Video

Three Primary Colors

Painting is a great way to let children explore basic concepts of color. 

When introducing art to little ones, we can start with the basic elements of art—color, line, shape, texture, and space. In this video, we learn about the three primary colors. After watching, you might play “I Spy” with colors. Say, for instance, “I spy with my little eye something that is red.”  

You can also talk about the other basic elements of art, for instance: 

Line 

  • “A line can be straight like a stick, or curvy like a worm.”  
  • “Lines can be thick like a log, or thin like a noodle.”  
  • A line can go up like a wall, across like a table, or diagonal like a slide.”  

Shape 

  • Let’s find shapes around us.” (a slice of bread is a square, a window is a rectangle, pizza is a circle, and so on) 

Texture 

  • “Texture is the way something feels.” 
  • A texture might be bumpy like a basketball, fuzzy like a teddy bear, or smooth like a rock.” 

Space 

  • When I stand here, and you stand there, there’s space in between us.” 
  • “Let’s walk around the coffee table. We’re walking in the space around it!”