The Woolly Bears
Free instructions · Watercolor

When colors meet

A Waldorf wet-on-wet painting activity: soak the paper, choose two colors and watch a new one appear where they meet. It's how we painted the paper for our lanterns.

Start painting Printable PDF
Say it together

Three Little Colors

Three colors sat waiting to start their big day:

Red, strong and lively and ready to play,

Yellow, who bounced like a warm sunny beam,

And Blue, cool and calm as a faraway stream.

Examples from beginners

  • A beginner's watercolor: yellow on the left blending through orange into red on the right

    Red met with Yellow, a swirl and a splash,

    And ORANGE popped out in a pumpkin-bright flash!

  • A beginner's watercolor: yellow on the left meeting blue on the right, with green where they mix

    Yellow held hands with her good friend Blue,

    And GREEN sprouted up like a leaf in the dew.

  • A beginner's watercolor: red on the left, blue on the right, with a band of purple between them

    Then Blue tapped on Red like the beat of a drum,

    And PURPLE rolled out like a round, juicy plum!

They swept and they floated, they curved and they spun,

Then rested together, their rainbow was done!

6 steps

Paint two colors meeting

Pick any two of red, yellow and blue. Paint one on each half of the paper and watch a new color appear where they meet.

You'll need

  • Watercolor paper
  • A painting board or other smooth, waterproof board
  • Red, yellow and blue watercolor paint
  • A brush, a jar of water, a sponge and paper towels

Getting the paper ready

Soak the paper in water, lay it on the board and smooth it with a damp sponge so it sticks down flat. Grown-ups can do this before the children sit down.

Print the instructions

Two pages, US Letter, with the poem and all the paintings.

  1. Step 1: Choose your first color: red, yellow or blue.

  2. Step 2: Wet your brush in the water jar, then dip it in your color.

  3. Step 3: Paint half your paper with strong color. Try long strokes, dabs or feathering.

  4. Step 4: Rinse your brush, dab it on a paper towel and choose a second color.

  5. Step 5: Paint the other half and let the colors meet. What new color appears?

  6. Step 6: Ask your grown-up to take a photo of you with your painting.

Leave it flat to dry. Ours will soon glow as lanterns.

Print the instructions
No one right way

Ways to explore color

In Waldorf painting, children begin by experiencing color itself rather than making pictures. Working wet-on-wet, they meet the mood of each color: radiant yellow, warm and lively red, calm and deep blue. Colors can meet, mingle or rest side by side, and there's no one right way. Here are a few forms it can take.

  • A child's watercolor in a three by three grid: blue, yellow and red across the top and bottom, with green, orange and purple in the middle row
    All three meetings
  • A child's watercolor of red, yellow and purple patches, with a dab of blue in the yellow
    Color as shapes
  • A child's watercolor: yellow and blue swirling around a deep green oval in the center
    Color that swirls

From color to form Later on

In time, form arises out of color and the painting becomes figurative: a tree, a flower, light above and earth below. It grows out of everything above and comes with practice.

  • A child's watercolor: a tall green tree standing between pale yellow and deep blue, with grass at its foot
    A tree appears
  • A child's watercolor: dusky purple brushed in from the edges around a pale center, with a green-stemmed flower and red buds
    Light in the middle
  • A child's watercolor: a blue flower rising from deep blue earth into warm orange and yellow light
    A flower reaches up
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The Woolly Bears is a small, Waldorf-inspired homeschool community in Vancouver, WA. Parents and kids spend the day outside together, playing games, walking, sharing soup and making things like this by hand.

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