Although a number of artists, notably Cezanne, had begun the process of abstracting from visual reality, it was the Russian painter, Kandinsky, who is often credited with making the first abstract paintings. The story goes that Kandinsky was dissatisfied with one of his brightly coloured semi figurative paintings and turned it upside down. The resulting composition of colour, shape and space pleased him. Although it was impossible to 'read' the painting in a literal way it still presented a powerful expressive and aesthetic content. Whether or not the that story is true, abstraction or the rejection of it, became the dominant feature in painting over the past 80 years.
Abstraction can be a very a powerful and liberating factor in helping young children with painting.
Drawing and painting what can be seen from observation requires skill. This can be taught and all children can be helped to improve their representational abilities. However, the inability to draw or paint what something really looks like can be a powerful inhibiting factor that destroys confidence and prevents many children from enjoying and taking part in art. For example, look at the arteducation.co.uk units 'drawing lines' , 'making marks' and 'marks and textures' for more detailed ideas. Revise a method for mixing colours with paint .