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These small paintings are beautiful, aren’t they? I love this project. It is perfect for any age (we had ages 2 to 12 painting these sweet little gems), and the white edge is so striking and arty it just makes me happy. Truly, you could have the ugliest little painting but when that tape comes off it becomes a Rothko or an O’Keefe. It’s magical!
Supplies:
Watercolors (we used our awesome new set from Vilac, but you can also use these
Tape (I tried both painter’s tape
Brushes (i like this mixed pack
Sponge
Watercolor paper (i buy bigger
Tape down a piece of paper for each person (our border is about 1/4″). I put out newspaper but you could easily tape it to another piece of paper so it’s movable, or directly to your work surface. This is not a messy project, the newspaper was really there just to protect the table from the tape. We did several variations on the small theme: small portraits, small still lifes and small abstracts. (For more in depth instruction on using watercolors with kids, you can read my post here.) The only rule was to cover all of the paper with paint. (This makes for a more dramatic white edge!)
Once they are dry, sloooowwwwly peel off the tape. And then, voila! You have beautiful art to hang in your home.
Enjoy this project…and you should make one, too! Leave the supplies out for a day or two and make many paintings so that you can hang them all up together.
xo, Bar
{Via Red Bird Crafts}
Looks like so much fun!
thanks for leaving a comment jennie! and yes, we do these little paintings all the time in art class and they always turn out beautiful! xo bar
Love the look of these! It’s amazing what a simple white border can do. So enjoy your site!
I love love love that border. I used masking tape & it damaged the paper so next time I’ll try washi or painter’s tape like you suggested. I had the kids paint these & then draw a picture of their mom, cut it out and glued it to the background and they’re really beautiful. Thanks for posting!
Hi Bar,
Just bought your book and it has a similar activity in it as this one… noticed both call for a sponge, and I think it’s something to use for the paintbrush…? Could you please tell me what the sponge is for?
Thanks – Jess
hi Jess, the damp sponge is just something I use for blotting the brush. It’s a painting technique I use for little ones: wet the brush, swirl in the paint, put it on the paper, rinse the brush, blot it dry, then start again. hope this helps! thank you for buying my book!! xo Bar
Love the self portrait idea ! Glad I chanced upon your blog. What would you brand of watercolor paper would you recommend and what size ?
Thank you.
hi Hanna, sorry for taking so long to reply! For these small paintings, you can use any brand watercolor paper in 90 lb or 140 1b. They are really hard to mess up – they always turn out good! ~ Bar