Social painting examples feature showing a work-in-progress stage of a painting with young girl carers.

Social Painting Examples: Empowering Girls Through Collaborative Art

Social painting examples featuring "Find Your Courage" mural created by teenaged girls — Social painting examples – Find Your Courage

Social painting examples featuring "Find Your Confidence" mural created by teenaged girls — Social painting examples – Find Your Courage

Are you looking for social painting examples that inspire creativity? Do you want to build connections? Explore the possibilities of Pattern Play Collaborative Art. This style combines three simple stages—Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling—to create visually striking, collaborative artworks. The Find Your Confidence and Find Your Courage murals are bold and empowering. The ongoing Girl Power artworks are created in small group settings. Each project highlights the power of social painting to foster confidence, creativity, and community.

Social Painting Examples: Find Your Confidence Mural

The ‘Find Your Confidence’ mural was brought to life over five weeks. A group of Year 10 and 11 girls at Aberfoyle Park High School created it together. We started with ‘Messy Playing’ by using rollers to apply a heavy primer coat of white. Then, we applied a second layer of primer tinted with cool blues and greens mixed into aquas. To create a dynamic motley background, we added sponging for texture and variation. This stage encouraged the girls to relax and embrace their creative side. It was non-threatening and fun. They freely added colours while making a bold impact on the old grey wall in a public setting.

Next, we painted big circles and added mark-making, introducing warm tones from what I now call our ‘Vibrant’ colour scheme. Each session used white to create variations and limited the palette to no more than four shades for harmony. To tie it all together, we added burgundy, a nod to the school’s uniform and logo. This is the ‘Exploring’ stage of Pattern Play Collaborative Art.

Vibrant colour scheme used by Painting Around is Fun in Pattern Play Collaborative Art — ‘Vibrant’ colour scheme – use three any session!

We explored patterns for a couple of weeks. Then, we moved on to the ‘Bling’ stage. At this stage, the girls used paint pens to embellish the mural with decorative touches. They also had fun experimenting with nail polish and glitter glue to add unexpected details. The glitter will eventually wash away in the rain. Yet, trying something new and playful was the most important part of the experience. And painting dots with nail polish? That was an unexpected highlight!

Group Art Mural Examples: The Find Your Confidence Mural Created by Teenagers showing the work in progress. — A Social Painting Mural Example: The Find Your Confidence Mural

Social Painting Examples: Find Your Courage Mural

The ‘Find Your Confidence’ project had such an impact on the girls. I came back the next year to create another mural with almost 20 girls. We called it ‘Find Your Courage’. We used my ‘Galaxy’ colour scheme, which is very popular with, well, everyone. The mural became part of a SACE 1 program. It contributed 10 points towards the girl’s SACE, which stands for the South Australian Certificate of Education. This is our name for their high school diploma completed over year 11 and 12. We used the same process of ‘Messy Playing’, ‘Exploring’, and ‘Bling’ that I use in all my collaborative art projects. This allowed us to create this massive mural. It now decorates the canteen wall.

'Galaxy' colour scheme used by Painting Around is Fun in Pattern Play Collaborative Art — ‘Galaxy’ colour scheme – use three in any session!

Social painting examples featuring "Find Your Courage" mural created by c20 teenaged girls — Find Your Courage Painting in Public!

Social Painting Examples: “Girl Power” Artworks in Progress

Social painting examples featuring a work-in-progress stage of a painting with young girl carers. — Social painting examples – Girl Power (in progress)

My daughter is a ‘young carer,’ providing support to her sibling with complex needs. While this role helps her develop valuable skills and empathy, it also comes with challenges to her education and wellbeing. In my parent carer group, we regularly bring our young girls together to chat and play. During these gatherings at my home, I set out two canvases. Every time we meet here, the girls add another layer to the artwork. It is a fun, ongoing activity. The image above shows one stage of the process, reflecting the collaborative spirit of eight girls contributing their unique marks. We’re using a cool colour scheme, intentionally avoiding a mix of warm and cool tones. For each session, I offer 3–4 colours, with a particular size of brush. Several of my Pattern Play Visual Resources are nearby, allowing the girls to freely experiment. Once the layers feel done, we’ll move on to the ‘Bling’ stage. We’ll decorate with paint pens to add the finishing touches. That’s the beauty of Pattern Play Collaborative Art. It’s all about spending time together. It also focuses on exploring creativity without the pressure of performance or comparison. We simply keep adding layers until the artwork becomes visually dynamic, rich, and beautiful. Regular people like you can do this with a canvas. Use three related paint colours and white. Choose some nice synthetic brushes you can get at your local variety store. Synthetic brushes are preferred to hog hair brushes. Join my list below. Get your free guide. It’s the most minimal form of art your family can do.

Social Painting Examples: In Conclusion

These Social Painting Examples show you the transformative power of collaborative art in fostering creativity, connection, and empowerment. The bold colours and textures of the Find Your Confidence and Find Your Courage murals stand out. The intimate creativity of the Girl Power artworks shines through. Each project reflects the beauty of shared experiences. Participants follow the simple stages of Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling. They create vibrant, layered pieces. These pieces celebrate individuality. They also strengthen their sense of belonging. Pattern Play Collaborative Art offers a fun and accessible way for anyone to engage in the joy of social painting.

Discover simple tips about how you can create social painting examples like these. Join my Inner Circle email group. I’ll give you “Starting Your First Social Art Project at Home”, my free 7-page guide. It makes it effortless for you to paint a unique artwork using this fun style of collaborative art.

Happy Painting! Charndra, Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.

Let’s Chat:

Are you keen to try this form of collaborative social art? It’s called ‘Pattern Play Collaborative Art’ because we layer approachable and accessible patterns from my ‘Pattern Play’ visual resources. These resources are tools. They help you create unique and beautiful collaborative art projects. You can paint with groups of people in your life too.

Want to join the conversation? Head to my Facebook | Instagram | Threads to find the featured image. Share your thoughts on collaborative art!

New Article: Group mural creation with Painting Around is Fun - Our Soccer Mural (detail) Painted with school kids (primary / elementary)

Group Mural Creation Ideas for Kids

Group mural creation with Painting Around is Fun - Our Soccer Mural Painted with school kids (primary / elementary) — Group mural creation with School Kids ages 5- 13.

At Ascot Park Primary School, we embarked on a group mural creation with the Specialist Soccer Team. We brought together 26 students to transform their soccer practice “Hitting Wall” into a vibrant mural showing teamwork. Using my Pattern Play Collaborative Art approach, we guided the students through three simple stages. The first stage was Messy Playing, where creativity flowed freely with big brushes and spontaneous marks. Next was Exploring, where detailed layers were added to build depth and texture. Finally, we reached Bling, the step that brought the mural to life with intricate finishing touches. The result is a stunning, multi-layered mural that the school community enjoys daily, reflecting both creativity and collaboration.

Group Mural Creation 1: Underpainting: Setting the Foundation

The project began with a solid foundation—a vibrant underpainting that would serve as the base layer for our mural. The students used large brushes and rollers. They applied broad strokes of primer mixed with colour to the wall. This established a solid backdrop. We focused on warm tones like red, orange, and yellow. These colors created a feeling of energy and motion. They set the stage for what was to come. The underpainting not only helped unify the mural. It also gave the students confidence to start creating without worrying about perfection. It was all about getting the first layer down and warming up the space for further creative exploration.

Group Mural Creation 2: Messy Playing: Freeing the Creativity

In this phase, the students were encouraged to loosen up and have fun with the mural. We introduced a variety of tools—sponges, stamps, templates and stencils—to add playful and spontaneous elements. This messy playing stage is all about creative freedom, allowing each student to make their mark without fear. By layering bold shapes and spontaneous patterns, the students brought energy and movement to the mural. This step let their ideas flow naturally. It gave the artwork an organic, fluid feeling. This is much like how a soccer team works together dynamically on the field.

Group Mural Creation 3. Exploring: Building Layers of Detail

The playful base was established. Then, the students began to explore more intentional techniques. We aimed to bring depth and complexity to the mural. They used finer brushes and simple patterns. They layered these designs on top of the earlier marks, creating quite intricate areas. They added subtle details in similar colours and the patterns created a sense of unity across the mural. The patterns used were an early form of my “Pattern Play” visual resources. I now use them for every project. I also offer them for sale at my online shop. During this project, I laminated the simple hand painted pattern ideas into A4 sheets. The sheets were scattered around. They were stuck up to give the kids ideas to copy. This scattered approach provided inspiration to create. Kids added their own ideas too. Every contribution was guided and encouraged, and each layer added more visual interest. This phase gave the mural its distinctive character. Students worked in sync and painted around each other’s contributions. They created a cohesive design that reflected their teamwork.

Group Mural Creation 4: Bling: Adding the Final Touches.

The finishing stage was all about adding that extra sparkle and final polish to the mural. Using a dark crimson for a pop of accent colour, and attention-grabbing elements like fine detailing, we added the “bling.” This stage helped emphasise focal points and brought a sense of completion to the mural. Each student’s name was included in the design, giving them a personal connection to the finished piece. The final touches made the mural truly shine. It was not just an artwork. It was a reflection of the students’ hard work, collaboration, and team spirit. They were so proud as they had ownership of the entire creative process.

Group Mural Creation: In Conclusion

This group mural creation at Ascot Park Primary School not only brought the students together. They created a stunning work of art. It also transformed the “Hitting Wall,” a space they use daily for soccer practice. The mural now serves as a constant reminder of their teamwork and creativity as they play. One of the most rewarding moments was hearing the kids run around the corner at recess. They squealed with joy and amazement when they saw the mural taking shape. The students engaged the stages Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling. Through this process, they embraced Pattern Play Collaborative Art. This approach helped them create a vibrant, layered mural. It will be enjoyed for years to come.

Learn easy tips to develop group mural creation ideas on your own: Join my Inner Circle email list. I’ll give you “Starting Your First Social Art Project at Home”. It’s my free 7 page guide. It makes it effortless for you to paint a unique artwork using this fun style of collaborative art.

Happy Painting! Charndra, Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.

Let’s Chat:

Want to join the conversation? Head to my Facebook | Instagram | Threads to find the featured image. Share your thoughts on collaborative art.

The Power of Unity: Successful Collaborative Art Work Projects…

A collaborative art work called "Find Your Confidence" created by teenage girls as part of a social mural and social artwork project, showing swirling pinks, reds, peaches and yellows over a blue and aqua background.

Collaborative Art Work Project created by Primary School Children - Swirling blues, greens and aquas called "Aspiring to Success"

A collaborative art work painted by adult women who are carers of children with special educational needs, showing multi coloured circles, spirals and dots in overlapping patterns, called "Parents Time Out" Social artwork.

Discover the Thrill of Creating Collaborative Art Work!

Collaborative art work is awesome. Creating a painting with a group of people unites you in a shared creative experience. You grow in confidence as you paint with others. You move from place to place and interact with what each other is doing. You layer and overlap. You build your skills and confidence without comparison anxiety. You also avoid the performance pressure that we all feel painting our own individual artwork.

Let’s have a look at three collaborative art works from my own collection of social art projects:

Find Your Confidence in Creating the Layers of a Vibrant School Mural!

This collaborative art work, “Find Your Confidence”, was the ‘mobile mural’ of a public mural at their school. Aberfoyle Park High School is located in South Australia. It takes the mural inside on a canvas. It was painted alongside the large wall mural. This collaborative art work was created in a freeform style. The process involved a guided spontaneous form. The girls were directed to start painting circles, spirals, and dots of different sizes and colors. They then added to each other’s elements, layering patterns and marks. This process built on the visual complexity over several weeks.

Reflection:

This collaborative art work was created by a group of teenage girls. They painted out in public and built their confidence. They realised they can do more than they thought possible. People walking past who watched them paint were ‘zoned out’. In fact, those people were highly complimentary about what they were creating!

Aspire to Success by Using the ‘Success Strategies’ of Collaborative Art Projects.

This collaborative art work “Aspire to Success” was created by 120 junior primary students over three sessions. It connects to the school logo of IQRA College in South Australia. The kids had a great time in several rotating groups. Each level of kids did a different stage. The reception kids did ‘Messy Playing’ with sponging, stencilling, and scraping. The grade ones did ‘Exploring’ with medium and small brushes. The grade twos did ‘Bling!’ with paint pens, stickers, and glitter glue. SO many kids! This is a detail from 2 collaborative art projects created over three sessions.

Reflection:

This is one of two large canvases – needed with this many children, that’s for sure! The teachers told me some children accomplished more in this novel situation than they would in the regular classroom. It’s the novelty and the ‘group painting’ that allow shy children to be more adventurous. They can hide in some ways as they create with each other, moving around and being free to explore. They build their creative confidence and can then feel more capable to create in their individual art.

In this collaborative artwork, created in only one session, we used brushwork, stamping, layering and overlapping. It has a mixed colour palette. These days I would have a coloured background (the underpainting) and then layer cool then warm colours. Really, a background that is not stark white is a game changer! There are many ways to approach this. You can use one colour, an ombre, spray paint, or blotches of colours. All these techniques impact the final artwork. Most importantly, an underpainting frees people to start! That white canvas is very much a visual block.

Reflection:

This was my first collaborative art work. I worked with a group of fellow parent carers. This was part of our “Parents Time Out” activity for Mums of children with special educational needs. This is when I first felt the thrill of collaborative art. It led to the hundreds of artworks created with over two thousand people so far.

3 Collaborative Art Works – Conclusion:

These three collaborative art works show how different groups collaborate in art creation. Young children, teenagers, and adults enjoy creating together. In doing so, they paint truly unique artworks. These are developed from the dynamics of their group. This may involve ten ladies. It might also include 120 little kids just starting school. They have fun!

Discover how to create collaborative art works like these. Join my Inner Circle email list. I will give you “Starting Your First Social Art Project at Home”. It is my free 7-page step-by-step guide. You can easily paint a unique artwork. Use my three fun stages. Do this with a group of people in your life.

– Charndra, Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.

Let’s Chat:

I love spirals. Circles turn into spirals. Big, small, open or tight spirals look great on an artwork – they are my favourite shape.

Want to join the conversation? Head to my Facebook | Instagram | Threads to find the featured image. Share your thoughts on collaborative art.

Painting Around is FUN! Painting Collaborative and Inclusive Social Art Projects

Join the Fun: Collaborative and Inclusive Social Art Projects!

mural