Lesson 56 - Trees Against A Winter Sky (watercolor tape resist with salt)

This week we endeavored to create an interesting watercolor painting with a twist. After a short tutorial on watercolor technique and directions, the children used thick watercolor paper, which absorbs water without ripping. We began by sticking masking tape to the paper to create our winter trees. (When the painting is finished, the trees will be a negative space on the paper).  The children were very creative in the placement of their tape, and the choice of how many trees to make.

Next we used watercolor paints and painted over the entire paper. Since the colors were very wet, the children had the opportunity to shade different areas lighter or darker, depending on how much paint they put on the paper. Once the papers were completely painted, we sprinkled table salt on the still wet paint, to create a “snowflake” effect. The sodium melts on the wet paint and makes a very interesting effect, almost crystalline in nature.

The paintings will then need to completely dry before the excess salt will be wiped off. Finally, the tape will be removed to reveal the “negative space” trees. The children can then shade in the trees to their liking, or leave them as they are. The paintings will be very pretty when all done.