Watercolor paints are a favorite with a lot of parents because they aren’t as messy as regular paints. There are a lot more reasons than that to love them. Watercolors are actually a very versatile paint. The trouble is that most watercolors sold for children, like the kind attached to coloring books, aren’t very good paints. You can get some nice basic paints from the craft store that cost a bit more, but aren’t expensive, and will last a long time. Also, coloring books aren’t a very good surface for watercolors. Artist quality watercolor paper is very expensive, but you can also find some basic starter paper. I like to buy a decent quality that is still fairly inexpensive. If it’s too expensive, I find myself hesitating to let the kids play around on it.
Before your children really try painting with watercolors, do some experimenting. Try a “Wet on Wet” technique. Wet the paper and use a wet brush dipped in the paint. This provides a thin transparent coat of paint called a wash. This is a great technique for painting skies, water, or large areas. For a more saturated color, try “Wet on Dry”. This means a wet brush on dry paper. Let the kids experiment with different colors and watch how they run together. For very intense colors, use a dry brush in the paint and paint on a dry paper. This technique is great for edges and bursts of color.
For more fun, sprinkle regular salt over a wet painted area. The salt makes great patterns. You can also press things into the paint. Try pressing leaves, crinkled plastic or paper, or foil to get interesting patterns. To make a resist, use a white crayon on your paper before you begin painting. The paint won’t soak through the paper where the wax is and will make a fun effect. You can even write secret messages for the kids on their papers. Let the kids try different sizes and types of brushes, too. Q-tips, old toothbrushes, and even bits of torn sponge can produce interesting effects.
As long as the paints are non-toxic, any of these experiments and techniques work with kids about three years old and older. Have fun painting!
Also See:
Pointillism Art Project (with a little history thrown in)