" Artists are just children who refuse to put down their crayons ." — Al Hirschfeld

I have seen adults do this technique , as well , without the crayon image . The results are gorgeous , abstract paintings that anyone would be proud to hang in their home or give as a gift . So , adults , you try it too !

I wanted to alter the process for children and combine it with a color resist technique . Since we have entered the winter months , we chose a Christmas Tree image . However , do not think of this as just a Christmas project … it is timeless , for any season . I invited River , who is five years old and Remington , who is three years old , to participate . I wasn ’ t sure they could manipulate the squeegee but they did an amazing job and couldn ’ t wait to see what would happen to the colors when they were pushed together . They were so excited , we made several without the crayon tree and the results were frame worthy abstracts .

The acrylic paint from the Dollar Store is best , as it is runny . You need to squeeze it out in blobs or large drops . Thick heavy acrylic will not flow . You can add water but it is faster to purchase it already runny . The cheaper the better . I also bought the squeegees and table covers from the Dollar Store . It is important to use a stiff paper . I used illustration board , but canvas or heavy watercolor paper will also work , all available at art supply stores . Use heavy watercolor paper if you want to fold your results and make folders and cards . I had the children trace around a tree pattern with permanent black marker . The marker will appear with the crayon as the paint is applied over the top . of the illustration board and squeeze out the darkest color blobs first , making big drops all the way across the top of the paper . Then have them squeeze the medium color on top of the dark blob all the way across the paper , and add the light color on top of that .

They watched me demonstrate first . It is best to do one squeegee swipe down , with even pressure , pressing down into the paper , not stopping or picking up the squeegee until it is off the paper on the bottom ; going back and forth muddies the colors . If you have to make another pass , clean the squeegee first and try not to overlap . Talk about what happens to the colors when they get mixed together ; cool colors and warm colors mixed together make brown and gray so you don ’ t want to mix too much or the intensity of the color is dulled .

Always praise your child every step . Praise works magic . I was so excited I was yelling and cheering like I was at a sporting event as the children pulled the squeegees and the brilliant colors mixed . The children were super excited and proud , and they should be ! Bravo , River and Remington . The results were amazing and super fun to do .

Emphasize that they have to color heavily to fill in the tree with crayon color . A heavy crayon application will resist the paint . If it ’ s too thin , it won ’ t work .

Ask your child to pick out three acrylic colors . A dark color , a medium color , and a light color . Then invite them to explain why they picked the colors , which one is darkest etc . Talk though the process – this helps with retention . They ’ ll squeeze blobs of paint across the entire top of the paper layering each blob from darkest to lightest . Instruct them to start at the top

PHOTO # 1 SUPPLIES

• Cover for work area , old cloths to wipe up excess paint & clean paint off hands

• Inexpensive Acrylic Paint in tubes or squeeze bottles ( Dollar Store )

• Squeegees ( Dollar Store )

• Black permanent markers , crayons , scissors

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