Have you ever wondered what to do with white paint or black paper?

These are both sadly neglected most of the time. But, they’re actually great buddies when they get to hang out together!

This week’s art project is an undersea ocean ‘landscape,’ focused on painting the deep ocean where very little sunlight reaches.

I recommend reading about ocean ecosystems or marine explorers alongside this project. These two books are both fascinating stories about explorers discovering the ocean depths:

(This post includes affiliate links. I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a small commission for purchases made through these links. There is no extra cost to use these links.)

If you want to avoid shopping on Amazon, I suggest checking Bookshop or your local bookstores instead.

Book recommendations:

• Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere by Barb Rosenstock. This book tells the daring story of two early explorers creating and testing an early submersible.
• Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep-Sea Submersible Alvin by Michelle Cusolito. This book follows a team of scientists using a mini-submarine to study the deep ocean landscapes.

You can find a longer list with some of my favorite ocean picture books here.

Painting the deep sea floor:

Like last week’s stamps, this project uses finger paints plus play dough to create the textures.

Supplies:

• old play dough scraps (or pieces of sponge)
• dark-colored paper
• finger paints

Start the picture with white paint and a thin log of play dough. You can use the the play dough to dot in a mass of plants on one side of the paper. Then rub the play dough across the opposite side of the paper to create a softer texture.

Once you are happy with the white layer, mix a couple other colors in with the white. Use the mixture to add some color. You can even add more shapes to dot or streak the paper.

To add jellyfish, roll a small piece of play dough into a ball and flatten it slightly. Then use that to dab the white paint lightly onto the paper. Be sure to keep the paint very light! Jellyfish are translucent, so you want to see the paper’s color through the paint.

Finally, stretch a piece of play dough out into a thinner shape. Use this piece to smudge the lower edge of the jellyfish to create their tentacles.

Finish up with any other details that you’d like to add!

And if you are interested in more ocean-themed picture books, check out my reading list for this month!

P.S. If you like this activity, be sure to check out my science-themed coloring & activity book, Shrimp, Shrimp, Cuttlefish! 

This book focuses on more than 30 ocean animals with coloring pages and activities like the one in this post. You can find a sample coloring page from the book here.