Watercolor for Young Artists

A couple of my children and I tried out Watercolor for Young Artists this week. Timberdoodle sent me the kit several months ago to review, and I brought it along on our Florida vacation.

That was a smart move for two reasons: First, because it gave us something fun to do during our downtime at the resort.

And second, because the first couple of projects were scenes involving water. So we could had plenty of real-life inspiration, since we were painting with gorgeous views of the coast spread out before us.

The kit includes watercolor paints and pencils, three high-quality brushes and a small sponge, watercolor paper, and an instruction booklet that details 13 different projects using a wide variety of painting techniques.

Only the first two projects have any kind of guidelines or step-by-step instructions printed on the art paper: One of sailboats and a lighthouse, the other of frogs and lily pads.

The rest of the projects are more open-ended, with suggestions and instructions for using different techniques to achieve a variety of cool effects.

Included in the lesson plans are ways to achieve different textures using various things like salt, alcohol, sponges, watercolor pencils, etc.

Another lesson shows how to paint reserves by using masking tape to delineate areas you want to remain paint-free.

Still another lesson teaches how to get explosive results using a straw to blow wet paint across the paper.

But all those lessons will have to wait until we get back home, as we only had time to finish a few works of art during our stay in Florida.

Those first attempts took us about 45 minutes apiece to finish. As we get more comfortable with the medium, I suspect we’ll be able to complete simple projects faster, although some of the techniques may need extra drying time between layers of paint.

Do you have a budding artist at your house that might enjoy this medium? You can purchase Watercolor for Young Artists as a stand-alone product or as part of Timberdoodle’s Fifth Grade Curriculum Kit.

While you’re on the Timberdoodle website, I’d encourage you to look around. We love everything we’ve ever ordered from this small family-owned company!

Be sure to sign up for their Doodle Dollar program to save on future purchases. And to read more of my Timberdoodle Reviews, follow this link.

PLEASE NOTE: As a member of the Timberdoodle blog team, I routinely receive free or deeply discounted products in exchange for writing honest reviews. Opinions expressed in these posts are 100% my own. I’ve been a happy and enthusiastic Timberdoodle customer for decades — long before I ever started blogging for their company.