Watercolor Resist Painting

Surprise a friend or family member with a secret spring-themed art message or scene through this watercolor resist painting activity.

What You’ll Need

    • White Crayon
    • White Paper
    • Watercolor Paint
    • Paintbrush
    • Water cup

What You’ll Do

    1. Pressing down hard with a white crayon, draw an image or write a message on to a sheet of white paper. Remember, a part of the surprise is that you will not able to see the marks you make on the paper until you reveal them with watercolor.
    2. Pass the paper off to a friend or family member and invite them to paint with watercolor and a paintbrush.
    3. As they paint across the surface of the paper, the secret art message will magically be revealed!

Tips and Tricks

    • Wax resists water. Crayons are made of wax and repel the water used in watercolors. Experiment with other crayon colors to create a variety of watercolor resist paintings.
    • Don’t have a white crayon? Use wax paper as a substitute. Place wax paper down on to your paper. Use a pencil to draw out the design or text you want to reveal directly on to the wax paper. The pencil will transfer the wax on to the paper leaving marks to be revealed by watercolor.
    • The thicker the paper the better. Cardstock, tagboard or watercolor paper are recommended.