Tips for Painting with Kids

And a Tropical Sunset Kids Painting Tutorial!

Painting with kids can be messy! I get it. Sometimes the thought of pulling out all the supplies and letting the kids have paint just doesn’t sound the most appealing. But, with summer here, we all need a few good ideas to keep everyone happy and occupied.

I am going to share my tips for painting with kids so you can get started, stress-free, and enjoy being creative together.

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I have said it before, and I will say again, giving children the opportunity to be creative is one of the most important things we can offer. If you want to learn more about my thoughts on that topic you can read my blog HERE. There are many ways a child can express their creativity but today we are painting!

In the Tropical Sunset painting tutorial for kids below, we focus on blending. They will learn how to smoothly blend all these pretty colors down to the ocean. There are a few extra art lessons the kids will learn along the way and not even know it! 

Tips to remember when painting with kids

• Don’t worry if you make a mistake! With acrylic paints, you just let the paint dry and paint right over the top! Try to resist attempting to make a fix while the paint is still wet. It can often make the mess worse.
• Rinse the brush well before swapping from cool to warm colors. Purple and blue mixed with yellow or orange make an unappealing brown.

• The most important thing to remember when painting is to have the proper amount of paint on the brush, and it’s often more than you think. You want enough that you can spread your paint easily without having to fight it on dry patches.
• When blending a background, make sure to have your child pull the long strokes all the way off the edge of the page or canvas. If you stop in the middle, you will see a mark.

• If you are trying something more technical, practice together first on a scrap piece of paper. This will help them to get closer to achieving the look they want and feel more confident. The key to the finer details is to apply the right amount of pressure. I tell ALL my students to just mess around and practice practice practice!
• Teach a few new vocabulary words along the way!  HORIZON: The horizon line in art theory is a horizontal line that runs across the paper or canvas to represent the viewer’s eye level. This is where the sky meets the ground or ocean!
• Go with the flow! How many times have we seen the quote by Bob Ross “Happy little accidents”? Mistakes make each painting unique.

Painting Supplies

You do not need to get all the fancy painting supplies to have a fun afternoon with the kids! With any acrylic craft paint, an inexpensive set of brushes, a mixed media pad, and an old shirt of mom or dads, you are set to paint for days!

To help with the mess, I like to tape down a paper bag. If that isn’t enough coverage, tape down a plastic table cloth and save it for multiple uses!

Check out these awesome paintings by our friends!

You don’t need these exact brands or colors. This sunset will go from blue, to purple, pink, a peachy orange and lastly yellow. Sunsets are fun because you can change up the colors and use whatever you want!

Kids Tropical Beach Painting Tutorial

I am so excited to be planning another Kids Art Camp!! We have had so much fun with these and I really enjoy it when my members share what they are creating with their kids and grandkids. If you want to know more, sign up below to be emailed when details are released.

Make sure to join my Free Facebook Group to catch all my tutorials LIVE and share all your paintings!

Grab your painting supplies, let loose and Stay Creative!