Art with Toddlers

 

Over the last year I’ve done a lot of painting with Herbie. He’s everything from painting on he floor wearing nothing but his nappy, to sitting at my desk and painting with watercolours in a sketchbook. I talk to a lot of parents who say they would love to do painting with their toddlers but they don’t know where to start, so I thought I would share some of my top tips. I am not an expert, but I’m an artist and mum and this is what has worked for us.

Try paint

One of the first art materials we normally give toddlers is chunky crayons because they are easy to hold and they don’t make too much of a mess, however I just don’t think they are that satisfying for a baby or toddler to use. You have to press really hard to get any kind of colour pay off. Applying pressure whilst also moving the crayon is hard work and your little one might get frustrated or bored. Especially given that crayons children tend to be very cheaply made and lacking in pigment. Painting on the other hand is much easier as you don’t need to apply any pressure, just sweep a loaded brush across the paper. They will get a much more vibrant colour and a chunkier line, both of which will be more satisfying to a young child.

Having tried a few different things I personally find a large child’s set of watercolours is the least stressful way for toddlers to paint. It’s less messy than poster paints and easy to use, you just need to guide your toddler to dip the brush into the water, then let them choose their colour, and encourage them to mix mix mix to pick up some colour, then place it on the paper. Cleanup is easy, when you’re finished just close the lid of the paint set and rinse the brushes. No need to clean up lots of wet paint that’s already been squeezed out of tubes or possibly smeared across the table.

Kids poster paints are great too, if a little bit more messy. Poster paints are particularly good if you’re painting with a baby, as they don’t even have to use a brush, they can just get in there with their hands or one of those spongy brush things. 

Prepare for mess

Of course things are going to get messy when you are doing art with a toddler. I think it’s finding a balance between keeping things fun for your toddler and letting them explore and experiment, whilst also keeping the mess within limits that you are happy with. 

There are things you can do, like putting paint and paper inside a sealed plastic bag and letting your child smoosh it around, for mess free painting, but I’m not sure how satisfying that actually is for a child, since you’re missing most of the joy of actually painting. Painting is a sensory activity. If you’re planning to do painting with your toddler or baby just be prepared, put them in old clothes and a long sleeved apron, or if the weather is warm nothing but a nappy or pants works great. If you have carpets you can always paint on the kitchen floor, which is what we used to do. I also put down some big oil cloth mats to contain the mess.

The other thing to consider is what you will be wearing! I have been caught out by this one so many times. Herbie is wearing old clothes and an apron, and I’m wearing a brand-new pink jumper, he enthusiastically waves a paintbrush around and I am covered in paint. It has happened too many times, when will I learn?? Also don’t believe the children’s paint that claims that it is washable. I got these crayola poster paints for Herbie, and whilst these are lovely paints to use and non-toxic, they are definitely not washable. They have permanently stained a pair of jeans that I’ve been to the wash many, many times, so proceed with caution.

Let your child take the lead

If you want your children to enjoy being creative then you’ve got to let them take the lead (within reason, obviously you need boundaries like ‘paint stays on the paper’). Let them follow their instincts and choose the colours they want and apply them the way they want to. Maybe they’ll paint big, maybe they’ll paint small, maybe they will have a brush in each hand, maybe they have a whole array of beautiful colours to use and they only want to use brown! Just go with it and let them follow their creative instincts. Trying to micromanage them will only lead to frustration. Make a sure it’s about their process, rather than your outcome. There are lots of cute projects on Pinterest that involve using your child’s hand or footprint to make a reindeer or penguin or some such, these are fun but really they are a project for the parent and don’t allow any creative input from the child. If you’re going to do a project like this, maybe start with doing a couple of cute footprint greetings cards, then let your child have free rein to create their own abstract masterpiece afterwards.

Give them their own sketchbook

One concern from parents about doing art with their toddlers is that they then have to keep all of their masterpieces forever. Nobody wants lots of tatty bits of paper cluttering up the house, which is why I love the idea of giving a young child their own sketchbook. The sketchbook keeps all their paintings together nice and tidy, which means they don’t turn into clutter. You can add the date each time your child uses the sketchbook so you create a really lovely diary of their development. The other great thing about a sketchbook is it’s portable! I took a sketchbook and a handful of colouring pencils on holiday with us to Mallorca and Herbie used it loads on the plane, in restaurants, in the villa etc. Herbie has several sketchbooks on the go, and we just use these sketchbooks from Seawhites of Brighton, the paper is nice and thick and they are really affordable. 

Use colouring books

Colouring books can be great! You can use them with crayons, pencils, pens or paint. Herbie is very into dinosaurs and has a dinosaur colouring book that he enjoys painting with watercolours. Using a colouring book is a great way of having conversations whilst painting, as you can chat about what you’re painting, what you can see in the picture and what colours you’re going to use. Remember there is no need to stay in the line or to use the ‘correct’ colours.

Work together 

Something Herbie really enjoyed when he was younger was for me to paint a simple stylised ladybird in his sketchbook, or to cut one out of paper, and then I would let him paint the dots. This is a collaborative project where you are setting up the project, but then handing over control to the child. Depending on the age of the child the dots might look more like dashes lines or scribbles, but when it’s done they will be enormously proud that they created something recognisable and that you worked on it together. Another great way to do this is to cut out a really simple butterfly and then allow your child to paint on it using poster paints. Whilst it’s still wet fold butterfly and half and you will create a beautiful mirror image. 

Sometimes Herbie invites me to get involved in his painting, he’ll hand me a brush and say Mummy paint and then tell me what colour to use. This kind of collaborative painting is lovely and something he really enjoys. 

Pavement chalk is the best

The title says it all really, pavement chalk is great! In the summer I always have a box of pavement chalk under the pushchair so that we can do some drawing when we get to the park. I love seeing the collaborative masterpieces that come to life when lots of children join in. If you have a patio at home can use pavement chalk there as well. It just washes away in the rain and washes out of clothes pretty easily so there isn’t a lot of mess.

Find an Art Club

Art classes or clubs for toddler are great, especially if you’re very concerned about creating mess at home, or you just don’t have the space. We are so lucky that we have a brilliant toddler art club at our local art gallery and it’s completely child lead, which means it’s brilliantly messy and fun. I would definitely recommend looking for something that is child lead, rather than anything that’s going to be too focused on creating a particular outcome. As well as looking for a toddler art club or class, you could also look for messy play sessions and art activities at art galleries. I know that the Tate is doing some brilliant stuff for kids at the moment.

It might all end in tears, but that’s okay!

Let’s remember these are babies and toddlers. The toddler urge to destroy, or to demand more, might kick in at some point. A lovely painting session will often end with Herbie demanding that I squeeze more and more paint onto the palette, then come the inevitable tears when I say we already have enough. It doesn’t mean he didn’t have a lovely time painting, toddlers are just toddlers. It’s frustrating when you’re having a lovely time painting, then suddenly they’re tipping all the brushes onto the floor or demanding more and more white paint so that they can paint the white paper white… You’ve just got to go with your instincts, and I usually end our painting session at this point before things descend into total chaos. It can feel like a lot of effort to set something up for it just to end in a meltdown (which is why I love watercolours for ease of set up and clear up) but the more you do it the longer and more satisfying your art sessions will be.

Here are some of my favourite baby/toddler art supplies. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on children’s art supplies, but at the same time the very, very cheapest supplies might not work very well. A good quality set of children’s watercolours will last a long time! The set that Herbie uses was my watercolour set when I was a child. It’s 25 years old and still going strong! Good places to look for children’s art supplies in the UK are Flying Tiger, Hobbycraft, The Works, and online Baker Ross is great.

1. Long sleeved aprons, like this one from IKEA, work great as craft aprons for young children.

2. This colourful chunky child’s paintbrush set from Wilko looks good

3. Personally I just let Herbie use proper paintbrushes, not kid’s paintbrushes. The bristles are much softer and easier to control. Obviously don’t let him use really expensive paintbrushes, but something aimed at students or crafters will work fine. This set from Daler Rowney is great value

4. These paints from Crayola are good but they are not washable!

5. These watercolour paints look good.

6. I love this table from IKEA because it wipes clean really easily and the storage buckets underneath are great for keeping all his art materials nice and tidy.

7. These sketchbooks from Seawhites of Brighton are brilliant

8. These non-spill paint pots are great for paint and for water.

 

2022 Round up

 

I’ve done a little recap of the year because I wanted to take a moment to look back on the projects I’ve completed. I often find that when I’m working on a project I can’t share it because it’s top-secret, and then by the time the work comes out I’m onto something else, so often I forget to even share the work that I’ve done! So it’s nice to look back and reflect on a year full of book covers, greetings cards, editorial illustration, books and online courses. I have decided to divide this round up into seasons, becuaes I honestly cannot remember what I did last year and month by month!

Spring

The biggest thing that happened in spring was my third art book, Watercolour Life, came out! I had been working on this book throughout lockdown, my pregnancy and those early newborn days, so to see it out in the world but like a big achievement! It’s had a really lovely response from readers and reviewers, with some lovely magazine features.  In spring we also took our first family holiday abroad to Mallorca. It was our first time travelling post pandemic and post baby, and we had a lovely time. I even managed to do some painting. Spring also saw the launch of a collection of illustrated floral brownies with The Blushing Cook. Spring also sought the publication of Toujours La France, the third book by Janine Marsh about her life in France, and the third book that I have illustrated the cover for.

Summer

Summer was an exciting season for me. The Further Adventures of Miss Petitfour was published, a children’s book by Anne Michaels that I had illustrated. I illustrated the first Miss Petitfour book, so it was wonderful to be able to return to the character and spend some more time in her world. Like Watercolour Life, I worked on this book whilst pregnant and looking after a small baby, so it felt like a real achievement. Summer also saw the launch of my Domestika course! This was filmed in the spring and launched a few months later, and I’ve been completely overwhelmed by the response. Six months I’ve had nearly 7000 students and 99% positive reviews. I even got highlighted by Domestika as the most successful new course of the quarter. For me the most awarding thing has been seeing my students at work and to be able to interact with them on the phone and give them feedback and advice. I also worked in another book cover, for a YA novel called A Calamity of Mannerings, which will be out next year. I also worked on some greetings cards with a big US retailer that will be available next year. 

Autumn

In early autumn we visited some friends in Norway, which was a really inspiring trip and I managed to do some painting and drawing in my sketchbook. At this point behind-the-scenes I was busy working on a new book, which will be out in 2024! I can’t share too much about it now, but I am really excited and it’s something slightly different for me. Autumn also saw the launch of my collaboration with Wimperis Embroidery. We created a beautiful embroidery kits that combined watercolour and embroidery with an autumnal theme. I also got some samples of greetings cards that I worked on earlier in the year, which are available in Trader Joes in the US.

Winter

In winter I was still busily working on my new book behind-the-scenes, and also working on some illustrated maps for another book that is coming out in 2023. I also developed and designed my very own gouache sketchbook, something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. For awhile I’ve been searching for the perfect sketchbook, so I decided to design one myself and I love using them! You can purchase one in my online shop. At this time I was also very busy behind-the-scenes preparing for my upcoming house move. We moved out of our London flat and into our new house just before Christmas, meaning I’m starting a new year in a new house in a brand new studio. 

So what is to come next year? I’m almost finishing writing a new book, however that won’t be out until 2024. I am very excited about teaching my first art retreat in Spain next year. (There are still a few places available, by the way!) I’m really hoping that this year I will have more time to focus on my sketchbook and coming up with new ideas. My big goal is to work on a children’s book! It’s been a dream for such a long time and now feels like the right time. 

 

The Perfect Gouache Sketchbook

 

If you follow my work on Instagram, or read this blog you probably know that I love working in a sketchbook! However for awhile I’ve been searching for the perfect gouache sketchbook, and when I couldn’t find one I decided to design my own!

A5 in size with beautiful heavyweight white paper with a subtle texture perfect for gouache. The pages are thick enough that it holds paint well without it bleeding through to the other side meaning you can work on both sides of the paper. The paper is bright white with a subtle texture and the sketchbook is soft back and saddlestitched, which makes it really easy to scan and reproduce your work. There are two specially designed covers, both of which are fun, colourful and cute. I didn’t want the artwork on the cover to detract from the artist’s own artwork inside the sketchbook, but at the same time I wanted the sketchbooks to be really cute and to be instantly recognisable as an Emma Block sketchbook, hopefully I’ve found that balance! I’m so so excited to see what people create with them!

 

Painting Retreat in Spain

 

I am very very excited to invite you to join me on a week long luxury painting retreat in Valencia, Spain! If you’ve been following me for awhile you know how much I love painting, travel and painting on location, so hosting this retreat is an absolute dream for me.

We will be focusing on painting and drawing in our sketchbooks whilst in Spain, using a mixed media approach with watercolour, gouache, coloured pencils and pastels.

The retreat will include lots of drawing on location in Valencia old town, on the beach, and at the beautiful villa, as well as masterclasses from me covering everything from drawing people to colour theory. We will be staying at a stunning private villa with a pool and spa, just five minutes from the beach, with gourmet chef made meals and amazing Spanish wine. The whole week is going to such a treat and real feast for the senses. This retreat is perfect for all skill levels, whether you’re a total beginner or even a professional looking to relax and reignite their creativity. The retreat will run from the 23rd to 30th of April 2023.

There is a risk free COVID-19 refund policy. See more details here. It is limited to 15 guests, you can find more details about the trip and accommodation here. This is more than just a painting workshop, it is a unique week-long experience and a chance to travel, make new friends and incredible memories. Find out more details and reserve your space here. If you have any questions feel free to directly contact Uptrek.

I am so excited about this and I hope some you can join me!

 

Getting Better at Drawing People

People often ask me how to get better at drawing people. The way to get better at drawing anything really is to draw from life and to practice. The best way to understand anatomy and facial structure is to go to a life drawing lesson, and I believe their are online life drawing classes. For me the best way to get better at drawing people in a more natural way, understanding how to show movement and body language, is people watching. Obviously at the moment location drawing trips can be tricky, so these are the two ways I’ve been drawing people in lockdown.

Number one, look out of your window. I live on busy road, people walk past my window all the time walking their dogs, going to the park, carrying their shopping. I try to take a mental picture of their outfit and posture and do a very quick sketch as they walk past.

Another great tool for drawing people going about their everyday lives is Google Maps! I’ve seen a lot of artists use Google Maps during lockdown for painting buildings and landscapes, but it’s also great for people. You can see enough of people walking down the street to get a sense of their character, how they dress, how they walk, but you don’t get caught up in tiny details as you can’t really see anyone’s face. I love visiting different areas I know on Google Maps and seeing how differently people behave in different spaced, people walking in a relaxed way by the seaside or people powerwalking or slumped over in the city. I’ve noticed how often couples and friends dress alike, and how they usually walk perfectly in step with each other.

The top row of the sketches were all created from google images, and the bottom row of people spotted from my window. I find these pages full of little people really useful and often adapt them for projects when I need someone walking or standing in a particular way.

Teaching with Watercolor Summit 0.2 Gouache Edition

 

One of my big goals for this year is to teach my first online workshop, and I am so pleased to announce that I am! I am so, so excited to be teaching along with seven other amazing artists in the Watercolour Summit 2.0 Gouache Edition. It’s an online creative summit, which means people from all around the world can join in.
I’m so excited to be sharing my knowledge on painting with gouache, with a particular focus on painting people.
Registration opens in April. Go to artsummits.com/emmab to sign up.

 

Fear of the Blank Page

 

I don’t personally like the phrase ‘creative block’, but fear of the blank page is definitely real! As an artist and an art teacher I have learnt there are so many things that can hold people back from be creative. Having no ideas, having too many ideas, perfectionism and worrying the painting will be a failure, worrying about wasting expensive materials, and good old fear of the blank page. As a professional illustrator I’m used to painting a lot, but I recently took a break due to travelling and moving house, and I was shocked by how much my confidence had dropped in that time. If I feel nervous about doing a painting after a ten day break, I can only imagine how people feel if they haven’t painted or drawn for years. Here are my top tips for getting over that fear and getting creative again.

Start small

This usually works for me. If you haven’t painted in a long time and you’re feeling anxious the last thing you want to do is start on a huge canvas or an expensive piece of watercolour paper. Even starting a new sketchbook can be scary. Working in a small sketchbook, or on a small piece of paper is a good way to start without worrying about wasting materials or time. Don’t start a huge project, just start something simple you can finish in an afternoon. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It’s just the start.

Keep a list of ideas

I’m sure we all know that feeling, you’ve finally found the perfect time to sit down and do some painting and you can’t think of what to paint. Keep a private Pinterest board or a Instagram collection of images that inspire and write down things that you would like to paint in a notebook. That way it’s there to reference when you’re in the mood to paint.

Make yourself comfy

Again this is one always helps me. Make yourself comfy, make a cup of tea, get your desk arranged nicely, put on your favourite music or podcast in the background and start slowly.

Gather research and reference images

Sitting down and immediately starting to paint puts a lot of pressure on yourself. It’s so much easier when you’ve got a starting point. Try collecting some small objects and drawing from life, or look through photos you’ve recently taken, are there any elements that would translate well to a painting? When I’m out and about and I don’t have time to sketch something I see I often take a quick photo and then paint it later.

Try a workshop

If you’re really feeling lost the guidance of a workshop can really help. The tutor will be on hand to advise and encourage you, and attending a workshop is about giving your self permission to do nothing but learn and be creative for a couple of hours, which is really important. Shameless self promotion, I teach watercolour and gouache workshops regularly in London. Find out more here.

Try a drawing exercise

Sometimes you just need to loosen up and do a few exercises to get used to making marks on the paper. At the beginning of my life drawing classes at university my tutor used to make us draw with our eyes closed, draw with our left hand, draw with a continuous line and draw two minute poses. The point of these exercises is to encourage creativity and get rid of perfectionism. Don’t worry about the end result, just enjoy the experience of mark making.

Follow a tutorial

Following a tutorial is a great way of being creative without having to worry what you’re going to paint. You can find painting tutorials online and in books. Shameless self promotion yet again, my book is full of projects for all skill levels and is a great way of getting back into painting and building up your confidence.

 

Watercolour in Blossom with Papier

 

Earlier in the year I had the chance to work with Papier, one of my favourite clients, on some content for their magazine. The team came over to my studio to film me painting one of the pieces from the stationery collection. The cherry blossom stationery suite is quite an elegant, pared back watercolour design, and it’s lovely to see it come to life in the video. It’s such a treat to work with talented photographers and filmmakers, and every time I work on a project like this I learn something new. I’m so happy with the final film and photos, but you would never know how much tidying and re-organising it took for my studio to look like that. Behind the scenes whole room is a tip to make room for all the lights and tripods!

You can read the accompanying interview over on the Papier website.

 

Writing a Watercolour Book!!

 

I announced over on my Instagram and I forgot to share the news on here: I am writing a book!! Last summer I had an idea for a book. I realised that most watercolour books are very old-fashioned and very traditional, and I wanted to write something modern fun and accessible. I got in touch with my friend Lesley who helped me write a book proposal, which ended up being a whopping 23 pages long, and presented to some publishers. In the New Year I got offered a book deal and I am spending this summer writing the book. I am used to having ideas for illustrations in my head then making them happen on paper, but having an idea for a book then turning it into a real book deal with the big publisher is something completely new. It's just crazy that this project went from dream to reality. I am loving the process of writing this book. I am just having so much fun coming up with projects for it. The publishers have given me a lot of freedom to choose what I want to teach in the book which has been brilliant. I love teaching people to paint and encouraging them to find their creativity, so it's really exciting to be able to do that on a much wider scale due to this book. I would describe this book as everything I know and love about watercolours. It's for people who want to paint colourful, joyful things to put on their wall and not take it all too seriously. At this point I have just passed the halfway mark and I've handed the first half of my manuscript to the publishers. I can't believe I've written a half a book already. I've got just over a month to finish the second half. My book will be coming out next summer. Follow me over on Instagram for sneak peeks of my progress.

 

Illustrating a Book Cover

 

Last year Text Publishing got in touch with me about illustrating a book cover for an upcoming chapter book. It was a really lovely project so I thought I would share a behind-the-scenes peak with you guys.

They had a fairly clear idea of what they wanted from the cover so I went straight in with the sketch. The feedback was that the plant life needed to be more varied and more wild looking. After my second sketch got the go-ahead I started on the artwork. I painted the mirror and the girls separately and then layered them on photoshop so they could be edited and moved. 

I painted the botanical wallpaper straight onto green paper which looked really lovely and definitely set the tone for the piece, but it was difficult to edit in photoshop. Ultimately I started the background again, painting individual plants on a white background which could then be removed in photoshop. The individual plant motifs could then be arranged on a green background which meant the design was much more flexible. The plant motifs were also use to create a gorgeous decorative title page. I also painted some little botanical flourishes to be used for the chapter headings.

 

A Guide to Painting Easter Eggs

 

Painting blown easter eggs has become something of a yearly tradition for me. I have produced a little step by step guide to painting eggs, just in case you want to have a go!

First you need to blow your egg, that way you can keep your creation forever without it going off. Use a metal skewer to make a small hole at the top of the egg and slighter large hole at the bottom. Use the skewer to break the yolk, then blow the contents out into a bowl. Rinse the egg throughly then leave it to dry.

I like to paint my eggs with a base coat of regular house paint first (not gloss). A good tip is to make a little donut of blutack to rest your egg on, so it doesn’t roll around. Use a wide flat brush to apply one or two even layers of base coat. When the base coat is dry I lightly sketch on a design in pencil, then use acrylic paint and ink to finish it off.

Simple designs and repeat patterns work best. Alternatively you could just draw on the painted egg with a sharpie. Painting on a round surface is tricky, so embrace imperfections! Display your egg with pride and impress all your friends.

 

Live illustrating with SisterMAG and Alpro

 

In January illustrator I invited over to SisterMAG's head office in Berlin to live illustrate at a special press event with Alpro. I have worked with SisterMAG for years, so I was really excited to meet the whole team and see their offices. This was also my first time in Berlin, although Berlin in the middle of January is not for the faint hearted.  

The beautiful event featured bloggers and press from all over Germany. The day involved a variety of workshops, beautiful meals, including an amazing brunch provided by Alpro and some show stopping cakes. Activities throughout the day included calligraphy and moodboard making workshops, massages and the chance to be illustrated by me. I was very busy thorughout the day, illustrating guests, the SisterMAG team and people form Alpro. Fortunately I was very well looking after; if only all my jobs can with endless supplies of coffee, crepes and massages. After a busy day of drawing I hopped on a flight back to London.

All photos curtesy of SisterMAG and Saskia Bauermeister

 

 

Watercolour Competition with P&O Ferries

 

If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen that I teamed up with P&O Ferries to run a competition. Seven lucky people won an original watercolour painting based on their favourite holiday snap. This was such a lovely campaign to be a part of. It was such a joy to receive a new photo to paint every 2 days, it was so exciting to see who P&O Ferries had picked every day!

When one of the winners from the competition happened to be in London for the week, visiting from Dubai, I knew that we had to meet up for a coffee so I could give her the artwork in person. I had a lovely afternoon meeting Nourane Owais and chatting about all things watercolour.

 

Hand in Hand Soap x Target

 

Hand in Hand Soap are one of my very first clients that I worked with when I graduated from university, and I’m really proud of the work we have done together. For a collaboration between Target and Hand in Hand soap we created a range of three winter inspired soaps. I used a mixture of watercolour and cut paper to give the packaging a richly layered look, and we took our inspiration from nature. Which is your favourite? I think the polar bear is mine, I love how it has turned out.