Simple and Easy Magical Rainbow Paintings For Kids
There is nothing more magical than seeing your drawings come to life after painting over them. Kids will love creating a colorful rainbow art with magical clouds! Super easy painting idea and fun for all ages!
After years of teaching art to children, watercolor resist paintings are one of my favorite elementary art techniques. From magical heart paintings to fun Spring O’Keeffe-inspired flowers, resist projects are never boring.
Whether with toddlers, preschoolers, or elementary school students, kids are always amazed by how they can just paint right over their drawings.
Supplies you’ll need
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Notes On Supplies
- When painting in watercolor, watercolor paper yields the best results. This is a great scholarly watercolor paper pack to buy!
- Instead of salt, you can experiment with other watercolor techniques using these optional supplies: painter’s tape, rubber cement, or cling wrap.
- Liquid watercolor paint will give you more vibrant colors, but a regular watercolor palette will do the trick as well.
How To Create Magical Rainbow Paintings
Step 1: Draw Rainbow Lines
Use the colors of the rainbow to create simple curved lines. Make sure to press hard enough to get the wax or oil on the paper.
Step 2: Draw Clouds
Draw and color in cloud shapes. I like having the white of the oil pastel blend in with the edge of the clouds. If you don’t like that you can always draw the cloud first.
Step 3: Paint The Sky
Adding a light clear wash will help colors blend together. You can choose to paint the white space in between the rainbow lines or just paint the sky.
Step 4: Add Texture
You can sprinkle salt on the wet paint or place a clear wrap on top. With young children, we advise using only a little sprinkle.
Step 5: Let Dry
Let your awesome rainbow paintings dry. You can lightly brush the salt off or leave it for added texture.
Optional: Flatten Paintings
If you use small papers, you may want to put a heavy book on top to help flatten them.
ART TEACHER TIP – You will see how the salt absorbs the paint. If you are not seeing that, then add a little extra drop of water without touching the brush to the paper.
Tips
- MAY NEED TO ADD EXTRA WATER – If using liquid watercolors or can’t see the heart, you may need to dilute the paints more for the magic to happen.
- TRY OTHER OIL PASTELS – Try neon oil pastels for more vibrant colors.
- PRESS HARD – Apply enough pressure with the drawing material.
- USE THICKER PAPER – Getting this watercolor resist technique to work using regular, lightweight copy paper will be difficult. You can always test your materials beforehand to ensure they will work.
- TEST DRAWING MATERIALS – Washable crayons or certain brands of crayons may not work as well. We recommended oil pastels for the best results. A regular Crayola crayon will also work, but colors might not be as pronounced.
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Related Painting Ideas
Simple painting techniques and projects are the perfect way for children to explore their creativity and for families (or students) to have fun together. We hope your family loves creating these simple and fun rainbow paintings together!
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Magic Rainbow Painting With Salt and Watercolor
Equipment
- Water container
Supplies
- Thick White Paper Watercolor Paper works best!
- Watercolor Paint
- Oil Pastels
- Salt
Instructions
- Draw a repeated curved lines ROYGBIV order. (Indigo is optional)
- Use a white oil pastel to add clouds and color them with white.
- Paint a water wash over the background to help your paint colors mix on the paper.
- Add watercolor paint to the background. You can brush right over where you put oil pastels.
- Optional: Add salt or add paint splatters to your painting once it is dry.
Notes
- Watercolor paper will yield the best results.
- High-quality crayons can be substituted for an oil pastels.
- Do not use copy paper.