When I was growing up, all I had for art supplies were a box of gouache paints and a scattering of pencils that broke whenever I tried to sharpen them . It was not because my mom did not care to develop my creativity – it was just life in a small city in early post-Soviet Russia. The word “variety” was missing from people’s minds, as well as store shelves. However, it did not prevent me from loving to paint and draw for the rest of my childhood and beyond!
It is different now, my husband and I like to try everything at least once, so the drawers in our crafts room are full of different media: pastels, watercolour pencils, charcoals, acrylics, stain-glass paint – you name it! It is fascinating to see what Budster can create with such a variety of materials since he has this chance. For him it is a curious visual experiment as well: dipping a brush into a jar of paint and seeing what marks he can make on paper. As he is pretty young, sometimes the visual experience turns tactual, as he abandons brushes and helps himself with hands. Acrylics, gouache, watercolours, and inks all look and feel different, so its fun for him to try all of them. From my observation, Budster prefers bright and thick gouache or tempera paints but he has also had some fun with watercolours.
Watercolours come in different forms. There are dry watercolours, sold in trays, and there are moist watercolours, available in tubes. If, like us, you find yourself with pan watercolours, you might want to start by dissolving some colours in a teaspoon of water. It will help the young artist to get enough paint on the brush. I prepared four different colours in left-over paint containers. One container – or a cup – with clear water is a good addition as well.
Another tip for painting with watercolours is choosing paper. It does not have to be professional-grade paper, but it should be special watercolour paper. What separates watercolours from other paints is their transparency; therefore the texture of paper will be seen through and play an important part in how the finished painting looks. Cold-press watercolour paper is the most common type. It has a noticeable texture that may not be suitable for extremely detailed work, but otherwise it is a very versatile surface. Hot-press paper is smooth, and rough paper speaks for itself. Another consideration is that unlike drawing papers, watercolour paper contains sizing, which reduces the absorption of paint into the paper itself. However, it will absorb moisture very well, which cannot be said about inkjet printing paper.
Do these intricacies matter when the artist in question is a toddler? It is a question to consider, but I think so. Budster has strong preferences for illustrations in books, therefore he has an aesthetic sense of his own. He gets frustrated when things do not work smoothly, like a piece of puzzle does not go in, and watercolours just do not work on thin paper. We teach children to do a lot of things right from the beginning, whether they can appreciate their meaning fully or not, and this can be just one of them.
After placing paper and paints of the table, I helped Budster to put on his painting apron. He had a little friend over, and both of then went to work on leaving their impressions on white paper.
For a reason known only to himself, Budster always considered paintbrushes more satisfying than finger painting, but this time, after a while, he found it amusing to stick one finger in a jar of paint and poke paper with it, leaving small dots.
To finish the experiment, we sprinkled some salt on the wet watercolours. Truth to tell, I have never found a chance to do it for my own paintings before, and I was just as excited as the children.
They ran away and forgot about their paintings in a couple of minutes, but I kept checking how the paints were drying, with blossoms opening around salt grains. After a couple of hours, I brushed the salt off and gave Budster his painting to enjoy.
Top: Anselm’s work
Top: Anselm’s friend’s work
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