My Painted World

When daily hassles rattle me,
I paint myself some scenery.
I use the colors that I see,
Which transport me quite magically!
With satin blues
I'm on a cruise.
Through waters round an island.
I paint some soft clouds of pink
To illuminate a smile in a blink.
Then blending white with green in swirls,
I create the foliage of my new world.
With scarlet dabs and yellow striping,
flowers appear just like lightning.
Then looking through my painted window,
I breathe a sigh. The world is aglow,
and I can paint another one tomorrow.
-LCR

This is the 7th issue of "Young @ Art!" In this issue there is an article about using watercolor pencils with baby wipes, some art ideas for the holidays, and info about the upcoming Student Art Show for the Eastside Enrichment students.

I'm also happy to announce that we finally have a great new place for classes...Revolution Gallery at Gilman Village in Issaquah. We will start classes there in January. Check out the class schedule and help spread the word!

- L. Crystal Rea

Watercolor Pencils & Baby Wipes!

I didn't come up with this idea because I have a 3-month old and lots of baby wipes lying around... In my search for a non-messy art project similar to painting, I came up with the idea of using baby wipes to blend/ smear watercolor pencils (instead of water and paint brushes.)

If you are unfamiliar with watercolor pencils, they are colored pencils that act like paint when you add water. They can be erased pretty easily, and allow good control since you can draw small details that you would otherwise have trouble getting with a paint brush. You can just draw with them and not add water, too.

Try drawing with the watercolor pencils and then giving the drawing a 'painted look' by dabbing or smudging it with baby wipes. You may want to use watercolor paper or a nice heavy paper because the moisture of the baby wipes can ripple the paper just like regular watercolor painting. Be careful not to rub or smudge the paper too much, or the paper may start ripping. Allow the paper to dry after each pass of baby wipes.

This opens up more possibilities of where and when you and your child can "paint." Once you have a set of watercolor pencils and some baby wipes, you can "paint" in the car, on road trips, almost anywhere inside, and even on an airplane! Don't forget to bring a pencil sharpener and a sketchbook!

You can buy watercolor pencils here.

Drawing & Painting Ideas for the Holidays

Wrapping Paper / Tissue Paper
Draw one small holiday-themed drawing in black pen or pencil. Lay a large sheet of tissue paper or tracing paper over your drawing and trace it many times with a marker. You can do this in random places or measure out a placement pattern. Be careful not to rip the tissue paper! You can use colored markers to color the drawings in. Then wrap your gifts with it. You can also use your original drawing as a gift tag.

Sugar Cookie Paintings
Using a large circle or square shape cookie-cutter, you can create mini, edible canvases for you and your child to paint on. Here's a great recipe for sugar cookie glaze that acts like watercolor paint:

Sugar Cookie Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 Tbsp water
10 drops food coloring of your choice

(you may want to divide the glaze into several bowls before adding the food coloring- so you have many colors to play with)
Stir often to ensure that the colors don't separate and become mottled.
Use new paint brushes that have not been used with paint to avoid toxins!

Student Art Show
Artwork by current "Young @ Art" students from three elementary schools will be on display during the whole month of December at a local Issaquah Starbucks. For more information click here.

Upcoming Classes

Watercolor Basics

In this introductory class students will become familiar with watercolor paint, mixing colors and basic techniques. This 3-week class located in Gilman Village, Issaquah, starts in January. For more information click here.

Beginning Watercolor

This is a continuation of the Watercolor Basics class. This class will introduce more painting techniques, and students will work on "finished" pieces. This is a 4-week class. For more information click here.