Ish Paintings - Painting with Paper

Ish Paintings

This project is SOOOO easy that any teacher can do it with his or her class! And the results are SOOOOO satisfying!

What are Ish Paintings?

Ish Paintings are paintings that don’t have to be perfect to be loved and appreciated. Instead of a drawing or painting a perfect flower, make it Flower-ish. Instead of a drawing of a real life truck, it can be Truck-ish. It doesn’t have to look exactly like a truck to BE a truck.

It really frees students to create whatever they want and accept it the way it is. The whole project is inspired by the book, Ish by Peter H. Reynolds.

Some Ish Paintings from my 3rd grade art students.

Look at how they turned out! I love them! But more importantly, the students love them.

So how did I do it?

Materials:

• Poster board or other large paper

• quarter inch bingo daubers filled with India ink (permanent ink only)

• bleeding tissue paper

• brush

• water

Directions:

Day 1 - We read the book ISH by Peter H. Reynolds. After discussing it, students use their bingo daubers to draw something. But first, I ask for ideas and list them on the board. Then they draw it! SIMPLE as THAT! Some kids ask if they can use a pencil first but I suggest they just go for it and use the ink!

Click here for my Sky Color Penguin lesson based off another book of Peter H. Reynolds.

Ish drawings with bingo daubers

Day 2 - I cut bleeding tissue paper into small sheets (like 4”by 6”) and distribute them around the tables. The students can tear or cut the paper any way they want then brush it with water. Here is a video of the process.

A Tik Tok video of an Ish Painting.

Here is the finished art from the video! Dog-ish!

It is such an simple way for young students to paint! And clean up is super quick and easy!

3rd grade students painting with tissue paper.

I tell the kids to keep the wet paper on the drawing until it is dry.

BONUS!

The leftover tissue paper is BEAUTIFUL! The colors blend together and the results are stunning! See below! I save it and use it for another project!

Leftover tissue paper after it has dried.

Ish Paintings are the first project for my 3rd grade students. What a great way to start the year!

If you liked this lesson, Sky Color Penguins is another lesson based off a book by the same author!

Happy Creating, Amy