Black Glue and Watercolour Paintings

Black Glue and Watercolour Painting (by 7 year old)

So easy, yet so effective.  Black glue and watercolour paintings look both vibrant and colourful.  It's a great way to introduce children to abstract art.  This was inspired from this pin I found on Pinterest. 

This project needs to be done over two lessons so the glue has time to dry.

You will need:

• Black glue (this is simply clear drying glue mixed with some black paint)*
• Liquid Watercolours
• Watercolour Paper

 * Mix two thirds glue with one third paint.  I put this in small squeeze containers with small tips that I purchased from the $2 shop.  It turned out that the amount in the containers was the perfect amount for the children to draw squiggles on their page without going overboard.

My teacher example (I also loved doing this)

How to:

Week one:  Hand out the watercolour paper and glue containers.  Demonstrate how to squeeze the glue over your paper making swirls and loops.  Ask the children to try and use a continuous line (this was difficult for the younger children yet they still turned out nice).  There is something about children and drawing squiggles as nearly all of them tried to write their name in there somewhere...  Leave to dry on a flat surface for a few days (drying time will depend on how thick they applied the glue, it should be overnight yet I had one that took nearly a week as it had a big pool of glue in the middle).

Week two:  Give each child a tray of liquid watercolours with a good range of vibrant colours,  Instruct them to try and paint within any enclosed circles or loops.  The glue will act as a barrier to the watercolour paint so the colours will not mix or bleed into each other.

The Results:
Lovely and colourful and abstract!

A selection of our black glue and watercolour paintings  (sorry due to editing issues only a selection could be displayed)

Cheers
Fiona