Watercolor Oil Paintings
You may already know that oil and water don’t mix. Today we are going to test that out in a fun art project. But first, why don’t these two liquids mix?
Check out this interactive link to learn more:
To explore more about liquid density, check out our blog on creating your own rainbow in a jar with layers of liquid! http://www.discoveryexpresskids.com/blog/layers-of-liquid-density-create-a-rainbow-in-a-jar
Let’s get started on our painting!
YOU WILL NEED:
* Dishes, such as shallow bowls
* Liquid watercolors
* Vegetable Oil
* Watercolor paper
* Eye dropper
* Pan or tray
Here’s what to do!
1. Prepare your liquid watercolors in a few different dishes. Use as many colors as you would like.
2. Pour some vegetable oil in another dish.
3. Set your paper in a pan or tray (this gets messy!)
4. Use an eye dropper to drop splashes of watercolor onto your paper.
5. Use another eye dropper to drop vegetable oil onto your painting. Remember, oil and water do not want to mix, so the oil will move aside some of your watercolor and make for an even cooler painting!
6. Let your painting dry completely before moving.
Wax and Watercolors
Check it out here: http://www.discoveryexpresskids.com/blog/science-and-art-with-absorption
How well do you think water is absorbed into wax? Make a prediction!
YOU WILL NEED:
* Crayons
* Markers
* Paper
* Watercolors
* Paint brushes
Here’s what to do!
1. Draw a picture on your paper with your crayons, but leave some blank paper.
2. Draw a picture with washable markers, and again, make sure to leave some blank space.
3. Use your watercolors to paint over both of your pictures. What do you notice about your art? Is the watercolor absorbed into the paper? Does the watercolor mix with the wax? How about the marker?
4. You probably noticed that watercolor paint and marker blend together, but crayon resists the watercolor! This is because watercolor paint and washable markers are both water-based. The wax in the crayons does not mix with water, so watercolor does not blend with your crayon design. The wax is very similar to oil in that it is hydrophobic, or water fearing. Because wax is hydrophobic, it repels the water and does not absorb it.
5. Continue to create crayon/watercolor art! Have fun!
Creating Texture on Watercolor
Rubbing alcohol can be used as a cleaner or a sterilizer, but did you know that it can be used as a unique technique in painting? When applied to a wet watercolor painting, the alcohol repels the liquid watercolor, creating lighter spots. This can be a fun way to get creative textures! Let’s try it out!
Here’s a video tutorial if you want to see an example. Skip to 3:00 for a quick visual of what you’ll be doing:
* Dish, such as a shallow bowl
* Liquid watercolors
* Paint brushes
* Watercolor paper
* Rubbing alcohol
* Cotton swabs
Here’s what to do!
1. Prepare your watercolors.
2. Pour rubbing alcohol into a dish.
3. Create a watercolor design. Cover most of your paper with watercolor paint. Use as many colors as you would like!
4. Soak a cotton swab in the rubbing alcohol and dab lightly on your painting. You’ll notice that the rubbing alcohol repels the watercolor paint, so you’ll end up with a uniquely textured painting!
5. Use the rubbing alcohol to create more designs in your watercolor painting. Try dabbing, dropping, or spraying rubbing alcohol to see what kinds of affects you can create in your painting.
6. Let dry completely on a flat surface.
Image and video credits:
Laczay, B., 2006. Watercolours. Image uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/29/2017. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Watercolours.jpg/800px-Watercolours.jpg
File used in accordance with the
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License. Image was not changed.
Barrios, J., 2007. Crayones cera. Image uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 1/29/2017.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Crayones_cera.jpg/1280px-Crayones_cera.jpg
File in the Public Domain.
Picanco, A., 2015. Watercolor Alcohol Technique Tutorial. Uploaded from YouTube on 1/29/2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6t4aZpBYuk