2022 BAC Color In Motion Arts Festival Hearts for the Arts
Technique Overview
Project Instructions
These are the 8 techniques for you to try with your students using their watercolors. The watercolor paper in your supply boxes is a good quality paper. You may want to have your students practice on a less expensive paper and then use the better paper when ready to do a final product. That is up to you.
We also suggest that you preview the videos for your planning and decide which ones you would like to show your students. You and your students can select which of the activities you all would like to make. Please feel to change up things as you see fit for your class.
We are looking forward to seeing each class’s creations so please take a few pictures and send them our way. For students that are not allowed to be photographed, you can send pictures of their creation if they would like with no names. Please upload pictures to your Google Drive Folder and send any questions or comments to: Lsorensen@bacemploy.com
Techniques Demonstrated
- FLAT WASH – Use a brush that holds a lot of paint and choose the color of paint you like. Place your paper on a protected surface and use a couple of pieces of tape to secure the paper to the surface if needed. Apply paint at the top, brushing on and moving across and downward.
- GRADIENT WASH – Choose two colors of paint. Place the paper on a covered surface and start at the top with one color of paint on your brush and add the second color about halfway down to blend and finish covering the paper with paint. Blend the colors to avoid harsh edges before either color dries
- WET ON WET– Choose two or three colors of paint. Wet your paper applying water with a brush so the paper is glistening. Soak brush with lots of one paint color and drip onto paper. Then do the same with each of the other colors. Continue until paper is covered with paint. Be careful not to overwet the paper.
- RESIST – Use a white crayon and draw your design on your paper. Then wet your paper and brush on paint colors. Paint will resist or not stick to areas where crayon is applied.
- ALCOHOL – Pour some rubbing alcohol into a small container. Lightly wet your paper and paint with watercolors. While the paint is still wet, use a Q tip or small paintbrush dipped in rubbing alcohol and apply to painted paper and watch what happens. Apply more or less until you are happy with your creation. Try using an eyedropper filled with rubbing alcohol to apply small drops to wet paint.
- SALT – Wet your paper and apply watercolor(s)of your choice to your paper. While the paint is still wet use a shaker and apply some salt. Let dry and remove salt. See how the salt affected the paint.
- PLASTIC WRAP – Wet your paper and paint on the watercolor(s) of your choice. Cover your wet painting with a piece of plastic wrap that covers your paper. Lightly crinkle up the plastic wrap and leave on paper then remove when dry. See the designs made by the plastic wrap.
- SPLATTER – This can be done on either wet or dry paper. Wet the colors you want to use. Fill your brush with one color and use the handle of a second brush to lightly tap the handle of the brush loaded with paint moving over and around your paper. Clean brush and apply second color and repeat process. Apply more color splatters if you choose. If applied to wet paper the splatters will spread and will stay in place on dry paper. You may want to allow some drying time between splatters if using lots of colors.