Making Rainbows

Today you might be feeling restless, afraid, nervous, bored, secluded, happy, sleepy, or some mixed cocktail orchestrated by these uncertain times. For me, this uncertainty of emotions mirrors the uncertainty of the weather that we experience in Spring. A Spring day contains multitudes – bitter wind, warm sunshine, gray skies, blustery wind, and sweet stillness. The thing to remember is that this changeability makes for the perfect conditions for rainbows. So, always look for those rainbows that may appear after a storm.

So, if you are feeling like you need something to still the nervousness of uncertainty, try painting some rainbows!

Here is a lesson I put together last year. It features a combination of painting techniques (more mixing it up)!

You will need:

Begin by taping your piece of paper to a flat surface, like cardboard,  that can get wet and have paint bleed onto it.

Have the tape cover about ¼ inch of the paper.

Next, lightly draw your design on the paper in pencil.

Color any bits that you would like to to remain white with a white crayon. I colored some polka dots here.

Trace over pencil lines with permanent marker.

For a blended, softer look, like in rainbows, paint your paper with plain water first. Then add your watercolor paint on the wet paper. The colors will bleed into each other. 

If you want, sprinkle salt onto wet. The salt will create a speckled look when it is dry.

The salt pushes the water away from it.

When the painting is dry, brush the salt off with your hand into the garbage can.

Paint wet paint directly onto dry paper – like I did with the flowers. 

This will produce a brighter, more solid look, and the paint will be less likely to bleed into one other

Paint directly over crayon marks. The wax in the crayon will push the water off of the surface revealing the white crayon.

After painting is dry, remove the tape carefully and enjoy!!!!