Brush Alternative tool for applying acrylic paint: Empty Bingo Bottles with Dauber Tips

Found this stash of empty bingo bottles at the Art Center, so decided to fill them up with some acrylic paint and dilute them with some airbrush medium (1 part paint and 1 part airbrush medium) to make some paint markers for class use. To preserve the integrity of the acrylic emulsion decided to use only medium for increasing the flow properties of the paint. Diluting with water might result in spoiled paint if stored for long periods of time and a weak paint film.

Put them to the test with my 4 & 6 year old nephews.

Bingo dotters are often used with Pre-K groups since they are quick and easy to set up with minimal clean up, but the width of the marks will be as wide as the dauber applicator.

They are a pretty good choice for Urban/Graffiti style pieces, and to cover wide areas quickly.

If more control is desired, you will still need to resort to using traditional round brushes.

Just like commercial paint markers, I find it best to store these custom acrylic markers horizontally to facilitate remixing and prevent paint clogs.

Made this sample piece for class using a combination of dauber bottles and acrylic paint markers. Depending on the desired markes, they can prove an effective alternative to regular paint brushes.

Thanksgiving Acrylic Painting Session with the Kids

Once Thanksgiving lunch was over, what better way to spend the afternoon than experimenting with acrylic paints.

I used my Liquitex paint markers to make some underdrawings on some canvas boards for the kids to color with Liquitex Soft Body and Daler Rowney Simply acrylics.

Just make sure to have plenty of tubs with water for rinsing and diluting paints to the desired flow consistency. Having the right size of brushes that match the size of the canvas boards available makes for a more efficient painting session.

Smaller round brushes worked well for smaller surfaces.

Large wash brushes are the more efficient choice for covering larger canvas boards, and acrylic paint markers came in handy again to restore some of the linear sketch marks on top of large areas of homogeneous color like the dragon body above.

Beginner Acrylic Painting Sessions with the Kids

Got these painting supplies from Target, so that my nephews could do some acrylic painting during their last visit.


To complete our setup we added a plastic palette, a brush cleaning bucket, pad of watercolor paper, and some canvas panels

The youngest one limited his palette to his favorite color blue, and its complementary orange color.

The oldest asked for an outline to color, so I used a Liquitex acrylic paint marker to doodle a basic dragon head.

Wasted no time in completing his first acrylic coloring project.

Painting Ceramic Bowls in the After School Program

Since we had planned a paint your-own -ceramic-bowl for the after school program at the Middle School, I tested a boxed kit to check the supplies' performance and produce a sample finished bowl.
After applying a beige paint coat all over the bowl to prime the surface, I sponged some blue and rust acrylic paint for background colors. The dragon pattern was painted with a round synthetic brush and soft body Liquitex Mars Black acrylic artist color.
Painted this sample dish to show the students a possible outcome for their projects.
We managed to scrounged a few bottles of acrylic paint from different donation sources and remnants from previous year.
The first step for the students was to apply a "base coat" of acrylic paint that should facilitate adherence of subsequent paint applications.
The sponges allowed for faster coverage than the brushes.
Dabbing the paint with the sponges resulted in a more uniform thicker paint layer that should resist cracking.
Early color pattern approach: colorful dots over beige background. We''ll probably continue this project through the end of December, so that students may gradually develop and adjust their design and decorative patterns in their bowls.