Painting and drawing
Paint with watercolors
Loose, colorful washes of watercolor paint on paper, where blending and running colors are the whole point.
Who might enjoy it: People who enjoy painting, drawing landscapes or spending time with color, and anyone who likes loose, unplanned results. Suits a quiet session where nothing has to look a particular way.
- Setup
- About 10 minutes
- Activity
- 15–40 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Mess
- Some mess
- Where
- At a table, seated-friendly
- Help
- Someone nearby
Materials: 6 everyday things, listed below
What you need
- A non-toxic, water-based watercolor set
- Two medium brushes with thick handles
- Thick paper or watercolor paper
- Two jars or cups of clean water
- An old towel or newspaper to cover the table
- Paper towels for blotting
No need to buy anything special
- No watercolor paper? Use thick drawing paper or card; thin paper will wrinkle but still works.
- No paint set? Diluted food coloring or washable markers brushed over with water give a similar effect.
What to do
- Cover the table with the towel or newspaper and set out the paint, brushes and water.
- Ask which two or three colors they would like to use today.
- Brush clean water over the whole sheet of paper together.
- Dip a brush in one color and touch it to the wet paper.
- Watch together as the color spreads, then add a second color next to it.
- Tilt the paper gently if you both want the colors to run and mix.
- Talk about what the shapes look like, such as a sky, a field or nothing at all.
- Leave the painting flat to dry and decide together whether to paint another.
It is okay to stop or change it
It is fine to stop after one wash of color. Leave the paper to dry somewhere flat and offer to paint again another day, or simply look at it together.
Make it easier or different
- Make it easier
- Wet the paper and load the brush in advance, so the only task is touching the brush to the page.
- In bed or an armchair
- Tape the paper to a clipboard, use a lidded water pot, and keep to one color at a time.
- For low vision
- Choose strong, dark colors such as deep blue and red on bright white paper, and use a desk lamp.
- With children
- Paint a sheet each, side by side, then swap and add a color to each other's painting.
- Without words
- Hold up two paint colors and wait for a look, a reach or a nod. That choice is the whole conversation.
Safety
- Use only non-toxic, water-based paint, and keep the painting water separate from any drinking cups.
- Some people put brushes in their mouth; stay close and use clearly different cups for paint water and drinks.
- Wash paint off skin with warm water and soap, and check first for any skin sensitivity.
- Wipe up spilled water promptly so floors do not become slippery.
These are practical suggestions, not medical advice. You know the person best.
Watercolor on wet paper does much of the work by itself. Colors spread and mix in ways nobody controls, so there is no right result, and watching them move can be a calm thing to share.