How to Make a Negative Space Easter Painting

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Two years ago, in the onset of Covid-19 my oldest, who was 3, was in desperate need of some fun activities. With Easter fast approaching and the parks all closed, Batman, was going stir crazy.  Did I mention I also chose this time of social isolation to cut back on TV watching?  What was I thinking!  Apparently, I wasn’t!  Over the holidays I found some flat canvases on sale that I picked up for art projects and figured what time then now to put them to good use.  So we embarked on creating an Easter painting. 

It turned out so much better than I imagined it would and was a lot less messy too.

Materials:

• Construction paper or Canvas
• Paint
• Sponge brush
• Bunny cutout
• Tape or removable adhesive

I found an image online of a bunny rabbit that I was able to cut out free hand with scissors.  For this project I just used regular printer paper.  Next time I will definitely use my Cricut and cut out the image in vinyl, it should give crisper lines.  But I had loaned my Cricut to my sister and hadn’t bothered to go get it back from her yet. So I decided to make due with what I had.

Batman and I then used double stick tape to secure the bunny on the canvas.  I took some extra time making sure the edges were good and secure, to limit the amount of paint able to seep under the cutout. 

I put a little bit of pink, purple, green, and yellow paint (all Easter-ish colors) in bowls and sat Batman at the table with the canvas, paint, and a sponge brush.  Then I let him go to town.

He had so much fun dabbing the brush in the paint and then dabbing it all over the canvas.  Then he would choose a different color and do the same thing.  He made sure to announce each color he was using whenever he switched.  The dabbing continued until the entire white canvas was covered in purple, pink, yellow, and green.

The canvas was then set aside to dry.

Once the paint was mostly dry, I peeled off the bunny.  And ta-da, one negative space Easter painting completed. 

I think the final product looks really cool, and Batman admired his “bunny painting” for weeks.

Try your own negative space Easter painting, I would love to see the final product!

If you’re looking for more fun Easter activities you should check out 10 Creative Ways to Dye Easter Eggs (that can be done with Toddlers) and Tips for Dying Easter Eggs with Toddlers (so you have fun too).