Paint and draw

Make a Mud Painting

Dig up some mud and then scratch in the surface to make a landscape or cityscape

You will need

  • Soil from the garden, or mud from the park (ask an adult first)
  • Bowl
  • Stick or twig
  • Glass of water
  • Masking tape
  • Crayon, coin (or anything else to draw and scrape with)

Inspiration

Jean Dubuffet created this painting in 1946. He was inspired by graffiti and built a thick layer of paint into which he made marks and scratched the paint away. Instead of a landscape with a horizon line showing hills, some see this as a cross-section of the earth below the ground. Which do you think it looks like? What marks has Dubuffet used? Do you think they were made quickly or slowly? What marks will you make?

Mud paintings in the Tate Kids Gallery

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