Abstract Art with Kwik Stix {Mess Free Paint Sticks}
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Do you wish there was some sort of magical paint that doesn’t require art smocks, cups of water, brushes, tablecloths, and cleanup? Sounds like a dream, right?
Well, we recently stumbled across Kwik Stix and it is all those things and more! They claim that you simply “uncap, twist, and paint,” and after you’ve completed your artwork, it will be dry in 90 seconds.
Now, if your little ones are paint lovers like ours, you know how much table or counter space is required to hold all those beautiful (and very wet) pieces of art.
Needless to say, we were pretty excited to discover that Kwik Stix really does dry in about 90 seconds and does not rub off at all. Read on to see for yourself how fantastic Kwik Stix really is.
What You’ll Need
- Kwik Stix
- Paper (we used a thicker paper than printer paper but not quite as thick as watercolor paper).
What to Do
This art project requires virtually no set-up. We literally took a few sheets of paper out, handed one to each child, and placed several Kwik Stix on the table.
I then mentioned to the children that this time we were going to create abstract art with the paint sticks. I explained to them that abstract art is not like drawing something recognizable, such as an animal or a person, where you would strive to make the art look similar to how it appears in real life.
In contrast, abstract art is, in many ways, the exact opposite, and is created through varying colors, shapes, and form. It can look however the artist would like it to look. The artist does not need to strive to copy something but rather, create their own original and unique work of art.
Once I had explained the objective of the art lesson with my little artists, they were ready to get to work.
I decided to jump in on the fun too (I was just as excited to test out these Kwik Stix as the children were!).
Little Miss 13-month-old was right by my side and eager to dig her nails into the art project too. Literally, she dug her nails into the silver paint stick and smeared it all over the top corner of my paper. Apparently, she wanted to finger paint lol. I quickly took her to the sink to wash her hands (before she decided to taste test the paint as well) and was happy to discover that the paint washed right off.
When I went back to finish up our joint effort artwork, I realized another benefit of Kwik Stix – I didn’t have to worry about the supplies being left out only to return to them later to find dried-up paintbrushes (how many times have you discovered dried up paintbrushes, still full of paint, that you regrettably had to toss?).
Okay, back to the art though! We selected one color at a time, placed it on the paper in random patterns, and then chose another color and placed it on the paper in random patterns just as we had done before. We continued doing this until we had filled our entire sheet of paper.
The children had such a great time with this art project and I can honestly say I found it very relaxing and therapeutic as well. This is the perfect art project for those that don’t feel “artistic” because there really is no wrong way to go about this project. It will turn out beautiful no matter what! 🙂 It is also fun to experiment with color mixing and the overlapping of colors.
We then left our art to “dry” – although it didn’t really feel wet like it would if traditional paint had been used. We simply left our art to set for a couple of minutes and when we returned, it was completely set and dried. I have used similar paint sticks in the past and they never seemed to truly dry, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Kwik Stix actually lived up to its promises. 🙂
We used Kwik Stix’s Metalix style but we noticed that Kwik Stix offers several different styles, including:
Such an easy and fun art project, right? Once you try these paint sticks, we are sure you will be hooked – we know we certainly are! We also thought they were very reasonably priced, which is always a plus.
Does this activity sound like something you would try? If so, please share it on social media. Or, pin it to save for later.
Which style would you like to try first? Metalix, neon, classic, or variety? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Want more? Be sure to check out some of our other fun activities:
- Pete the Cat playfoam activity kit for kids
- Ladybug cutting and pasting craft (with free printable)
- Make your own color wheel from rocks
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