Painting With Watercolors and Salt

Most children were introduced to watercolor painting at a very young age, so they are at least somewhat familiar with its use.

Whether you’re teaching your own kids art at home or teaching a larger group of kids, watercolors are likely to be a staple when it comes to your art supplies.

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There are several reasons I think it’s such a good medium: It’s easy to use and easy to clean.

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It gives kids great exercise in painting and learning about different types of brushes if you want to introduce this, it’s forgiving – you can dilute it with water to lighten it up, or almost erase it if you mess up – and you’re on your way to paint. layer to make it more vivid.

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You won’t need too many materials for this project and there are two ways to use the lesson: one would be to add a top layer of construction paper like we did with the hearts, or just paint them on and add the salt without the lid layer glued.

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I’ll cover how to perform both methods.

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You must decide before you teach him what you want to do so that you have the materials you need in time.

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You can also offer them the option and let them decide.

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In my classes I asked everyone to start with the center piece, then I told them that after making a piece like this they could do whatever they wanted and it worked out well.

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Watercolor and salt painting

Is required:

• Watercolor paper for each child, I would suggest at least 2 pieces per child
• cups of water
• Brushes in several sizes for each child
• Disposable plastic tablecloth
• Blanket or apron for each child
• Salt – (just regular table salt)
• scissors
• Construction paper in different colors
• pencils
• watercolors
• glue stick

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Step by step instructions

First, lay out the tablecloth to catch the fresh paint and salt.

Give each child a crayon, paint, water, brush, watercolor, and paper.

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The idea with this project is to create a more abstract style of painting.

If they get caught painting a specific scene or something too detailed, it will defeat the whole purpose. For kids who are struggling with the concept of “abstract,” just tell them to focus on the colors and mix them, not think about creating a specific theme.

Use watercolors

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It’s all about color and texture.

I suggested that they pick about 3 of their favorite colors from the palette that they think would look good together and draw attention, and then paint the entire sheet of paper with those colors.

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Explain to children who are unfamiliar with this type of color how to intensify the color to make it brighter.

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As you start painting, the colors will become more pastel and lighter, so let it sit for a few minutes and apply another coat until you get the color you like best.

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You need to understand that the water can be too much, and this will soften the color. Therefore, it is better not to abuse water, but to use it when you need it.

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add salt

Well, as for the salt, you have to wait until there is a little bit of moisture to add it, otherwise it won’t have much effect.

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In my classes, I discovered that when I let the kids add their own salt, they went completely overboard.

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Even with college-age kids, which I didn’t expect, it was too much, and it took over the paintings and not in a good way.

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So I let them paint for a few minutes and then started walking around with the salt in my hand and when I saw a nice wet area covered in paint a nice light color I asked if they were done.

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Some would wait, others would try. Scattering it in the palm of your hand and taking a pinch works best.

Slather the full pinch of salt on the area, then sit back and watch it work. You should see dots appear and start to get a little bigger. If there is no reaction, it probably isn’t wet enough.

You can ask them to add some more water and color and try again.

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If you give them the salt yourself I would put 2 salt shakers in it so they can easily share if there are more than two kids.

Shaking the salt out of the salt shaker works well when all the paint is nice and wet; Otherwise, a large amount of salt is likely to fall off and not stick.

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As you play with it a bit and get used to making it work, you’ll better understand the texture it creates and how much you want to add to the painting. Sometimes less is more and it looks good here and there.

Ask them to blend the colors in at least a few places so they’re more even and not necessarily “striped.”

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Another cool way to do this is to put water on the paper first so it’s already damp and then add drops of paint. This allows the paint to slide perfectly across the paper, but it’s not easy to control the result, so be prepared to handle it.

You can also add small shapes or other details to make the image more interesting like the swirls I added in mine, but too much will spoil the texture and the overall look.

The last step is to let the paint dry and then tap it lightly to shake off excess salt.

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Cut out the heart from construction paper

To add the heart or other shape on top: Have them choose a color or construction paper and hand it to them along with scissors.

(I found this to be a great secondary lesson: teach them how to properly cut a heart.

Show them how to fold the paper in half and draw in the center of the heart or just cut it out so they have a cute matching heart when they unfold. A lot of the kids I’ve taught have never done it.)

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When the paint is dry, use a glue stick to stick the heart on it.

The paint must be dry to attach the heart. So if they have to leave before that happens, just send them over to them and tell them to stick it on later. (Or say the father is probably the best!)

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This is a great project for Valentine’s Day!

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