Looking for process art ideas for preschool that leave room for a little experimenting? Think colorful tracks, swirly prints and painting with something other than a brush.
These pictures give you plenty of starting points without asking every child to make the same thing.
Keep the focus on exploring rather than copying the finished pictures. Choose age-appropriate, non-toxic supplies and supervise throughout, especially around small pieces.
A covered table and somewhere to put wet artwork are worth sorting out first!
Colorful art ideas to explore
colorful tracks on a heart
We’re starting off strong with this colorful heart. I love the thin purple trails crossing the bigger patches of red and yellow.
Even the box underneath is covered in marks!
A heart-shaped sheet is one option, but plain paper works as a starting point too. Let your child choose the colors rather than trying to match these.
splashes on apple shapes
How cute are these little apples? Green, yellow and red appear across the cutouts, with different combinations on each.
Some have big patches of color while others have plenty of white showing.
If you use apple cutouts, leave the painting open-ended. There’s no need to fill every gap or keep the colors separate.
rainbow ice painting
Want to swap out the usual paintbrush? This picture shows colored ice with little stick handles making broad rainbow curves.
You could invite your child to try loops or zigzags instead of copying the rainbow. Keep the colored ice for art only, not tasting.
bubble wrap dots
I am obsessed with these little dot prints. The yellow, green and blue blend so beautifully, with some circles coming out solid and others only partly printed.
Try pressing paper onto painted bubble wrap, then lifting a corner to see the marks. The patchy bits are part of the fun.
blue and green marbling
This swirly fish may just be one of my favorites here. I love the little yellow streaks winding through all that blue and green.
A tray of colored shaving foam sits beside the print.
For preschoolers, use an age-appropriate marbling medium rather than assuming the pictured shaving product is suitable. The fish outline can be optional.
drawing with toy vehicles
Who says drawing has to mean holding a marker? These toy vehicles have markers taped to their sides, with the tips touching the paper.
There are colorful routes going everywhere!
An adult can secure washable markers to suitable vehicles. Give your child plenty of paper to steer across without needing to follow a road.
coffee filter colors
If you are looking for a simple painting setup, this one is for you. The trays hold coffee filters, watercolor palettes and cups.
The pink, purple and blue patches on the nearest filter are so pretty together.
Let your child decide whether to add another color or leave some white showing.
white letters and bright paint
The white letters really stand out against these pink, orange and blue brushstrokes. I especially love the little painted dots around the edges.
This name picture has a planned result. For a more open-ended tape-resist version, let your child choose where strips go instead of arranging them into letters.
looping pendulum marks
Look at all those overlapping loops! A suspended cup hangs above the paper, with fine curved lines gathering into a big oval below.
Treat this as inspiration for an adult-prepared pendulum activity, not a setup to copy from the photo alone. Use a stable support and keep cords out of children’s reach.
Read also: 20 Letter T Crafts for Preschool: Ideas and Images to Review
flowers and leaves as brushes
These nature brushes are so pretty. Leaves, flowers and long green needles are tied to sticks beside pink smears and leafy prints.
You could offer a few adult-checked, non-toxic plants for making marks. Try a gentle dab next to a sweeping stroke and see how different they look.
purple and blue drips
Don’t want to paint a picture of anything in particular? No problem!
These blue and purple drips make their own paths down the upright paper.
A dropper is held near the page here. Put a catch tray underneath if you try something similar, because those trails keep going past the bottom edge.
loops over blue and orange
I love these pale raised loops over the blue and orange color. Some make wide open shapes while others cross into tiny spaces.
Read also: 20 Sunflower Crafts for Adults With Bright Yellow Details
For a similar experiment, you could offer child-safe squeeze glue for free-form lines, then explore painting around them once dry.
a patchwork pumpkin
How colorful is this pumpkin? Pink, green, blue and orange pieces overlap beneath bold black lines and circles.
The outlined pumpkin is a more structured craft example. Borrow the color-layering idea for process art by offering plain paper and colorful tissue pieces without a shape to fill.
Read also: 20 Valentines Crafts for Preschool With Hearts, Handprints and Cute Little Bugs
paint splashes with eyes
These splash characters are just adorable. The mismatched eyes and long, skinny legs give each colorful shape a different expression.
Keep the splashes as the starting point rather than aiming for a particular creature. Your child might want to add a face later, or leave the marks exactly as they are.
colorful textured collages
If you are looking for lots of texture inspiration, then this one is for you. There’s bright paint, little cups, tubes, caps and colorful scattered pieces across the boards.
For your own preschool setup, choose large, clean pieces without sharp edges. Skip tiny loose parts for children who still mouth objects and let each child decide what goes where.
painting on a shiny surface
Sometimes changing the surface is enough to make painting look completely different. Here, red, yellow, green and blue paint sit on a shiny sheet with a blue taped border.
The child is exploring with a fingertip while holding a brush. You could offer both choices with paint suitable for finger painting.
big rolling paint marks
This is one for a bigger painting space! Two paint-covered balls sit on a huge sheet filled with blue, pink, purple and dark tracks.
I love how the marks cross in every direction. If you try rolling balls through paint, keep the activity contained and nearby walking areas dry.
a sweeping rainbow
I love this big rainbow sweep and all its thin curved lines. A wide blue tool is being pulled across the upright paper, bringing several colors into one broad mark.
Try offering a child-safe wide painting tool and letting your child choose the direction. One big sweep can be enough.
colorful window shapes
How pretty are these colorful window shapes? Pink, orange, blue and yellow blobs cover the panes, with colored patches also visible on the floor.
For a window-inspired activity, you could offer overlapping transparent colored sheets on a separate clear panel. Let your child move the sheets around and see how the overlapping colors look in the light.
outdoor painting on cardboard
Last but definitely not least, we have a big outdoor painting covered in red, blue and yellow marks. The child is reaching from a swing toward the cardboard below.
I’d borrow the large painting surface, not the suspended position. Set the cardboard on the ground and let your child paint from a stable seated or kneeling position instead.