Bluebell
NO MISTAKES IN PAINT
Loading audio…
Press play to listen along. The line being read lights up as you go.
Show full transcript
Loading transcript…
Bluebell is a cool, calm blob of blue paint, blue as the sea and blue as a summer sky. Today Bluebell is mixing with ALL the friends at once.
In goes Scarlet the red. In goes Goldie the yellow. In goes Bluebell, splosh!
Swirl, swirl, swirl.
And out comes... brown. A muddy, puddly brown.
"Oh," says Bluebell, and her blue face goes a little wobbly. "That's not the colour I wanted. Did I make a mistake?"
Splodge the white rolls over and gives her a soft bump. "There are no mistakes in paint," says Splodge kindly. "That's a new colour. It's brown."
Bluebell looks again at the brown. It is warm and earthy, like a tree trunk. Like a cosy teddy bear. Like a puddle to jump in.
"Oh!" says Bluebell, and the wobble turns into a smile. "I could paint a tree with this! And a puppy! And a big muddy puddle!"
So she does. She keeps going, and the brown becomes a tree with green leaves, and a puddle with a splash.
"That's my idea," says Bluebell. "When the paint does something surprising, it's not wrong. It's just new. Keep going and see what happens."
That is Bluebell's brave idea.
There are no mistakes in paint. Keep going and see.
A grown-up can paint too! Mix lots of colours together on purpose, and see what comes out. Then ask: "What could this colour be?" Paint it into something.
When the picture is done, Bluebell rests on the tray, cool and calm and proud of her muddy, lovely painting. "Surprises are part of it," she says gently. "I'm glad I kept going."
No mistakes. Keep going. That's Bluebell.
The PaintTots ensemble
Bluebell is one of the friends in PaintTots. Each friend shows you one idea by how they act; meet them all and you have the whole subject.
-
Splodge
Lighter with white - Splodge the white paint, who makes any colour lighter and softer: a little dab of white turns red to pink and blue to sky
-
Scarlet
Two colours make a new one - Scarlet the red paint, who hugs a friend in the mixing well and out comes a colour neither could make alone: red and yellow make orange, red and blue make purple
-
Goldie
One dab at a time, then look - Goldie the yellow paint, who adds a little, stops, and looks at what changed before adding more
