Watercolor Tips for the Young
Featured Article
by Brenda Ellis
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I am a child of the 60's and the coolest things on the market at that time were coloring books with little dots of dried color placed within the black outlines. With a brush and some water I could make the color come alive and spread it to fill up that black outlined shape. Painting was so cool and we rarely got our hands on paint in the primary grades in public school. Imagine the excitement when children use watercolor crayons for the first time. Applied like a regular wax crayon, they appear at first to be nothing special. Then when the water is applied to them the color comes alive. The children in my primary classroom love them. They want to use them to good affect. Perhaps you could give your primary artist some tips by demonstrating some of the following ideas.
DRAWING AN OUTLINE THEN FILLING IN SPACES WITH COLOR
Students can only get strong color when lots of color has been applied to the page. I show them how to outline a shape that they've drawn with the color they want it to be. Then color back and forth within the outline so that no white of the paper remains. When water is applied the color will be intense.
LAYERING COLORS AND BLENDING THEM FOR A SOFT EDGE
Demonstrate layering blue over yellow to get green or layering light brown over dark brown and then brushing the water back and forth to blend the two colors.
CAREFULLY CONTROLLING THE BRUSH TO GET A HARD EDGE
How the water is applied to the paper is important to get the results the student wants. I show them how to blend and then show them how I carefully stay within a specific space when I do not want a color to blend into the next one. I create a hard edge.
FILLING UP THE SPACE OF THE PAGE WITH COLOR
Children often do not fill up the space of the page. I suggest it by pointing out white areas once they come to me thinking that their work is finished. I suggest that they add some color in the area, but never demand it. They can choose to keep it white, but they often decide to add more to their picture.
Allow your child to use the watercolor paints frequently. Even without demonstrations, the child is practicing and discovering new techniques on his own. We only become masters in any type of art after a great deal of practice. Kids who like art and like the materials they are allowed to use will make art more. And with practice the better their skills will become.
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Greetings!
Who doesn't love watercolors? Spreading brilliant colors across the page in a watery wash is fun partly because it cannot be completely controlled. There is always an element of surprise. Water colors come in almost any form: hard cakes, liquid in tubes, crayon form, pencil form, and even sticks. We use watercolors in these various forms throughout the ARTistic Pursuits books. In this newsletter we explore the most popular medium in art, watercolor.
- Brenda Ellis
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"Learning is not the accumulation of knowledge. Learning is movement from moment to moment." - J. Krishnamurti
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 | Your Question Answered
| My artist is a very self-confident, definite-in-her-opinions 9-year-old girl. She loves art. Period. First, she doesn't like to do watercolors-at all. She says they are too runny. She doesn't like the way they look on the page as she is using them and she doesn't like how they look wavy when they dry. My solution has been to try different quality paints and encourage her to see if they will be beneficial to her artwork. I just thought I'd see if you have any ideas.
Second, what can I use to clean our paint brushes? I know I can buy something but I'd rather just use something at home. Soap and water works alright but the bristles still look stained. Ideas? -T.T.
If a very young child does not like a specific medium you can avoid it for awhile, however in the case of watercolors I think it could be resolved if she is willing to try a few "tricks". There are two issues.
The first is that with a cheap brush there is no control of the water, so it creates a very messy situation rather than a controlled situation. A good synthetic hair brush will hold the water and release it when you want and where you want it to. With that said, if you have a good synthetic brush, teach her to dip it in water, then to drag it across the edge of her can of water. This takes out excess water and leaves just enough water in the brush to work with.
The issue of wrinkled paper is why they make heavier paper for watercolor painting. I'd say that if she has a good brush and is controlling the water better, then a student's grade watercolor paper pad will be sufficient. She may be old enough to begin using that instead of thin drawing or copy papers for painting.
People rarely realize that the most important tools in watercolor painting are the brush and paper. The paint is secondary. While we are on the subject, the paint will affect the brightness or intensity of color that the child can get onto the paper. Very cheap paints simply have very little pigment and if the pigment isn't there, your child cannot get it onto the paper. With a strong pigment, your child can easily get bright beautiful pictures.
Clean watercolor brushes in warm water (not hot) and use a mild dish soap. Rub the dish soap into the brustles with your fingers and gently rinse clean. To clean brushes well use a product like The Masters Brush Cleaner. This has a bit of abrasive in it and takes out stains that dish soap will not take out.
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| Watercolor Crayons |
Watercolor crayons are a fun first watercolor medium to use. Some brands have better color quality than others. We suggest Neocolor ll watersoluble pastels by Caran d'Ache in the K-3 Book One, Introduction to the Visual Arts.
Children apply the color, which comes in a crayon form, directly to the paper. A brush is then dipped in water and applied over the crayon marks they have made on the paper. The water dissolves the pigment. This is a great tool for blending colors over another.
One thing I teach children (5 and older) is to fill in the spaces of the page with color. This leaves very little white space in the picture. In this work of art by a six year old you can see how the sky was filled in with marks, then blended with water. Children love bright colorful pictures. They quickly learn to fill in the space and enjoy the results of their accomplishments.
I'd like to share a blogg that was shared with me from Heidi Adams. She has shown many of the works done by her daughter this year from the first book. They are beautiful and show what a child can accomplish by working in both her imagination and from an observed object. I think you'll want to check this blog out. Here is the link.
http://www.sacramentalmoments.net/2011/10/catching-up-on-showing-her-art.html
Sincerely,
Brenda Ellis
Artistic Pursuits Inc.
2626 East 109th Ave., Northglenn, Colorado 80233
303-467-0504 alltheanswers@artisticpursuits.com
www.artisticpursuits.com
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