Watercolor Painting

Student given large piece of drawing paper, which he saturates with water. Then the teacher announces that the class will do water color experiments, trying to create moods with the colors. The first mood could be a happy one. The individual should decide which colors are "happy" - then moisten each of these in his water color box. When all the chosen colors are wet, he should pick one up with his brush, put it on the paper in any way he wants, then move on to the next color, being careful never to cover one color with another. He should continue in this way until the entire paper is covered with colors that will fuse in very unusual ways and create all sorts of brilliant accidents.

While this paper is drying, the teacher may ask the students to think up another mood, perhaps an unpleasant one, and then to think of all the colors that seem appropriate. This time they may use dark colors, such as black, purple, dark gray, and browns, and again they will cover the entire surface with colors. In this exercise, the teacher may wish to have the paper even wetter than in the first, thus creating entirely different sorts of color fusions. If large puddles remain, these can easily be blotted with the tip of the brush or with an ink blotter. The teacher should exercise caution to see that the paintings are not picked up while they are still wet, causing all the colors to fuse into a kind of homogenized gray.

On the next lesson, the class may take the first painting --the light one --and the teacher may talk about it as though it were a sky that the students had seen early one bright, sunny morning while riding the bus to school. A discussion of other things seen that day may ensue, and the students can sketch these things on the surface of the bright water color sky. From this point on, black water color or India ink is used, and the opaque foreground contrasts with the brilliance of the background, giving a very dramatic effect. The second picture may be used to sketch things seen silhouetted against a night sky. These, too, can be painted with black water color or India ink. Other pictures can be made of skylines of shorelines, or even to create the illusion of a body of water.

The best subject matter is always derived from the experiences of the children, and teachers will realized that what has just been described is a very limited process. But when the class is filled with children who are unwilling or unable to create, the teacher must do something in order to start them working. This procedure does much to help them regain their confidence. No procedure will prove to be a panacea, nor will a few simple words whispered into the ear of a child change an attitude, but after several lessons of this sort the children are generally ready to try new things. Through such an experience, they may gain confidence in their teacher and in themselves. From this point on, teaching becomes a much more pleasant and rewarding experience.

If water colors are not available, the same method can be used with tempera paints, which are more opaque, but are very rich and lend themselves better to overpainting.