Painting by nature is a great way to explore the different textures and shapes of natural objects to create something beautiful. What’s more you don’t even need to be feeling particularly creative! We recently tested this activity with some dementia carers groups in London and have been really pleased with the results; this isn’t just about the paintings that you are left with its about the sense of calm and peacefulness that comes with creating the nature brush and transferring paint to paper. Painting is widely known to be therapeutic but can be a really difficult activity for many people who are convinced they can’t draw or who have been told they aren’t creative so this activity removes those constrictions and allows everyone to create something abstract and beautiful.

This simple activity doesn’t require too much preparation and produces different results every time. You will need the following;

small twigs

a collection of natural items such as leaves, feathers, pine cones – in fact anything you can find in your garden or local park

short lengths of string

paint

some blank card or paper

Download our step by step instructions for painting by nature (pdf 71kb)

For other activities please visit our resource library