Easy Snowman Resist Painting

Jan 25

This Snowman Resist Painting is an easy activity that kids of all ages can create.

The process is fun, and the results are lovely.

Snowman Resist Watercolor made by a 7-year-old

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Materials:

pictured with Winsor & Newton half pan watercolor paints

Snowman-shaped cardstock cutout (made from any color except white)
tape (regular Scotch or washi tape)
Paints (We prefer watercolor or tempera because they are washable. Acrylic paint would also work.)
Paintbrush
cup of water (if using watercolor paint—which we recommend for this activity)
Paper (watercolor or mixed media)
Salt (optional)

Process:

Make a snowman form out of cardstock. (We used circle punches of varying sizes, you can also trace some cookie cutters to make one.)
Temporarily secure your snowman to the center of the paper. Don’t tape the snowman around the edges. Instead, use a couple pieces of rolled up tape under the snowman to temporarily secure it. (You will remove the snowman form after the painting is done.)
Lightly wet your watercolor paint of choice for your background.
Hold the snowman down securely and begin painting starting from the snowman form and working out from there.
Continue painting around the snowman until the paper is filled with color.
Once the painting is dry, carefully remove the cardstock snowman form.
At this point, details can be added to the snowman if desired. Or leave it blank for a minimal design.

Tips:

3-year-old using spill-proof washable paint by Crayola

Your snowman doesn’t have to be centered on the paper, but there needs to be enough room around the snowman form to add paint to all sides of him.
Don’t make the snowman form on white cardstock. It will be difficult for kids to see it against their white watercolor paper.
We recommend using watercolor paint and paper for this activity, but you can also use tempera paint and mixed media paper.
The more water you add to your paint, the lighter the pigment will be.
While painting, continuously remind kids to hold the cardstock snowman form down tightly when they’re painting next to it so paint doesn’t seep underneath it. And if it does, just tell them that makes their snowman unique and gives it that hand-made look.
For added fun, read the picture book Snowmen at Night first, to give kids an idea of snowmen that don’t look perfect.
If working with little kids, you can contain the mess by having them work inside a shallow tray or cookie sheet.
Young kids will need you to demonstrate where they should start painting. (around the cardstock snowman) You may even want to do the first part for them, painting all around the edge of the snowman form.
We forgot to tape our paper down to our surface, so the corners curled up a bit as they dried. Tape yours down if you want to avoid the curling edges.