The best brushes for tempra painting are those with flat, stiff bristles. When the painting activity is finished, paint jars should be covered with their own lids after the rims have been sponge-cleaned. Children should wear smocks and stand at easels when painting. These easels are made from large cardboard boxes. Watercolor paint is transparent, meaning that when yellow is painted over blue it will appear green where the two colors overlap.
Watercolor paints come in a tube or a tray.
In the fourth square, have students try splattering, dripping or swabbing the paint on with different tools such as q-tips, sponges and various sized brushes. In the last square, have students draw lines using light-colored crayons or by laying waxed paper over the square and drawing with the end of the brush. Next, have them paint a dark color over the top of their lines to see what happens. It should be recognized that these are simply techniques and that the purpose of having children learn them is so that they may choose to use them in future paintings. If desired, these experiments can be cut into shapes, rearranged and mounted to form interesting abstract compositions.