Online Activities & Resources

Art Activities

Our regular workshops may have been postponed for now but that doesn't stop us! - Our artists are busy creating workshop ideas to post on this page to help maintain our creative wellbeing. We have made them public and free to access. There's painting tips and print making ideas for you to explore below ︎︎︎

︎New activities added 

In this section:

1. ︎Painting Tips for Beginners ︎
2. ︎︎Sgraffito (scratch art) ︎
3. ︎︎Monoprinting
4. ︎Collagraph Printing
5. ︎︎Abstract Sound Painting
6. ︎Photography Challenge

Activity 1

︎︎Painting Tips for Beginners

Looking for tips to help improve your painting techniques or not sure where to start? Watch our video tutorial for handy hints and tips. Try recreating each exercise yourself to practice.

This tutorial covers:

1. Introduction and materials
2. The difference between water colour and acrylic paints (start time approx. 40 sec.)
3. Shading and tone (start time approx. 9 min 30 sec.)
4. Mixing colours / the colour wheel (start time approx. 15 min)
5. Using grey paints (start time approx. 27 min)

---

Activity 2

︎︎︎Sgraffito (Scratch Art) Tutorial

Join Arts for Health MK artist Sophie as she demonstrates how to make your own vibrant sgraffito artwork yourself from home.


Materials:

• Thick paper / card
• Oil Pastels
• Stick (e.g. a cocktail stick)
• Pencil
• Black paint (acrylic)
• Washing up Liquid
• Paitbrush
• Paint/Pallet
• Tracing paper (optional)

---

Activity 3

︎︎Monoprinting Tutorial

Learn 3 easy monoprinting techniques using materials you have at home, experiment to create abstract artworks and printed drawings.

Materials:

• Acrylic paint
• Paint brush
• Plastic wallet
• Masking tape
• Paper towel
• Water/pot
• Palette knife (optional)

Activity 4

︎Collagraph Printmaking Tutorial:

Watch our two part video tutorial to learn how to create your very own textured collagraph print from home, no printing press required!

Download the materials and step by step worksheet here

Activity 5

︎︎Abstract Sound Paintings

Materials

• Watercolour paints
  
• Water pot / water
  
• Paint brushes
  
• Paper (ideally thicker than copier paper)

Instructions:

1. Find yourself a quiet spot, away from background conversations
2. Listen to your surroundings, can you hear bird song, the hum of a road or running water?
3. When you are ready take a large paintbrush and dip it in water only. Brush this across your paper to dampen it.
4. Start painting! Respond to the sounds around you as you make your brushmarks and lose yourself in the painting process
5. Change the colours or speed you apply the paint to mimic the sounds you hear
6. There is no right or wrong when you are finshed try another

See the video below for an example or turn up the volume to create your own sound painting with the same audio.

---

Activity 6

︎Photography Challenge: 

Inspired by Willie Robb's Photography exhibition. Photographer Willie Robb currently has artworks on display at MKUH along the top corridor. Often autobiographical they reflect everyday life and fittingly look to create optimism and beauty from apparently insignificant surroundings. Find out more about his exhibition here.

Activity: Using any camera you have, take 5 photographs each day of things that were there before but you noticed or looked at differently today. It could be on your daily exercise or at home - a sign of hope in those insignificant surroundings, capture it in a photograph.

---

Share your creations with us on social media!
︎@artsforhealthmk
︎ @arts_for_health_mk_collections
︎ @Arts for Health Milton Keynes

---

Discover More︎︎︎