In attempting to recreate a famous Pointillist painting, you can learn what works and what doesn't work. In Pointillism, you will need to let the paint dry before adding another layer of color, as you do not want the colors to blend with each other. Start with acrylic paints, as those dry quickly. If you use oil paints, take your time, as oils are slow to dry, and you could end up having to wait a whole day or longer for one color to dry, depending on the thickness of the paint. It may help to start with a small section of a painting. One of the most famous Pointillist paintings is "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat. This is a very large and detailed painting, but if you choose a small section of it to recreate--for example, a couple in the scene--you can learn with less confusion and frustration.
Select a picture that you'd like to recreate in Pointillism style. Start out with something simple and small, as this project can be quite time-consuming. Print out or make a copy of the image at the desired size. With a hole punch, punch holes from colored pieces of paper; you can use construction paper, tissue paper or recycled magazine pages. Be sure to keep the circles separated by color. According to your printout, choose colored dots to match the different sections of the image. Use contrasting colors underneath the main colors for a more dimensional Pointillism effect. For example, if you are creating blue water, you could use yellow, orange or a darker color like violet underneath the blue dots for contrast. Glue the dots onto your printout, and you will have a Pointillism-style paper mosaic.
To better understand Pointillism, it can be helpful to use a medium other than paint, such as colored pencils, markers, crayons or oil pastels. Build your piece using points or small dots/circular shapes, one at a time. Because these mediums cannot easily be built onto each other in layers, like paint, you will have to select your colors and patterns carefully. Colored pencils are more forgiving, as you can erase your marks, but markers are not. Start with something small, like a ball or a flower. Remember that this is jut an exercise, so it does not have to be perfect.
Using the Pointillism method of one dot of color at a time, you can paint on any surface you'd like; wood, glass and papier-mache are a few suggestions. Try this method on a different surface after you feel comfortable using Pointillism on paper.