, extending her fingers until they finally grab hold.  They  practice over and over how to grasp and grab.  They are informing themselves about how to control those things called toes.  They stretch their minds and their bodies instinctively to inform and learn.  This, too, is how it is with the process of painting.  

"Once infants and toddlers have had the time they need to consider a brush, paper, and paint, then they are ready for the process of painting.  The act of painting is a different creative process for every painter, as is determining when it is complete.  Painting side by side can be a wonderfully collaborative experience for a toddler or it can be a time for individual design.  A painting may fill the paper with color or it may have drips and dabs of many colors.  If the painter has the words, he may tell us the story of his painting.  Some painters simply paint, and then walk away as if to say, 'I’ve said all I have to say with this piece.'  Painting is a process that takes as long as it takes, until the painter is full up.  That’s how it is with artists."

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