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Painting Wet on Wet: Waldorf Watercolors for Children

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Written by Sarah Baldwin of Bella Luna Toys and Moon Child

Wet-on-wet watercolor painting is a technique taught in Waldorf schools and enjoyed by many homeschoolers. It’s a satisfying artistic experience, and the beautiful results can be turned into lovely gift cards, book covers, paper lanterns, or any number of beautiful objets d’art.

Why Wet-on-Wet?

The intent is to give young children an experience of color, not form. Because the wet paint is laid on wet paper, the colors flow, blending into one another in beautiful, unexpected ways.

I recommend painting with one color at a time to get comfortable with the technique. Single colors can be painted as “clouds” of color with varying intensity on the page, allowing some white to shine through here and there. You’d be surprised how beautiful a painting with just one color can be!

Discovering the Magic

Photos by Madrona Wienges

 

After painting with each of the primary colors singly, try the various two color combinations: red/yellow, red/blue, and yellow/blue. Children will be excited as they experience how secondary colors are formed when combining two colors.

“Look, Mama! There’s ORANGE in my jar!” Let them discover the magic for themselves. There’s no need for any further explanation at this age.

After experiencing the single colors, then two colors, 5- to 6-year-olds can be introduced to painting with all three primary colors.

What You Will Need

 

  • • A sink, basin or tray in which to soak your paper. I’ve found that an inexpensive kitty litter tray (new, not used!) works well.
  • • Heavyweight watercolor paper (I recommend 140 lb. weight, and the size I like is 11”x15”.)
  • • 1-3 shades of watercolor paint: Carmine Red, Ultramarine Blue and/or Lemon Yellow (I recommend Stockmar paint, but artist’s watercolor paint in a tube works well, too.)
  • • A watercolor paintbrush with flat bristles (1 to 1.5 inches wide)
  • • Pint-size jar (or larger) for water
  • • One pint-size for mixing paint
  • • One baby food jar for each color of paint
  • • A flat, waterproof board or counter on which to work
  • • Two sponges (one clean and paint-free, and the other to wipe the painting board clean later)
  • • A rag

Preparation

1. Submerge paper (one sheet at a time, so that they don’t stick together) in water and let it soak while you prepare everything else. Paper should soak about 10-15 minutes.

2. Mix your paint(s). When starting out, I recommend painting with one color at a time. Put a dollop of paint in the bottom of a pint jar (a tablespoon or so), and add water until the jar is about 3/4 full. Mix well. (I like to use a chopstick for this purpose.) You can test the intensity of the shade on a scrap of paper. Add more paint to make stronger, or more water to soften.

3. Pour a small amount of mixed paint (just enough to cover the bottom) into baby jars (one for each painter). Remaining paint can be refrigerated to use again later.

4. Lay a piece of soaked paper on a painting board or other flat, smooth, waterproof surface. A kitchen counter works well, but keep in mind that the painting should not be moved from the surface until dry. Most watercolor paper has a rougher side and a smoother side. Lay paper down with rough side up.

5. Wipe excess water off paper with clean, damp sponge. Make sure there are no puddles of water on the paper, and wipe away any air bubbles. Paper should have a sheen to it, but not be soaking wet.

Now you are ready to paint!

Painting!

Photo by Jennifer Jo Lickiss Tan

 

You want to model this technique for young children, so make sure you have set up all supplies for yourself and your child/ren.

Have each painter’s place set up with:

  • • a painting board and paper
  • • jar of water
  • • jar(s) of paint
  • • a rag

I wait to hand the child his or her brush until after I’ve told a “color story” like this one:

“One morning, Tippy Brush woke up and looked outside his bedroom window. It was a crisp autumn morning. As he looked outside his window, he saw bright red leaves falling from the maple tree and blowing in the wind, filling the sky with their color. ‘Oh, I want to play with red today!’ he thought.

So Tippy jumped out of bed, but before he went outside, he had a nice foot bath…

[Here I would demonstrate rinsing the bristles clean in the jar of water]

…and dried his feet clean with his towel [the rag]. Then Tippy ran outside and cried, “Good morning, Red! I’ve come to play with you!”

[At this point Tippy (my brush) dips his “toes” (the bristles) in the red paint.]

The red leaves were happy to have a playmate, and Tippy joyfully danced among the falling red leaves, until there were piles of bright red leaves all around.”

[Here I would apply the red paint to my paper, placing red here and there, letting the colors dance on the page.]

After telling the story, I would hand out the paintbrushes and let the children paint freely.

When finished, allow the paintings to dry thoroughly before removing them from your board or counter.

(All the above-mentioned supplies can be purchased from Bella Luna Toys, but similar products can be found at your local art supply store.)

Have questions? Leave them here and I’ll do my best to answer them. Have you tried it? Share your experiences with us!

About Sarah

Sarah is an author, mama of two, and Waldorf early childhood educator. She owned and operated Bella Luna Toys, a successful online shop offering wooden and natural toys inspired by Waldorf education, until her retirement in 2022.

Sarah contributed her thoughts and expertise re: childhood, play, parenting and Waldorf education on Simple Homeschool for over two years - find all her posts here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Deb

    This is fantastic!

    I usually am reluctant to paint with my kids, but this looks fun AND you get a very pretty result. I am going to keep this in mind for the next warm day we have. Thanks for the tutorial!
    Deb’s latest post: People! Look!

  2. Kimberly

    Beautiful photos and I love your color story as well.
    My question is, after many years of doing the basics like this, my child is now 11 and I have no idea where to go with her when it comes to wet on wet. There seems to be so many places to find the simple early years wet on wet but I can’t seem to find anything beyond that. Do you know of something?
    Kimberly’s latest post: Science- Rainbows All Around

  4. Kara @Simple Kids

    our weekly painting day is one of my personal favorites 🙂 I paint alongside the kids and it really is fun and something that can totally change the tone of a “bumpy” morning, too.

    We don’t have painting boards (on my wish list though) and I have been known to soak the paper beforehand in the bathtub LOL

    I’d love to hear more about painting with older children, too, Sarah. Thanks!
    Kara @Simple Kids’s latest post: Inspiring Finds- Four Fun and Simple Pumpkin Themed Crafts

    • Sarah Baldwin

      Tubs and sinks work very well for soaking paper, Kara!
      See my reply to Kimberly (above) about the book I recommend for painting with grade school-aged children.

      Starting in first grade, form is gradually introduced, so that paintings are no longer just color experiences, but become pictures, that grow more complex as the children develop.

      Have you ever seen The Waldorf School Calendar? I buy one every year. Each month’s page is a beautiful watercolor painting painted by a Waldorf student from schools across the country.

      http://shop.chicagowaldorf.org/

  6. Mother of Pearl

    We did something similar in an art class for elementary education majors I took in college, but we just brushed water onto regular printer paper and let it sit a few minutes and then used a regular watercolor trays to paint on the paper. It was a simpler version with the same results.

    • Sarah Baldwin

      I’ve had children paint on huge sheets of watercolor paper, which we would later fold in half to create painting folders. Because these sheets were too big to soak, I would spray both sides of the paper with a spray bottle.

      One reason we soak the watercolor paper for 10 minutes is because commercial watercolor paper is treated with a “sizing” material (similar to that used on new clothing). If the paper is not soaked adequately, the sizing will cause the paper to buckle more while it is drying.

      But I have to say that the heavyweight 140 lb textured watercolor paper will yield a much different result than painting on smooth, thin printer paper. Try both and you will immediately see the difference!

  13. Mara

    Beautiful tutorial! My oldest went to a Waldorf preschool and loved wet-on-wet water color painting. You’ve inspired me to order some supplies for Chanukah presents!

  15. JoAnn

    Love the tutorial, thank you! Where can I find more stories and / or poems to use with this type of painting? Thank you, JoAnn

  20. Keenan Dubrey

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  24. madame butterfly

    Fantastic idea! My kids and i loves to do this kinds of activities..This kind of activities are great time for you and your kids to enjoy and have fun! Its a great way to make my kids be more creative that can help them to improve their abilities..They have this book http://www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Coloring-Pages-Butterflies-Adults/dp/1500501255 that they really enjoy coloring.. You might also want to try it.. This book is very informative that is good for your kids and at the same time they can enjoy coloring it too.. You can also use this book as an inspiration in your art works..

  26. Jasmin Brackenfield

    Thanks Sarah, it is useful for parents to be able to see the wet on wet watercolour technique, children do love it so.
    Would you mind if I used one of the painting images on the art page of the Brighton Steiner School website please? I could credit your page and put a link in on the photo. Thanks in advance, I won’t use it unless I hear back from you that it is ok.
    Best wishes
    Jasmin Brackenfield
    Kindergarten Teacher.

  27. Sarah

    Hi there,
    I would love to do some wet on wet painting with my little boy. He is not yet 2 and a half, is it too early? We would only use one colour at a time.
    Thanks

    Sarah

  28. Debbie Harris

    I am a recreation officer at a rest home, I have previously used this technique on students who have intellectual disabilities it was a great success, my question is where do I buy the painting boards from. I live in the manawatu.
    Thanks Debbie

  29. Beckie

    What does it mean when you say to add steroid shop paint? What are you saying? I feel like my paint looks too dilute when I paint.
    Thanks,
    Beckie