6"x6" Acrylic on Canvas
I have always enjoyed working with my grandchildren on a variety of art projects. However, when my seven year old granddaughter, Jenna, announced that she wanted to learn how to use the palette knife, I really had to think about a number of issues. Safety, type of paint, & fun projects that could be completely quickly all had to be considered.
I decided that acrylics might be the best choice. And since I paint in oils, I had to do some experimenting. The main thing I had to think about was safety. I didn't want her wiping the blade of the knife with her fingers between 2 layers of paper towel as I normally do. I tried a different system of cleaning the blade that seemed to work pretty good with the acrylic paint. First we tore off a generous supply of paper towels, folded them in half, & stacked them in a neat pile (Nancy Medina taught me to do this & I do this every time I oil paint -Thanks Nancy!) Then, after each stroke, we wiped the blade on the pile of paper towels to remove the excess paint (without picking up the paper towels). We then dipped the knife in water & then again wiped off the front & back of the blade on a clean towel (still not picking up the paper towel). If absolutely necessary, we folded over several layers of paper towel & carefully cleaned the blade. Yes, we used a lot of paper towels but that's a small price to pay for safety.
And now for the fun project. Jenna chose to paint pink tulips that would match her room. She also wanted to include turquoise which is her favorite color. I happened to have a tube of "Teal" by Golden Acrylics & that seemed to please her. After practicing palette knife strokes on the back of a foam plate, she painted these perky, little pink tulips that she will proudly display in her room.
If you need a fuzzy, feel-good feeling, just get out there & teach a child some art today!
~Sarah
