Salt Painting Artwork

Step 1Take a black sheet of cardboard and use PVA glue to ‘draw’ a pattern or image. Darker coloured cardboard works best to ensure a nice contrast when we add colours later.
Step 2Sprinkle salt all over your design, making sure you cover the glue completely. If there are gaps in the salt, the paint won’t run into that area. Once covered, carefully tip the cardboard up to remove the excess salt.
Have a container or scrap piece of paper handy to catch the excess salt and make this part less messy!
Step 3Load your paint brush up with water. Take your watercolour palette and choose your first colour. Load up as much pigment on the brush as you can before gently dabbing it onto the salt surface. You will see the paint run along the salt, either side of where you dabbed the brush. Continue to add colours to the salt, making sure you clean your brush between colours.
This activity is great for exploring colour mixing. Encourage children to place primary colours next to each other and watch to see what happens where they meet!
Step 4Continue adding watercolour until you are happy with your design. Once you have completely covered the salt with watercolours, allow the glue to completely dry (this can take a day or so depending on how thick the glue is). Your Salt Painting Artwork is ready to display!