This geometric heart art project is a fun and colorful painting idea for Valentine’s Day or anytime! Kids will learn easy watercolor techniques using oil pastels to help create a barrier for the paint and salt to create texture.
There are so many fun watercolor techniques for kids to try! Take a look at my collection of watercolor painting for kids for more fun and creative ideas.
Using an oil pastel resist technique is something we’ve done many times before. It’s a great way to create a barrier to contain certain paint colors. Take a look at this gorgeous watercolor butterfly painting and this fun rainy day painting for more great ideas!
For this project, I created a free printable template to make this art project even easier for you. This template is available to my email subscribers. Fill out the form below to get the free template.
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Create your own geometric heart art
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Supplies
- Printable template, available below
- Watercolor paper
- Watercolor paint (you can use a watercolor paint set or liquid watercolors)
- Pencil and eraser
- Ruler
- Paint palette if needed
- Scissors
- Paintbrushes
- Black oil pastels
- Coarse salt
- Water dish
Instructions for your geometric heart painting
1. If you are using the heart template that I have provided, then print it out onto white printer paper and cut it out. Kids can also make their own heart template if they like.
Trace the heart template onto watercolor paper using a pencil.
2. Using a ruler and a pencil, start to draw straight lines in the heart, making geometric shapes. Press lightly with the pencil so you can erase any pencil lines if needed.
3. Once you have drawn out your shapes, trace over the pencil lines with black oil pastel. You want to press firmly to make the pastel bold and stand out. The oil pastel acts as a barrier to keep the paint in each section from running into each other. This is called a watercolor resist technique.
4. Carefully, start to paint inside each section with watercolor paint. Kids can choose to use as many colors as they like. Each one will be unique! Make sure to rinse your brush between colors to avoid muddy looking paint.
Depending on the type of watercolors you have, you can always paint over the sections to make your paint as bold as you like. Some colors will go on lighter than others and watercolor paint always dries a bit lighter.
5. Once kids are done painting the inside of their hearts it’s time to paint the background. This step needs to be done fairly quickly, as you want the paint wet enough for the salt to work properly.
Using a larger brush for this step will also help.
Paint around the heart with clean water. Then using a bright blue color, begin to paint around the heart. Don’t paint the entire background blue, you can see from the example that I just painted a few inches around the heart and let the water start to pull some of the paint further onto the background.
Using a clean brush and more water, brush the edges of the paint in an outward motion toward the edges of the paper to help dilute the color as it moves toward the paper edges.
6. While your paper is still wet, sprinkle coarse salt all around the edge of the heart. As the paper and paint dries, the salt will create interesting patterns and texture! Leave your painting to dry on a flat surface.
7. Once everything is completely dry, carefully brush off the salt into a sink to reveal your design. Be careful not to smudge the oil pastel as you brush off the salt.
This is such a fun and colorful heart art painting idea for Valentine’s Day! This painting would look beautiful in a classroom display or at home.
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More watercolor painting ideas kids will love
Easy Watercolor Flowers for Kids to Make
Easy Watercolor Valentine Cards
Follow me on Pinterest for more amazing project ideas.
Pin these geometric hearts for later
Colorful Geometric Heart Art with Watercolors and Oil Pastels
Use watercolors and oil pastels to create this vibrant geometric heart art painting. Kids will learn easy watercolor techniques with oil pastels and salt!
Materials
- Printable template
- Watercolor paper
- Watercolor paint (you can use a watercolor paint set or liquid watercolors)
- Black oil pastels
- Coarse salt
Tools
- Pencil and eraser
- Ruler
- Paint palette if needed
- Scissors
- Paintbrushes
- Water dish
Instructions
Here are the steps to create a beautiful watercolor heart art project:
1. Print out the heart templates provided on white printer paper and cut them out. Alternatively, kids can make their own heart templates if they prefer.
2. Trace the heart template onto watercolor paper using a pencil.
3. Use a ruler and a pencil to draw straight lines inside the heart, creating geometric shapes. Press lightly with the pencil so you can easily erase any mistakes if needed.
4. Once you have drawn out your shapes, trace over the pencil lines with black oil pastel. Press firmly to make the pastel bold and stand out. The oil pastel will act as a barrier to prevent the paint from running into each section.
5. Carefully paint inside each section with watercolor paint, using as many colors as you like. Remember to rinse your brush between colors to avoid muddy-looking paint. You can layer the paint to make it bolder if desired, as some colors may dry lighter than others.
6. After painting the sections, it's time to work on the background. Work quickly for this step so that the paint remains wet enough for the salt technique.
7. Paint around the heart with clean water and then use a bright blue color to paint around the heart. Let the water naturally pull some of the blue paint further onto the background.
8. Using a clean brush and more water, blend and dilute the edges of the blue paint in an outward motion towards the paper edges.
9. While your paper is still wet, sprinkle coarse salt all around the edge of the heart. As both the paper and paint dry, watch as interesting patterns and texture form thanks to this salt technique! Leave your painting flat on a surface to dry.
10. Once everything is completely dry, carefully brush off the salt into a sink to reveal your unique design. Be cautious not to smudge the oil pastel as you brush off the salt.
Enjoy creating your watercolor heart art project and have fun exploring different colors and techniques!
