We adore playing and puddling with watercolours of any sort. Some we take travelling, or pull out when we're working on something detailed. Sometimes we like to do some wet-on-wet painting, as our eldest daughter practiced at her Steiner kindergarten. Sometimes we like to just play with colour and water and see where the medium takes us.
We were thrilled to get our hands on some Washable Watercolours this week. Made in Australia, these paints promised to be vivid and easy to use, and they didn't disappoint. With a three-year-old artist in our home, art can sometimes get messy. Especially when attentions are divided among children of varying ages. She wants to work with the same freedom her elder siblings have. While we attempt to model appropriate use of the materials, we also don't want to hinder creative expression or experimentation, so we let them all go for it.
Sometimes MESSY is an understatement.
SO we were THRILLED to hear about these new washable paints. Very quick to set up, with no mixing required, they are ready to go when placed in small jars, ice-cube trays or the like. Easy to remove from clothing, hands and most surfaces means easy clean-ups for me and more creative freedom for them.
We were also thrilled at their affordable price. No more cringing at mixed colour jars or mysterious paint-coloured finger prints around the house… And despite all their playing and puddling, very little paint was actually used.
Not to mention the beautiful colours and the way they blended. Even just three simple primary colours yielded a whole, beautiful rainbow, with ease.
Best of all, they work well for all ages. The fact that they are made in Australia is an added bonus for us, keeping the product's environmental and ethical footprint to a minimum. We started with just three colours, Red, Blue and Yellow, but a whole spectrum is available should you desire more. Right now Spiral Garden stocks Orange, Green and Purple, but more are available on request.
We're wondering what to do next with our washable watercolours. Apparently they are fantastic for colouring wood, rainbow rice and other sensory play materials and anywhere you might use large quantities of food dye. Have a look at this blog post for some more ideas. And this one too!
You can find our Washable Watercolours here.
