Draw an ocean art scene with oil pastels, then paint over the picture with watercolors for beautiful under-the-sea art!
If your child loves the beach, sea creatures, or just the colors of the ocean, this art activity is a perfect summer project.
In this project, kids will draw an underwater or ocean art scene using oil pastels—think fish, waves, coral, sea turtles, or even a shark! Then, they’ll paint over their drawing with watercolors. We love a watercolor resist project because the oil pastels resist the watercolor paint, creating a beautiful layered effect that really makes the artwork pop.
This project is a great one to do over several days or turn into a mixed media project by adding collage pieces to it, too. We had fun adding more and more ocean details with our oil pastels and then covering it all with a beautiful blue-green watercolor wash.
How to Make Ocean Art for Kids
MATERIALS
- Watercolor paper or card stock
- Oil pastels or crayons
- Watercolor paint
- Paint brush
INSTRUCTIONS
- Draw your scene
Use oil pastels or crayons to draw an under-the-sea scene. We added seaweed, fish, jellyfish, sharks and whales.
If you’d like, you can add more details like coral, sand, rocks, shells, people swimming, ships, submarines, or anything you like.
- Add paint
Paint over the drawing with watercolor paints. You can use any color – we mixed green and blue to make some gorgeous turquoise water.
Let your painting dry and then hang it up somewhere special!
This ocean art is a fun and easy way for kids to create an underwater world. Every picture turns out different, and the process is just as fun as the finished art!
More Watercolor Art for Kids
- 5 Easy Watercolor Ideas Using Resist Techniques
- How to Do Watercolor Resist Crayon Art
- 7 Watercolor Techniques for Kids
- How to Paint Watercolor Planets with Rubbing Alcohol
- 11 Fun Watercolor Ideas for Kids
- How to Do Watercolor Painting with Salt
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