Oil pastels base is oil, wax is the base of crayons. both refuse to accept water. the old oil & water don’t mix is proven in this wonderful fun art project. i begin the class with showing the children a cup with veggie oil & add water…kids love to watch them separate. i then explain how cool this is to use to our advantage-in art.
i used watercolor paper, i make a box with the crayons (to fence in the paint) then i told the kids to just start making simples shapes, circles, boxes & doodle away, the only ‘rule’ is that all shapes must be closed, like a fenced backyard. to keep the water from running wild. i mixed Sargent’s Watercolor Magic…claims to be washable, it is NOT! the Sargent’s is extremely vibrant & the metallic makes the paint shimmer, added together, they become magic. However, any watercolor paint will work. Just make sure the dry watercolor pallets get very wet, so that they pick up the most pigment.
There are Professional art supplies & kids art supplies. I am forever mixing things together, so that all rules fall to the wayside. meaning the creations couldn’t really be replicated by a professional artist because they would never condescend to use kids supplies. but pigment is pigment & it is far more fun to mix whatever you have on hand, to create something totally new.
this project is fail proof because the rules of ‘oil & water don’t mix’ always applies. kids can make some really cool art. after their parents see it, they usually ask, “How did they do this?!” the answer is Magic. ~amy
ps the top image, some of the paint is still wet.
2me4art 
Ahh, bliss…. you are the best art teacher in the world, Amy…
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Aahh, bliss Reggie! Your compliments astonish me. I have offered a class i titled, “learn to draw everything in the whole wide world” to adults. Most laugh, but i had one brave woman take me up on the challenge…at first she didn’t get what i was doing, the class takes an hour or so…when we were done, i told her i was going to write up the class as a blog post…she told me no, that i need to write a book & she would help me. Cool! ~amy
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these are fabulous!
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& so very, very easy. I love thinking outside the box…although this project demands walls to contain the watercolor. A very relaxing way to paint. no failing is a good way to explore art. ~amy
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Amy, I love watercolors, I often combine them with acrylics when I paint. I gave up on oils…too messy.
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i tried every medium before i found the perfect fit. i love watercolor because i am working with an element that has a great need to bond with itself…i am so grateful to allow the pigment tinted water take charge of some of my work. it is alive, water. ~amy
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deeply beautiful, elegant and joy of colors
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and so much fun. The kids love oil & water art. they are always so surprised that the oil pastel or wax crayon will not allow water to lay atop of it. really fun class to teach. and for adults, a great way to live in the NOW. ~amy
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so bright, so pretty, so wonderful…. its like a ride on a Magic Carpet! these snippets of vibrant, are lovely Amy. cheers, Debi
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Wow…an artist such as you liking something like this. I am astonished really…if you ever teach young kids, they are awesome to watch them watching their paintings do as they please. THANK YOU, ms. super-artist. ~amy
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i DO love your work Amy! thank you, but kids these days….. I stick to just 1-2 my own grandchildren!! i can control the classroom and WHY they are ‘present’ lol and… hey, I am STILLLLLLLL
waiting for You!
🙂
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waiting for me? Why? aren’t you a gazillion miles away from me? Your grandchildren would love this art project…it is so much fun to watch them, watch the magic. art is magic–if you can create something from nothing, that is the very definition of it. 🙂
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waiting for you to follow ! LOL
cheers!!
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Will you be close enough to your house that you can still teach classes in your apartment and the kids won’t have to travel far? You have quite a talented bunch of students!
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I was offered free space in which to teach. they will charge me nothing…i was told for the free space, free earnings only my brain was to be picked at for advice. So yes, i can still teach. I’ve also been told i can come to the kids houses…a traveling art teacher i may become. thanks for asking, loisajay! ~amy
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