1) Gather the materials: watercolors, brushes, water, Arches watercolor paper pieces, masking tape and the backside of a cutting mat
2) Carefully tape down the arches sheets to "frame" the paper, brush plain water on paper and hand a toddler a brush...and step back. (until you are needed to remove the tape and tape down a new canvas which is usually at 60 seconds intervals)
3) Marvel at how toddler's technique and choice of color is way more interesting than yours will ever be again. Ah, the innocence and playfulness of childhood!
4) When the paper runs out, you now have a whole wall full of free art ready for framing
I love the instant white frame masking tape creates around the art when you remove it. This does not look like toddler art, it looks like professional abstract art when done this way. I'm definitely going to frame a few of these for our new home.
We used "wet on wet" technique for all of these, you brush on plain water to wet the paper first before painting. This allows the colors to spread, fan out and blend effortlessly. It is a great choice for toddlers to play with color blending and not feel pressured to "paint something" recognizable.
