A child encounters painting later than drawing, helpinh him/her to establish a connection to the first archetypal signs of the world of people, nature and things. By painting, s/he intuitively represents emotions. S/He feels colours as a coloured material. S/He knows how to grasp them not only with a brush, but also with his/her hands, with his/her whole being. The language of colours takes on the character of a specific non-verbal communication when painting.

• painting from an idea that combines content and expression in artistic statement
• painting motivated by observation of reality, which is not a faithful transcription, but a free paraphrase of what is seen varying in the conception of different students
• design painting, in which students explore different qualities of colours, their expressive or decorative effects

The basic problem of painting leads from empathy with the expressive qualities of colours to understanding of compositional relationships. Children are guided from subjectively tuned art activities to systemic art knowledge.