Salt Painting

This is one of those things that’s been in my to-do list forever but I just hadn’t gotten around to do. Well, now it’s still the third day of the new year, and I guess it’s What would be better than fireworks for this art method?

All you need are:

1. A thick, sturdy cardstock. Since you’re going to work with some mass of salt and thin watercolour, I wouldn’t recommend regular printer paper as it wouldn’t retain its shape as well as cardstock.
2. White craft glue/PVA glue. I tried other types of glue but the salt didn’t stick too well. Sure it stuck, but sparsely and didn’t really have that puffiness that makes the salt drawing special. The thick, gooey consistency of white craft glue helps to hold the 3d texture of the salt drawing.
3. Salt. Any salt will do, although maybe the finer the better.
4. Watercolour, water and brush. Make it as thin and watery as possible so it can seep through the salt. This is the magical part of salt painting process.

Steps:

1. Draw your picture with the white craft glue. A bottle of glue with a spout would be ideal to make more precise drawings.
2. Sprinkle salt all over the drawing you just made. And then, shake off the excess salt.
3. Without having to wait for the glue to dry, dip your brush into watercolour, load it with as much water as possible… and then just touch the tip of the brush gently to the salt.
4. Watch the watercolour spread like magic from the tip of your brush to the salt!