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My son (age 13) has special needs (autism and an intellectual delay). This year, his teacher wants the class to participate in an art exhibition the school puts on each year. As far as I know, this is the first time the autism special ed class has been invited.
The theme is about helping in one's community. My son loves traffic lights (it's an autism thing - at least for him)...he's fascinated with them. He says when he grows up, he wants to fix traffic lights. We have told him a bit about how traffic lights help people stay safe so I feel like this could be a tie-in to community, as he plans on helping people one day by fixing the lights so that everyone can stay safe, according to him. (I realize this is extremely simplistic but this is his vision of things for the moment. As I said, he has a moderate intellectual delay in addition to the autism so his thought process, in addition to be somewhat different than the typical due to his autism, is also at a much lower grade level, probably about kindergarten to first grade or so.)
I want to know:
1. Should we try oils? Are they hard? How long do they take to dry? His due date is Oct. 18 and we haven't bought supplies yet. Would acrylics be better?
2. How do you paint in "layers"...anybody have a good idea where to start with this? Sorry for such a general question, but I really am not an artist. Do you wait for the paints to dry in between?
3. Do I use the same type of canvas whether it's oils or acrylics?
4. Do I have to dilute acrylics?
5. Do we sketch an outline first - is this how it works? You sketch, then paint over that...? What do I sketch in...some sort of a pencil?
Canvas can be used for oils and acrylics but there are other options too. Question is how much
do you want to spend on brushes, paints, canvas (needs to be primed before painting) etc...
I would suggest tempera paints for your son's project.
Tempera comes in cakes, bottles and even markers. You can use thick poster or
smooth mounting board (even heavy cardboard which you would probably want to coat with
some type of color).
There are sites online "acrylic or tempera paints supplies" about costs. Most stores carry
some type of tempera paint and there's also Michaels and United Art Education.
Yes, you can lightly sketch in the standard no. 2 pencil first as a guide and paint over it.
A short but quick video to start (there are several on google)
Aim for success by keeping it as simple as possible. I work with adults who have autism, and am an artist!
My suggestion would be to go to a large craft store, (do you have a Michael's near by?) look at the art supplies with him and pick up some tools. Large round sponges? They're cheap and you could get one for each color. A couple of brushes in different sizes, or inexpensive multi-pack.
I would suggest acrylics or tempura, acrylic is thinned with water, dries faster, and is easier for clean up than oil.
Start with the kind of material you think he would like to paint on. I don't like canvas, because of the texture. I use thicker smooth illustration board. Right now I'm painting on a 4' x 4' birch panel I picked up at Home Depot for $5! (A similar size framed canvas would have been close to $100.) At Home Depot or Menards, whatever you have, you can also ask for help in cutting a larger piece of plywood down to the size you need, birch is smooth and lightweight. (wear that cute jersey in your profile pic, they're very helpful at most locations)
Whichever material he's painting on, he could start with the background for the first or base layer. Just a larger brush, thin out the acrylic he picks, probably lighter colors, and start either "swirling", 'stroking", or "dabbing" until the background is covered. Let that dry, it doesn't have to be completely dry just to the touch if you done't want the colors blending, and then begin the stop lights! What I pictured was dip a sponge in a stop light color,then press on background. The circle pattern will already be made, no sketching necessary.
The way we did it was I would start, using a carpenter's pencil, sharpened bluntly, and I would draw the first strokes. As soon as the child wanted the pencil, I would give it over, and let them do as they wanted, and then would take the pencil back and draw some more stuff.
We made a story of it, so sometimes what we drew was a map, while other times, it became an abstracted version of a scene. Once we decided we wanted to paint, we quit drawing, and I would hand the brush over, going back and forth, in the same way.
Sometimes the result was nothing much, but other times, it was very interesting to me as an adult as a piece of artwork. Realism wasn't the object, but when one of my kids had the brush, there was always a story being created with it, and they all loved to tell the story to friends or whoever came over.
I agree on using water-based media; acrylics was always what I used, mainly because they were my painting medium and I had a lot on hand and when dry, they're waterproof. But they are also hard to clean off of clothes and little hands, faces and hair, so it's good to have lots of damp rags handy, and to paint on a table or floor that's well protected.
The object for me was twofold- one was just to have some fun, and the other was to open them up to the creative process. In time, they all came to do artwork by themselves as they grew older, and each of my 3 all had their own thing.
The continuous dialog between us was the most fun; sometimes kids concentrate on everyday things that are all around us that adults ignore and become blind to their existence, like power poles, cables, etc. One of my kids included all that in a street scene and it was incredibly interesting. Other times, I felt like a primitive man making magic in a cave, narrating a story we were making up and illustrating at the same time. It sharpened my perception in many ways, while it was just fun for them.
Do a bunch of paintings, and let your child decide which one suits the project's theme the best. Try making a day picture and a night picture, for example, or how it would look if all dogs and cats had to stop at stoplights alongside the cars. Once any idea comes to mind, run with it.
If money is a problem, buy cheap materials. Ask a local print shop or newspaper if you can have roll ends or printing run press starts for paper- it's amazing how much paper is free for the asking, or next to it, if you take the time to hunt it up. Butcher shops can be good, too, if they are still using paper for wrapping. Old butcher trays that are too chipped for them to use make excellent paint mixing pallettes, as do the plastic trays used in groceries for party salads and similar items.
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