When Your Child Really Wants to Paint

Today at our local tulip festival, we met a painter, Sarah Samuelson, painting the scene of tulips. Since my girls love to paint and I wanted them to see a real life painter, I walked up and asked if we could watch her work. She immediately asked if my daughters liked to paint and what they painted with. Sarah then offered some great advice for kids who are ready for the next level of painting:

-- Don't buy regular children's watercolor sets. The color looks washed out and ends up wrinkling the paper (yes, yes, it always does this). Buy a higher-quality watercoloring set. You can find "student-grade" materials at any craft store like Roberts or Michaels. She said to spend about $7 for the set. You can also order great materials online at: http://www.dickblick.com/. You'll get paintings from your kids you actually want to hang on your wall and keep forever.

-- Buy a type of paint called: "oil pastels." Sarah says they are really great for kids who want to try and paint for real. They resemble crayons, and even the cheaper brands are fine. In fact, oil pastels are pretty much the only art medium that you don't need to spend extra money on to get a good result.

-- Another great art product is "watercolor pencils." Your kids can use them as colored pencils; then add water for great effects or dip the pencils right into water for some very vibrant color (don't leave pencils in the water though).

-- Use card stock paper when it's time to paint. It gives kids a better canvas to work on.

-- Sarah also recommends buying an inexpensive assortment of student-grade soft brushes. You can usually find good multi-packs for only a few dollars for the whole set and use one of those 40% off coupons if you go to a local store. You can use these brushes with the pencils and definitely with the watercolor.

When we left Sarah, I explained to my girls (something I do every time we meet someone doing something cool) that painting was Sarah's job and that my girls could be painters one day too. My four-year old, who hasn't really developed what she wants to be when she grows up yet, said with excitement: "I want to be a painter!"

You can view Sarah's work at: http://tulippainter.com/

• share tip
• 
• 1 comment
• 
• who approved it?
• 
• more tips like this