Exploring & Creating Watercolor Illustrations

I have really been enjoying the new online magazine, Alphabet Glue. Annie, the creator, is an educator and mother after my own heart (you can read a wonderful interview with her here). The activities she suggests are thoughtful and creative, are accompanied by lovely photographs, and supported with amazing lists of literary connections. She recently sent me a copy of Volume Five and we had a wonderful time doing an exploration of watercolor illustrations.

After gathering some of our most beloved books that contain watercolor illustrations, we flipped through the pages and looked at the artists’ unique styles and discussed some of the techniques that had been used. Inspired by what they had seen, the girls were ready to get started on their own illustrations. We created handmade watercolor books using the easy directions that Annie provided. As the girls painted, I read aloud stories (and poems) from the books that we had just explored. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon!