Springtime Fun with Dessert Paintings

Note:  Scroll below for examples of this art project.
This project is fun for children; They love it.  Before launching into the artwork, you will want to view works by Wayne Thiebaud, well-known painter of mouthwatering, delectable desserts.

Materials:
watercolor paper
crayons
watercolors--pan sets are fine.
container of water.

Procedure: (Scroll down to see the examples.)

First, perform an image search for Wayne Thiebaud.  A few of the images will be by fans, but there will be plenty of paintings by Mr. Thiebaud.  When you are nice and inspired, begin the drawing.  For the long ice cream cup, you can draw a long letter "U," and add a stem and foot. Crooked, somewhat horizontal lines will indicate layers of ice cream. As you view the pictures I have included, see how you can use geometrical shapes to make the candy, cakes, and ice cream.

When you are satisfied with the drawing, use a crayon to trace the lines.  This will help the child to paint more neatly.  A dark crayon will add contrast, which is often lacking in childrens' watercolor paintings.

Place a drop of water in each watercolor pan.  Then, paint your drawing.  Below are some tips to help make the process more rewarding and less frustrating.  Remember that they are only tips.  Above all, have fun.

Tips:
1. If you want strawberry pink ice cream, wet that area of the paper first, then add a very small amount of wet red paint.  The water will help you to spread the paint, and will dilute the red enough to make a pink.
2. Remember this:  where ever the water goes, the paint will follow.  So if you prewet an area, keep the water in that one little area that you are about to paint next.
3. Do not work a wet area for too long. You may need to step back and wait for it to dry before continuing. Otherwise, you risk weakening the paper and causing tiny bits of the paper to come up, or you may even tear the paper.
4. If you have two colors adjacent to one another, you may want to wait for the first one to dry before adding the neighboring color.  This will help keep the two from running together.
5. If you are having trouble spreading the paint, you are not using enough water.  I remind children that watercolor needs water, hence the name.

 The two images above are the same artwork, first after crayon and then after painting  with watercolor on watercolor paper.  The image below was painted in water-soluble tempera on yellow construction paper.

 The artwork below was painted on semitransparent rainbow colored paper, using tempera.  I attached a white sheet to the back to make the artwork more visible.  Even further below is a detail of this one.