Collaborative Painting Examples: A Journey Through Cooperative Creativity

The Magic of Collaborative Painting

Collaborative painting has a unique energy. When we paint together, each of us brings their own experience, ideas and creativity. The result is a dynamic combination of the interaction of the group in those moments. Here are four examples of collaborative painting. They highlight the beauty and visual complexity of this simple process. This process involves the three stages of Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling!

Collaborative painting examples: Encouraging Excellence

Collaborative Painting Example 1: “Encouraging Excellence”

One of my favorite collaborative projects is “Encouraging Excellence.” In this piece, 120 junior primary students at IQRA College in South Australia painted together over three sessions. Messy Playing was in the first week with the reception children. Exploring took place in week two with the grade 1 children. Bling occurred in week three with the grade 2 children. Two artworks were created, and this is a detail of one of them.

Reflection: This project was so much fun. The kids had a ball. They worked in smaller groups each week. The groups consisted of either boys or girls. They tried a variety of colours, brushes, and techniques. The resulting artworks were inspired by the logo of their school. The gold I often like to include shows the inner strength we all have inside us. It serves as a bright reminder. Each child received a print of one of the artworks. They can pop these prints on their fridges at home to proudly show their family and friends. The artworks also decorate the halls in their school.

Collaborative Painting Examples: Peer Support

Collaborative Painting Example 2: “Peer Support”

This is a detail view of the collaborative painting. You can see the free expression of people with a wide variety of approaches. Some participants had low tone – their contributions are just as significant as those with stronger hand control. In fact, the variety makes this piece beautiful. As I always say, every mark adds to the whole! We call the scribbly lines ‘spaghetti’, and by turning the canvas periodically it becomes a signature element of the artwork.

Reflection: “Peer Support” is a collaborative painting. It was created with and by people living with disability in South Australia. Members of Our Voice SA, a peer support and advocacy network, created this 1m x 1m artwork over three sessions. They did this to celebrate the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD). This day is celebrated every year on 3 December.

Collaborative Painting Examples: “Safety”

Collaborative Painting Example 3: “Safety”

“Safety” is an example of a collaborative painting. It was created by a group of teenagers who are in a Young Carer Collective in South Australia. They added layers of circles, spirals, and marks on a cool background throughout the day. Each painter added their flair in a few colours. There were two paintings created on the day. You can see them being created in this video: Carers SA Young Carer Stories

Reflection: By offering the painters simple instructions to create, their creativity is unleashed. Examples of patterns and marks were on hand for them to copy, or combine. This frees people to be creative, as creativity loves constraints!

Collaborative Painting Examples: ‘Companionship’

Collaborative Painting Example 4: “Companionship”

In “Companionship,” this collaborative painting example was created over about 8 sessions. Hundreds of members of the public were invited to join in. They used cool colours to add their own patterns and decorative elements from many suggestions on show. It was during my ‘Art Story’ at Westfield Marion. People had a great time contributing! I now have my ‘Pattern Play’ visual resources available at My Collaborative Art Shop.

Reflection: By using a limited colour scheme, this collaborative artwork is cohesive. Each session I had three colours available. These included a light blue, a green and an aqua. The aqua was made of blue, white and a touch of green. The next session would be a purple, a deep blue and a light green. Participants are encouraged to try each colour and experiment with the different ‘Pattern Play’ examples to choose from.

Final Thoughts About these Collaborative Painting Examples:

Collaborative painting is a rewarding experience that pushes the boundaries of individual creativity. It fosters collaboration, mutual respect, and a sense of community among the painters. The magic lies in the process. The experience of painting companionably is the fun part. The final artwork is a testament to what people can achieve painting together.

I hope these examples and insights inspire you to start your own collaborative painting journey.

Happy painting!

Charndra, Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.

Discover how to create collaborative art examples like these. Join my Inner Circle email group to get “Starting Your First Social Art Project at Home”. This is my free 7 page step by step guide. Painting a unique artwork is effortless with my three fun stages. You can enjoy this activity with a group of people in your life. I love collaborative social art and want to share it with you!

Let’s Chat:

Do you resonate with cool colors like greens, blues, purples, and aquas? Which of these cool colours do you prefer and what do they remind you of?

Four Collaborative Art Examples to Inspire You!

Collaborative art examples - circles of connection a multicoloured layered artwork on a yellow background featuring circles, spirals, dots and elaborately detailed stencils.

Collaborative art examples - self advocacy - swirling warm spirals, circles and patterns in layers of yellow, coral, red, pink with a flash of gold leaf.

Collaborative Art Examples Taking You On a Journey Through Cooperative Creativity

Collaborative art is a vibrant and dynamic form of artistic expression. It brings together multiple artists to create a single and cohesive piece. This cooperative approach not only merges different styles and techniques but also fosters a sense of community and shared vision. In this blog post, I’ll take you through some collaborative art examples, using my own artworks as illustrations.

The Magic of Collaboration

Collaborative art has a unique energy. When multiple artists come together, each brings their own perspective, skills, and creativity. The result is a rich tapestry of ideas and techniques that often surpasses what any single artist can achieve alone. Here are some examples of cooperative paintings that highlight the beauty and complexity of this process.

Collaborative Art Examples: “Circles of Connection”

One of my favorite collaborative art examples is “Circles of Connection.” In this piece, many adults, including myself, worked together to create an artwork together. We started with a happy yellow underpainting. Then, we added layers of stencils, big circles, dots, and spirals in several colours and sizes. Each person was directed to do ‘three circles’ in each colour to start. Each layer had limited colours.

Reflection:

Painting as a group removes performance pressure and comparison anxiety. There’s always someone who claims ‘I’m not creative’ as they are nervous creating in front of others. I reassure them that every mark adds to the whole. Everyone else contributes once they’ve had a go. Soon people are busily playing around. When I give clear instructions like “Paint three circles in each colour,” they either follow them and dive in. Alternatively, it frees them to explore their own ideas…

Collaborative Art Examples: “Self Advocacy”

“Self Advocacy” is a collaborative art example. It collects the feelings of personal power and agency. These feelings arise when learning and teaching about self advocacy for a group of adults living with intellectual disability. Members of Our Voice SA, a peer-led self advocacy and peer support group, created this with their team. They worked as a community. Now, it decorates their meeting rooms. It stands as a symbol of what they did together. They shared a fun collaborative art workshop series.

Reflection:

This artwork showcases the power of guided collaboration. Everyone was understandably proud. The artwork was selected as a finalist in the 2024 Adelaide Fringe Festival Poster Competition!

Collaborative Art Examples: “Community”

For “Community,” I collaborated with several hundred members of the public. This took place during an artist in Residence program at Westfield Marion in South Australia. It was great fun to guide people to add patterns and shapes. They used either cool or warm colours depending on the day. It was created over 14 days. We used the Pattern Play visual resources that you can now buy at my shop!

Reflection:

This project gave people the freedom to explore their own creative ideas. It ensured a smooth and cohesive artwork through cooperative collaboration. Everyone worked with and around each other’s creations in a guided freeform structure of Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling!

Collaborative Art Examples: “Conversation”

“Conversation” was an exciting project. It involved members of the general public who wandered by. They were invited to create a beautiful example of collaborative art with me. The art featured warm colours like pinks, peaches, corals, yellows, and tinted versions of these bright colours.

Reflection:

This example was a testament to the power of collaborative painting. The freedom to explore patterns and marks is significant. Interacting with what others have done before you seems to naturally result in a wonderfully cohesive artwork.

Collaborative Art Examples: Final Thoughts

Collaborative painting is a rewarding experience that pushes the boundaries of individual creativity. It fosters collaboration and mutual respect. It also builds a sense of community among anyone creating them, no matter their level of creative experience. By working together, we can create artworks that are rich, diverse, and make a profound impact. It’s wonderful watching people relax and start interacting with the artwork, making it their own.

I hope these collaborative art examples and insights inspire you to embark on your own collaborative, social painting journey. Remember, the magic lies in the process as much as in the final piece. Happy painting!

Let’s Chat:

Collaborative art is thrilling – it’s so much fun creating with others. Which is your favourite from the examples above?

Discover Why Collaborative Art for Preschoolers is Essential for Early Learning.

Collaborative Art for Preschoolers - pink, blue and white process art abstract piece created socially by a preschooler and her mum using brushwork, stamping, stencilling, scraping, collage, marble painting and gravity.

Collaborative Art for Preschoolers - Our Playgroup People Painting with 30+ layers of process art techniques done weekly with around 20 preschoolers and their parents and carers.

These interactive and playful collaborative art projects for preschoolers engage children in quick activities that build their people skills.

They’ll be cooperating and playing alongside each other and naturally building their people skills, and begin to cooperate. Simple, process art collaborative art for preschoolers is highly impactful: Check out these three collaborative art ideas that your preschoolers will love!

Collaborative Art for Preschoolers – ‘Mia’s Rose’

This pink, blue and white process art abstract piece was created socially by a preschooler and her mum (me and my daughter!) using brushwork, stamping with balloons, sponges, objects, stencilling, scraping, collage, marble painting and gravity. We used a limited colour scheme as you can see, only one colour per session, and sessions were only as long as she needed, as she was about 18 months when we started it. It hangs on her wall, and is actually about door-sized, so a big surface to play with.

Reflection:

This was a fun project, I encourage you to do it too. All my kids have one (and they change over time). We got large printed canvases from a budget shop, and simply painted over them. We added a cat stencil to them all which represent our pet cat. See if you can spot her.

Collaborative Art for Preschoolers – Our Playgroup People Painting

This large canvas artwork was created with 30+ layers of process art techniques done weekly with around 20 preschoolers, their parents and carers. Paints, collage, stickers, chalk, gems, nail polish, paint pens and more can be seen. Preschoolers build skills easily by repetition and observation of each other – artists learn by copying, and modelling techniques works great. Simply say “Do this” and demonstrate, then hand it over and encourage ANY attempt with “Wow, you did it!”

Reflection:

Parents often don’t want endless bits of paper with art on them, and as our playgroup was in a shared space it was ineffective to leave paper around drying – so instead I did this – pulled out a large canvas each week and offered a technique to play around with one colour. This is the result!

Collaborative Art for Preschoolers: Playgroup Painting

Collaborative Art for Preschoolers – Another Playgroup People Painting

This Playgroup People Painting was also created with many layers of process art techniques done weekly with around 20 preschoolers, their parents and carers. Paints, collage, stickers, gems, nail polish, stencils and more can be seen. Periodically I’d add some circles and spirals for structure – it gives the kids something to paint around and inside, something simple to interact with. An odd number, 3 – 5 works well.

Reflection:

We essentially used a random colour each week and explored a process art technique as needed to engage the kids that were there – one toddler for example ran a toy car through paint all over the artwork as that was what got him engaged and excited to do the activity. It’s all about the process – next week they do something else, and glimpses show through, building up the visual sophistication! I have also used a big box for this type of collaborative art – we pulled it out, played on it each week, then put it away. At the end of the year it was taken by someone in the school for a display then never seen again – so after that I did canvases that could be hung on the wall.

Collaborative Art for Preschoolers – Conclusion:

Creating collaborative art for preschoolers is simple – add layers of process art techniques on a large canvas so there is plenty of space to play. Building confidence and bravery to experiment and play while cooperating with others on a singular artwork confers essential skills for preschool learning. Try it!

Discover more tips about how to create collaborative art for preschoolers: Join my Inner Circle email list to receive “Starting Your First Social Art Project at Home”, my free 7 page step by step guide making it effortless for you to paint a unique artwork using my three fun stages with a group of people in your life. I love collaborative social art and want to share it with you!

Let’s Chat:

Creating collaborative art for preschoolers generally terrifies people. Some people won’t even begin as they are scared of the potential mess. Never fear, the layers will save you. A splodgy area of colour gives the next child an area to draw on. Every mark adds to the whole. Variation is the spice of collaborative art! But add that variation one colour at a time, one technique, medium or process at a time, for ease.

After seeing the collaborative art examples above, what is the key takeaway you’ll be remembering for creating art with preschoolers?

Starting Your First Social Art Project at Home - a simple step by step guide to creating your unique and beautiful artwork!

Creating Collaborative Artworks at Home: A Guide to Starting Your First Social Artwork

Have you ever dreamed of creating a beautiful piece of art with your family or friends, right in the comfort of your home? Imagine a vibrant and unique canvas filled with the creativity of everyone involved, featuring warm colours like red, yellow, pink, orange, coral, and white. This dream can become a reality with my free eBook, “How to Start Your First Social Artwork at Home.” This 10-step guide makes the process simple and enjoyable, no matter your experience level.

Let’s dive into what you can expect from this exciting journey into collaborative creativity.

Join my Email List to receive this free guide.

Your Step-by-Step Guidance to Artistic Fun

This introductory, quick guide offers a straightforward, step-by-step approach to creating a collaborative artwork at home. It is designed to be accessible and fun for small groups, making it perfect for family gatherings or friendly get-togethers. The process is broken down into three main stages: Messy Playing, Exploring, and Bling!

Creating Collaborative Artworks at Home – Messy Playing:

This stage is all about letting go and having fun. You start by covering the table, laying out your supplies, and getting comfortable. The aim is to add clusters of marks and painting simple circles, spirals, and arches using various colours and brush sizes. Don’t worry about making it perfect—this stage is about expression and spontaneity.

Creating Collaborative Artworks at Home: Exploration Stage - this image shows a thick brushwork marks in circles, swirls, dots and arrow shapes of acrylic paint in pinks, reds, yellows, corals and oranges in many overlapping layers. — Creating Collaborative Artworks at Home: Exploring Stage

Creating Collaborative Artworks at Home – Exploring:

Here, you begin to add more structure to your artwork. This is where my “Pattern Play” resources come into play. Each of you can use the simple patterns provided in the eBook to add layers and focus on overlapping to build visual interest. The patterns are designed to be accessible to all ages and abilities, ensuring everyone can contribute meaningfully by simply copying the patterns in different colours, sizes and clusters. People gain confidence through this strategy and start, well, exploring!

Creating Collaborative Artworks at Home – Bling!:

The final stage is where the magic happens. Using the pattern ideas, you’ll add embellishments with paint pens, sharpies, glitter glue, and dot stickers. This is the time to make the artwork sparkle and shine, bringing out the individuality and creativity of the artwork with this fun stage that everyone loves!

Unique Resources to Inspire Creativity

When you sign up for my email list to receive the guide. As a member you’ll get access to unique “Pattern Play” resources. These are hand-drawn examples from my other projects, designed to inspire and guide you. You can copy the patterns directly, repeat them in different sizes and colours, or use them as inspiration to create your own designs. This ensures that each artwork is unique and personalised, reflecting the collective creativity of the group.

Why Warm Colours?

Using a limited colour scheme, such as warm colours, helps to create a cohesive and harmonious artwork. Warm colours like red, yellow, pink, orange and white are vibrant and inviting, encouraging a joyful and energetic atmosphere. They blend well together, making it easier for everyone to contribute without worrying about colour clashes and mixing the wrong colours into a muddy mess! Of course, you could choose cool colours. I’d definitely suggest a harmonious set of colours for your first project.

Encouraging Creativity for All Ages and All Abilities

One of the best things about creating collaborative artworks at home is that it is inclusive and accessible to all ages and abilities. The simple, guided steps ensure that even those with no prior art experience can join in and feel proud of their contributions. It’s a wonderful way to bond with family and friends, creating lasting memories and a beautiful piece of art to cherish.

How to Get Started With Your First Collaborative Artwork at Home!

To start your first social artwork at home, download my free eBook, “How to Start Your First Social Artwork at Home – A Simple Step By Step Guide to Creating Your Unique and Beautiful Collaborative Artwork!” Sign up for my email list to receive the guide and unique “Pattern Play” resources. Gather your supplies—a 30cm square canvas, a selection of warm-coloured paints, a few brushes, and some embellishments—and invite your family or friends to join you. Follow the 10 simple steps outlined in the eBook, and watch as your collaborative artwork comes to life over several sessions painting together.

Creating collaborative artworks at home is more than just painting; it’s about connecting, exploring, and celebrating creativity together. Whether you’re looking for a fun activity for a family gathering or a unique way to spend time with friends, this guide will help you create something truly special.

Happy painting!

Charndra, Your Social Art Guide

P.S. To help you along your creative journey, you’ll also receive weekly emails with further tips and encouragement for each stage of the creation process. These emails are designed to support and motivate anyone who might feel the need for a little extra guidance. Sign up today and start your collaborative art adventure!

Let’s chat:

What excites you most about creating collaborative artworks at home? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below, or ask any questions you may have.

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 brings you together with a group of people in a shared creative experience. You grow in confidence as you are painting companionably with others, moving from place to place, interacting with what each other are doing, layering and overlapping. Your skills and confidence is build without comparison anxiety and 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’ part of a public mural in their school, Aberfoyle Park High School in South Australia, which 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 – in a guided spontaneous form, with the girls directed to start painting circles, spirals and dots of different sizes and colours, then adding to the elements of each other, adding layers of patterns and marks, building 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, building their confidence, realising they can do MORE than they may have thought possible – that people walking past watching them paint could be ‘zoned out’, and 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 and relates to the school logo of IQRA College in South Australia. The kids had a great time in several rotating groups, each level of kids doing a different stage – the reception kids did ‘Messy Playing’ with sponging, stencilling and scraping, the grade 1’s did ‘Exploring’ with medium and small brushes, and the grade 2’s 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 of some children did more in this novel situation than they would in the regular classroom – it’s the novelty and the ‘group painting’ that enables shy children to be more adventurous as they can in some ways hide as they create with each other – moving around and being free to explore. They build their creative confidence and can then feel more able 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’s many ways of doing it – one colour, an ombre, using spray paint, using blotches of colours – all impact the final artwork, and most of all – an underpainting frees people to begin! That white canvas is very much a visual block.

Reflection:

This was the first collaborative art work I did with a group of fellow parent carers in our “Parents Time Out” activity for mums with children with special educational needs. This is when I first felt the thrill of collaborative art, and 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 a variety of groups of people – young children, teenagers and adults enjoy creating together, and in doing so paint truly unique artworks developed from the dynamics of their group – whether that be ten ladies or 120 little kids just starting school. They have fun!

Discover how to create collaborative art works like these – Join my Inner Circle email list so I can give you “Starting Your First Social Art Project at Home”, my free 7 page step by step guide making it effortless for you to paint a unique artwork using my three fun stages 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.

What’s your favourite shape?

Our Autumn Banner – an Exciting Collaborative Art Project for Primary Schools.

A collaborative art project for primary schools: ‘Our Autumn Banner’

This painted canvas banner was created with children in a vacation or holiday care program. It was my first circle painting project with kids. I Loved it. I’d done many murals and other group projects when I was a high school art teacher, but this type of collaborative art was just so terribly exciting for me – I love the energy I get from watching the thrill, enjoyment and peace of the kids when creating this way. There’s nothing like it!

Start With a Circle!

The canvas banner had a russet colour, so we used pre-mixed autumn colours for our limited colour scheme. Limited colour schemes are key! Colours such as dusky pinks, browns, oranges, warm reds, ochres, golds, as well as silver and some black. Far more options than I would use at any one time these days, with so many projects completed. To create this collaborative art project the primary school aged kids began with a circle, as this is how all circle painting begins. We add another circle, perhaps a bigger one, then another. We go from there, outlining someone else’s circle, changing to a different colour, doing some dots or interesting patterns around a circle. We move to the other side of the canvas and see where our circles might be needed. We add some dots. Dots are found in the earliest art of so many cultures around the world. We used glitter paint for our BLING stage!

Embracing Overlap!

One focus of creating this artwork was to accept layering – that partially covering the work of each other really builds up the richness of the surface and looks GREAT! It gives interesting shapes, new shapes to interact with, new ideas to repeat. A little bit of the layer below always shows through, giving us glimpses of the earlier layers as we become more confident in playing with the paint and the shapes.

No Mistakes – Just Differences…

Another focus was that there are no mistakes – just differences that will look great as a whole. The first hour was almost silent as the kids focused so intently on exploring their visual creativity while ‘in the zone’… Then they got to chatting as they moved around, experimented, trying different colours, brushes and shapes as I encouraged them to overlap, copy each other and try ideas from the set of colourful circle- based artworks we looked over before starting to paint.

A Collaborative Art Project for Primary Schools – Conclusion:

This project resulted in a beautifully autumn flavoured banner that still catches the eye of anyone entering the OSHC space. It’s warm and busy and has so many areas for your eyes to wander around. This was my first collaborative art project in a primary school. It is quite simple. I have now done over 60 projects with more than 2000 people. WOW. Today, I would add more layers – in fact at my next visit to the school we will be doing that, adding a new layer with the mostly different collection of children, and calling the project “Autumn Banner Redux”. I’ll be sure to show the results in a future post.

Our Collaborative Art Project Was a Success!

Discover how to create collaborative art projects like these for your primary school – Join my Inner Circle email list so I can give you “Starting Your First Social Art Project at Home”, my free 7 page step by step guide making it effortless for you to paint a unique artwork using my three fun stages with a group of people in your life. I love collaborative social art and want to share it with you!

– Charndra, Your Inclusive Social Art Guide.

Let’s chat:

How would collaborative art projects for primary schools enhance creativity and community among students?

Four Inspiring Collaborative Art Projects to Spark Your Creativity (Created with Groups) from Painting Around is Fun!

Exploring Collaborative Art Projects for All Ages

Let’s check out these four inspiring collaborative art projects. They were created with a range of people, including kids, children and teens. Adults and people living with disabilities also participated. Everyone is creative and always enjoy the thrill of painting around each other! All these social artworks were painted by groups of people.

The Magic of Collaborative Art Projects

Collaborative art has a unique energy. When many people (even a couple of us) come together, each brings their own flair and creativity. The outcome is a rich, layered blend of ideas. It extends beyond what one person achieves alone. This process fosters a unique shared vision. I call my form of collaborative art inclusive social art.

In this blog post, I’ll introduce you to four examples of these collaborative art projects. These artworks were created with myself as the social art guide. They were collectively painted by more than 450 people.

“Growing Together” – A Collaborative Art Project Created With Children.

This collaborative art project involved 30 primary school children aged 4-13. They participated in a summer holiday or vacation care program over three sessions. This was he first time they had done such a project, and wow, were they proud of the result!

A collaborative art project showing a swirling artwork of cool blues, greens and purples. — “Growing Together’ Collaborative Art Projects are Fun to Create!

Reflection: This painting taught us the importance of sharing space together. Thirty kids painted around each other during the sessions called Messy Playing, Exploring, and BLING! It all came together in this beautiful cooperative piece of art.

“Mia’s Rose” – One of the Collaborative Art Projects Created with My Daughter.

This collaborative art project was created by my daughter and I from when she was about 18 months old. Each 5 minute session we used either a blue or a pink, with some white. I’d offer her different sized brushes and stamps like balloons and other items to transfer paint on the canvas. Ten years later, this door-sized canvas hangs on her bedroom wall. We periodically add new layers. Purple is her new favourite colour, so that will be added next. We’ve painted through toddler, to preschooler, to primary school!

An abstract collaborative art project with blues and pinks created by a mother and daughter team. — “Mia’s Rose” a 2 person collaborative art project

Reflection: This artwork showcases how much fun collaborative art projects are for children. Even a five minute session was enough for a toddler. She enjoyed the creative control of choosing the colour each time, the equipment used (balloons, stencils, stamps, brushes…) Can you see our cat?

“Safety” – One Of A Set Of Two Collaborative Art Projects Created With Teenagers.

"Safety', an artwork of swirling light and dark blues, greens and purples. — “Safety” An inclusive Social Artwork created by teenagers.

Reflection: This artwork showcases how a group of teenagers who had never met each other can create something extraordinary. They did this in only a few hours. They key is a limited colour scheme and closed choices – simple “Pattern Play” ideas to copy. I have MANY Pattern Play visual resources to help you create beautiful layers!

“Community” – From A Set of Three Collaborative Art Projects Created With Members of the Public.

During the inaugural Art Story Artist in Residence program at Westfield Marion in 2022, I engaged with the public. I spent two weeks painting with over 600 members. We worked on three collaborative art projects. We worked on this one every day. One was in cool colours and another in warm colours. This one had both. On any day, we added layers of patterns in either warm or cool colours. This ensured that we had no muddy colours blotching up our artworks.

Colourful collaborative art project created by a large group of people — ‘Community’, an inclusive social art project

Reflection: This project was a testament to the power of community, with everybody working together to create something beautiful. Hundreds of people added their marks to this piece over the two week program.

Conclusion:

Collaborative art projects are fun and look best when they turn out well. No one wants to end up with muddy colors. To keep it eye-catching, use a limited color palette. Layer warm and cool colors separately when dry to avoid mixing them. This way, everyone can be proud of their unique creation and eager to share it!

Discover how to create collaborative art projects like these. Join my Inner Circle email list to get “Starting Your First Social Art Project at Home”. This is my free 7 page step by step guide. Creating a unique artwork is effortless. Use my three fun stages with a group of people in your life. I love collaborative social art and want to share it with you!

Let’s Chat!

Trends in colour palettes change all the time. My favourite is called “Utopia”. I’ve based it on the series of that name. This inspired a series of collaborative artworks. I’m painting these artworks with my kids. What’s your favourite colour scheme at the moment? (Do you have a name for it?)

Discover how to do collaborative art. Welcome to Painting Around is Fun!

Hello World! Welcome to Painting Around is FUN!

Painting Around is Fun is where I share my collaborative, inclusive social art projects created with groups of people. Anyone, of any age or ability, can join in—like YOU!

Here’s how Pattern Play Collaborative Art works:

Messy Playing:

Start with a coloured canvas. Use big brushes to create circles, spirals, and arches along the edges. Add clusters of marks like dots, dashes, and simple swirls.

Exploring:

Use medium, then smaller brushes to layer patterns from my unique ‘Pattern Play’ resources over the artwork. You’ll interact with what other painters are adding, embracing overlapping and building up the piece together.

Bling!:

Add the finishing touches with patterns and decorative elements using paint pens. You can add some sparkle with gems. Glitter works great too. Use gold leaf to finish the artwork with a touch of bling.

Here are several of the many collaborative group artworks I have created since 2017. I did my first collaborative art project, Our Autumn Banner, with a group of twelve primary school kids. I was hooked!

My Name is Charndra. (Like ‘Sandra’ with a ‘Ch’)

I’m a high school art teacher, and I’m also a behaviour therapist for my son, who has special needs. As a parent and carer, I now focus on being an Inclusive Social Artist. I share the fun of making art together in groups. This is done one project at a time. All my experiences have led to developing a style of collaborative art. I call this style ‘Pattern Play Collaborative Art’ based on the inclusive patterns we layer.

You’ll love my unique way of creating art together!

Painting with a group of friends is so much fun. You can watch the artwork grow as everyone adds their touch. My ‘Pattern Play’ resources make it easy to be creative. Just enjoy the process—no pressure. Don’t worry about comparing your work to others. You’ll be amazed at what a group can achieve together, and the approach I’ve developed always leads to success!

The artworks start out blank, but they will turn out GREAT!

I have an email group called my ‘Inner Circle’ because we always start with circles in our projects. Each week, I share a peek into the 60+ projects I’ve created with over 2,000 people across South Australia.

I invite you to join my Inner Circle today! You’ll get “Starting Your First Social Art Project at Home.” It’s a free 7-page step-by-step guide. It makes it easy to create a unique artwork with a group of friends or family. I’m passionate about collaborative social art and excited to share this experience with you!

– 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. Feel free to ask a question below that I can respond to. That’d be nice, as I mostly get annoying bots and scammers.