As an ex-secondary school teacher it has come as no suprise to me that I've been thinking of several ideas of late on how to get a younger audience engaged with watercolours. The love of art is often inspired by someone older who shows you the joy of creating and opens the door to a magical, and often lifelong experience! Many of my students have told me that they have already shared some of the techniques they have learned in class with their own children or grandchildren. They have discovered that working together on a shared interest has brought them closer together ~ bridging that generation gap!
Knowing that art has the power to do this ~ why wouldn't I be inspired to come up with some waterclour ideas that you can share together?! With that in mind, welcome to the first of my 'Wee Watercolour' projects. These are 'wee' in time and 'wee' in skill level so are great for beginners (even if you don't have a wee one!). To make these tutorials even more accessible I have decided to make them free ~ without even the need for a subscription. All you have to do is sign up and become a member of Tracey Bengeyfield Art.
Let's get creative!! If you are new to watercolour or perhaps you feel just like having a play for an hour, why not give this new tutorial a try?! The Spider web tutorial can be adapted at every stage so you can make it more or less complicated depending on how much time you have and what level of experience you have ~ it might even be suitable for 'wee' ones (as long as they are supervised by an adult)! You can find out more about what this project entails in this teaser video.
If you would like to adapt this project for younger painters you could make it even more accesible by changing the following aspects:
add less detail to the web drawing but depending on the age and skill level of the 'wee' one you might choose to make the overall web larger (which will be easier for smaller fingers)
exchange the masking fluid for a simple wax candle (like a birthday cake candle). This will resist the paint (like the masking fluid but it won't spill!) and it is easier to apply as all you need to do is draw with it. Be aware that you won't be able to remove it like you can with the masking fluid.
Feel free to pre mix colours into a plastic palette or small pots
Add sparkle using metallic pens or environmentally friendly glitter (fixed with PVA glue)
I hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to upload your finished work to the members area.
Happy Painting!
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