Easy Outdoor Art Ideas That Kids Will Love

As we head into Spring and the weather gets warmer take the kids outside and get creative!  Here are a few of our favourite easy outdoor art ideas that kids will love.  Taking art outdoors means you can work on a much larger scale and there is no worry about the mess. Be inspired by the nature around you and enjoy a bit of fresh air.


Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside. Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter themed ideas.


RELATED POST: Fun outdoor activities for kids


Below we have put together a collection of some of our favourite (and easy) outdoor art ideas for kids. Most of them would work well with children of all ages from toddlers and preschoolers right up to much older school children.  

The art ideas shared are more about the process than about a final project piece. They encourage children to have fun, experiment and express themselves in different ways. Whether you are looking for nature inspired projects or something a little more messy we have it all covered. 

We often think about going outdoors with the kids in the Spring and Summer months as the weather gets warmer, but there is nothing to stop you getting out and doing some of these art activities in the Autumn or Winter months if you wrap up warm. 

Kids love being outdoors and they really need to get outside whatever the weather if they can.  Lots of these outdoor art ideas encourage them to be active and collect pieces of nature, get messy and work on a scale that would be more difficult inside. 

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Easy Outdoor Art Ideas


For full instructions and further images for each of the outdoor art projects shared just click on the headings or the images below.



Nature Paint Brushes


Make your own nature paint brushes from sticks and pieces of nature.  Kids will love going on a nature walk to collect their pieces of nature before using them to paint on a large scale.  Experiment with different pieces of nature to see what painty marks you can create. Read more...


Nature Paintbrushes - Easy outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.

Nature Paint


As well as making paint brushes from nature you can also make your own paint! Use ingredients like carrots, strawberries and spinach you can mix up your own nature paints. Use our printable to test them out!  Read more...


outdoor art for kids made with nature



Water Pistol Painting


Kids love water pistols so what could be better than filling them with paint and squirting them at a large piece of paper or canvas.  The artwork created using this art idea looks amazing too, totally unique. Experiment with different sized canvases and colours. Read more...


Water Pistol painting - Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.




Funny Faces


Use a collection of nature alongside some face part stones to create some funny faces.  The kids will find it hilarious! We even have a free printable that you can use to create the face part stones used in this activity. Read more...


Nature faces - Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.




Pour Painting


Pour painting is so messy, but so much fun (and definitely an activity for outside)! You can create some really cool artwork using this art process and even make unique gifts. Squeezing the paint is great for working those hand muscles as well! Read more...


Pour Painting - Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.




Real flower Suncatcher


Make a beautiful suncatcher from flowers or leaves. These suncatchers are so easy to make and look beautiful hanging in the window. The best thing is that you can't go wrong, however you arrange the pieces of nature it will look great!  Why not use flower petals to make patterns like in this flower petal suncatcher!


Flower Suncatcher - Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.




Clay Nature Faces


Get the kids collecting nature and then use it to create a face.  Kids can be as creative as they like as they push pieces of nature into a slab of clay to create a face. You could stick the clay to a tree as shown in the picture or work on the ground. Read more...


Clay Nature Faces - Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.


Andy Goldsworthy Art


Have you heard of British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy? He is know for creating sculptures using existing materials of nature such as rocks, leaves, mud etc. He then documents his artwork through photography. See if you can become an environmental artist like Andy Goldsworthy and make your own art project from nature.
 Read more...

outdoor art for kids inspired by Andy Goldswothy




Large Scale Messy Art


Rolls of paper are so much fun to use to paint on as the artwork can be as long as you like! Whether you are painting using cars, your feet or paint brushes you can get as messy as you like outdoors without having to worry about the furniture! (get the paper rolls here) Read more...


Messy art - Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.




Painted Cardboard Playhouse


Painting a cardboard house is a great collaborative project. Young children will love the experience of painting on a large scale and it's even better if you can play in it after! (Here are a few cardboard playhouses to take a look at) Read more...


Cardboard Playhouse - Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.



Painting with Water



If you don't want the mess usually associated with painting why not try painting with water. This easy to set up activity allows children to be as creative as they like without the mess! Read more...


Painting with water - Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.




Painting Leaves


Whether you collect some Autumn leaves from the ground or pick some fresh Spring leaves from a tree painting on them can be a fun expereince. Why not turn your painted leaves into monsters or creatures. You can use brushes to paint the leaves but using your fingers is far more fun! Read more...


Painted Leaves - Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.


Paint Rolling



What could be more fun than rolling bouncy balls covered in paint down a slide! This outdoor painting activity can get really messy but that just adds to the fun. Read more...


slide painting -  Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.





Painting on Snow


Winter doesn't mean outdoor art has to stop! If you have snow then painting on it is lots of fun. What could be better for a child than a huge white canvas of snow to paint on! You could also do it in smaller containers to make individual pieces of art. Read more...


Painting on Snow - Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside.

You could also try painting on ice

painting on ice - easy outdoor art idea

So which of these easy outdoor art ideas for kids do you think you will try first? If you can think of any other fun outdoor art projects to do with toddlers, preschoolers or school-aged children let us know. We are always looking for new ideas to try!

If your child loves being outside they might enjoy some of our other outdoor activities. Why not go on a bug scavenger hunt, make a bubble snake or some DIY water bombs!

If you are looking for even more inspiration for outdoor art and craft ideas take a look at our list of 20 summer nature art ideas for kids

More outdoor activites!


Easy Outdoor Art Ideas for Kids - large scale, messy, nature inspired art activities for toddlers, preschoolers and school aged kids to do outside. Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter themed ideas.


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