a robyns nest

Little Miss Bird picked out her watercolour pencils this morning.



I love the versatility of these pencils. Sometimes we colour with them first, and then paint over our work with water and a paint brush.....discovering how the water moves and mixes the colours. Other times we brush the paper with water first, and then use the pencils...same tool, completely different effect. And then there's one of Baby Bird's favorite techniques - dipping the pencils into a container of water, and then drawing with the wet tip.

Oh, and let's not forget her other favorite technique.....


As I write, I'm realizing how often we use watercolour paper in this house. Not just for the obvious watercolour pencils and painting....but also for finger paints, tempera paints, scissor and glue parties....you name it! I guess it's because I really prefer that the paper my kids are using not fall apart mid-way through the project. Maybe it's just here in this house, but "art" in its various forms seems to involve a lot of experimenting with just how much force can be applied to the tools before the paper rips ;) Watercolour paper really does stand up to the abuse.

Here's where I get mine, and most of the other art supplies we consume in our home. This company, although quite large, still manages to have quite a bit of environmental integrity. And the best prices I've seen for the quality of the products...which never hurts, does it?