Surprise Watercolor Heart Art Painting Ideas

Try this watercolor heart art painting idea for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or any time of year–and watch someone you love light up with surprise!

This watercolor heart art tutorial shares two simple painting techniques that children and adults of all ages can use to create surprise heart art for themselves or someone else to paint at home or in the classroom. The first surprise watercolor heart art painting idea uses a wax stick, white crayon, or pastel as a watercolor resist medium to create a magical surprise design or message that appears on the paper as the artist paints a heart with watercolors. The second watercolor art method teaches how to layer two primary colors to create a surprise secondary color within the artist’s heart artwork using the wet-on-wet watercolor painting technique.

With these two watercolor heart art ideas, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, elementary school-aged kids, teens, and beginning adult artists will enjoy learning how to paint with watercolors. Even more advanced artists will enjoy this simple watercolor art activity. You might also enjoy painting Surprise Easter Egg Art. The art lesson tutorial shares another watercolor art activity that uses the same techniques to create surprise art for Easter.

First published on January 16, 2019, this watercolor heart art tutorial is regularly updated to improve its content and keep it current. You might also enjoy this collection of heart art painting ideas. Suggestions include several more art activities with hearts and heart shapes. Easy heart painting ideas like these are fun art activities for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents’ Day, Teacher Appreciation Day, or any day!

Watercolor Heart Painting Ideas:

Both of the heart-themed watercolor painting ideas taught in this art tutorial have an element of surprise. However, the surprise varies depending on the heart art project chosen and the method used to create heart-shaped watercolor art. The first heart art painting idea uses white crayon, wax stick, or white oil pastel to create a surprise watercolor art that magically appears as designs or a written message when painted with watercolors.

In contrast, the second watercolor heart painting suggestion uses the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) and the wet-on-wet watercolor painting method to surprise the artist when the third secondary color or colors appear. The second watercolor painting idea will surprise young artists who don’t understand how color is made or have never tried color mixing. Understanding and experiencing each color via the wet-on-wet watercolor painting method is an essential painting skill for artists of all ages to explore.

However, older children and more experienced artists will also enjoy these creative heart art activities, even if they already understand the art concept of mixing primary colors, because it’s fun to paint beautiful hearts with watercolor! To learn more about each watercolor surprise heart art lesson, scroll down to see the list of recommended art supplies, read the written instructions, and watch the quick step-by-step video.

Prepare to Paint Surprise Watercolor Heart Art:

Invite children (toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, older kids, teens, or adults) to choose between the art supplies recommended below to create heart art using either of the watercolor painting techniques described in this surprise heart art tutorial. Try something new, or use the art supplies you have on hand.

Before getting started, read through the step-by-step instructions for each project below to get an overview of each heart art idea, then choose the type of watercolor surprise heart art you want to make: “Mixed-Media Watercolor Resist Surprise Art” or “Color-Mixing Surprise Art.” Or try both heart watercolor painting ideas for even more fun.

Once you determine the type of heart watercolor project you want to paint, gather the art supplies you need from the list of watercolor art supplies below. Finally, invite children to paint the heart with watercolors and watch their faces light up when they see the surprise art, written message, or secondary color that magically appears on the paper as they create it. You might also enjoy these Valentine’s Day Art Projects for kids and adults.

Surprise Watercolor Heart Art Supplies:

• Watercolor paint (Choose at least one of the following options):
  • Stockmar watercolors
  • Liquid watercolors
  • Watercolor tube paint set
  • Watercolor paint palette
• Art paper or blank greeting card (Choose at least one of the following):
  • Heavy cardstock
  • Watercolor paper
  • White blank greeting card
• Clear or white watercolor resist medium (Choose at least one of the following options to write or draw secret art, designs, and messages inside the heart before painting it.):
  • Wax resist stick
  • White crayon
  • White oil pastel
• Flat wash watercolor paintbrush.
• Heart Art Printable Templates (optional; alternatively, you can draw a heart outline to paint).
  • The heart art and craft templates have been updated to include more sizes and types of heart shapes than shown in the heart art template shown in the photographs. Today, you can use small or large hearts, horizontal or vertical, to create surprise art on art paper and blank greeting cards, or draw your own!
• Scissors (optional).
• Colored paper for mounting heart art for display, as shown in the photographs (optional; choose one of the following if desired):
  • Construction paper
  • Multi-colored cardstock

Related: The Best Art Supplies for Kids and Why Young Artists Should Use Them

Related: Thumbprint Heart Magnet Craft

1. How to Paint Surprise Watercolor Heart Art:

Painting heart art with watercolor and a resist medium is a fun and easy watercolor heart painting idea for kids. To make surprise heart art, first use any one of the printable heart templates for kids available in the Rhythms of Play Learning Center, or draw a heart on a piece of art paper or cardstock. Complete step-by-step instructions are in the next section, but the basic idea is simple:

Basic Instructions for Mixed-Media Surprise Watercolor Heart Painting:

• First, use a pencil, wax stick, white crayon, or white oil pastel to draw a heart on watercolor paper, cardstock, or a blank greeting card, or choose your favorite printable heart outline art template to print onto cardstock to use for this heart art project idea. (You can either paint directly on the template or trace it to use on watercolor paper and blank greeting cards.)
• Next, use a wax stick, white crayon, or oil pastel to draw doodles, create designs, or write words and phrases such as “I Love You, “Be Mine,” “Sweetheart,” and other romantic, loving, sweet or friendly sayings inside the heart for your children, friend, BFF, boyfriend, birlfriend, wife, husband, partner, favorite teacher etc., to find when they paint with watercolors.
  • Look at the photographs and watch the video to see a few examples of things you can draw inside the heart to surprise artists of all ages and abilities.
• Finally, invite artists of all ages, from beginners to advanced, to paint inside the heart-shaped outline with watercolors.
  • Use one to three different colors, as shown in the photographs, for best results.
• Then, watch their faces light up when they see the art (or the written message inside the heart) magically appear on the paper as they paint.
• Scroll down to the next section for the complete step-by-step watercolor painting tutorial to create this fun heart art project for kids or adults.

Related: Heart Art Projects.

Related: Winter Tree Watercolor Resist Art

Step-By-Step Mixed Media Watercolor Surprise Heart Art Instructions:

Follow the easy step-by-step watercolor painting instructions below to make heart art with surprise words, doodles, and designs that appear magically on the page as artists paint inside a heart outline with watercolor paints:

1. Sketch or draw a heart outline or print your favorite heart template:

• Invite artists of all ages to sketch or draw a heart shape on watercolor paper.
• Alternatively, print your favorite heart art template onto heavy cardstock.
  • If you use the printable heart outline, you can use either the horizontal or vertical heart templates for this heart painting activity.
  • Draw and paint directly on the printable heart template, or cut out your favorite template to trace the heart outline onto art paper or a blank greeting card for repeated use.
  • Please note: the black ink of the heart outline can run into the painting a little if it gets too wet.

2. Draw pictures, write words, doodle, or sketch designs inside the heart-shaped outline:

• Use a wax resist stick, white crayons, or white oil pastels to draw designs inside the heart shape or outline.
• Please note: all crayon and oil pastel colors resist watercolor paint, but only clear wax or white will create hidden surprise heart art on white paper.

3. Paint the heart-shaped outline with watercolors:

• Use a flat was paintbrush and your favorite type of watercolor paint from the recommended options on the art supply list above to paint inside the heart-shaped outline, revealing the hidden surprise designs!
• Encourage artists to start painting at the top of the heart and to use long downward strokes with the paintbrush to reveal the surprise art, doodles, designs, or words that will appear on the paper right before their eyes.
• Allow the watercolor heart painting to dry overnight before proceeding to the next step.

4. Mount the surprise heart art painting on colored paper (optional):

• Cut the heart art out and glue it onto colored paper as shown in the photographs for this watercolor art lesson tutorial.
• Use construction paper or multi-colored cardstock for this step if desired.

Read the tips about working with a watercolor resist medium to create heart art, and watch the video tutorial below to learn more about this fascinating and entertaining art process.

Heart-Shaped Watercolor Resist Art Tips:

• When children use watercolors to paint an area colored with wax, white crayons, or oil pastels, they are surprised to see the drawings appear, even when they know the art is there. It’s magic — invite children of all ages to experiment and have fun!
• Experiment with different watercolor-resist mediums to learn which you like best.
  • My daughter and I like white oil pastels or a wax resist stick best.
• Working with colored crayons and pastels creates colorful designs that the child will see before painting with watercolors. Using white makes the art, words, or designs hard to see before the child paints, making white better for surprise art.
  • Please look at Easter Egg Surprise Art to see how colored crayons and pastels look after they have been painted with watercolors.
• If you want to encourage color-mixing and experimenting, ask children to choose two to three watercolors to paint the heart art surprise. In other words, offer only the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) if you want color mixing to be part of your watercolor surprise heart art lesson. You are welcome to use more colors if desired. But do so sparingly so the heart painting does not turn grey or brown.
• Step-by-step instructions for this watercolor painting method follow in the next section. Or, learn more about working with watercolor paints in wet-on-wet watercolor painting.

Surprise Watercolor Heart Art Step-by-Step Video Lesson Tutorial:

Invite artists to create Mixed-Media surprise watercolor heart art for someone else:

For another surprise heart watercolor painting activity, invite kids, students, siblings, or friends to draw designs for each other to make double surprise Heart Art. In other words, have each artist use a white crayon or oil pastel to draw doodles, designs, or write words, then have them switch papers and paint them with watercolors to see the surprise the first artist created to appear as they paint. It’s fun to surprise siblings, friends, classmates, and even mom, dad, or grandma with hidden heart art they can paint with watercolors!

Create surprise heart art as a Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day Gift:

Create a surprise for someone you love with the simple instructions below:

• First, use a wax stick, white oil pastel, or crayon to draw or write inside a heart printed or hand-drawn on a piece of cardstock that they can frame and hang. (Use the step-by-step directions above to make it.)
  • Or draw a heart on a blank greeting card to create your surprise heart art gift.
    • Use scissors to cut out one of the smaller heart art templates to trace or draw a heart on the cover.
• Next, give the surprise heart art you create with a portable watercolor palette to a loved one to paint, showing them how much you care.
• A homemade surprise heart art card is a unique Valentine’s Day gift, Mother’s Day Gift, Father’s Day Gift, Grandparents’ Day gift, paper wedding anniversary gift, or a fun way to say “I LOVE YOU” any time of year!
  • For even more fun, write a message inside the blank greeting card (in addition to the surprise heart art on the front) that they must paint with watercolors to read!
• The photograph below shows a few heart art ideas you can create for your sweetheart, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, etc., using this watercolor painting technique.

Scroll past the following photograph to try the second surprise heart watercolor painting in the following sections for more heart art ideas! The instructions teach beginning young artists how to use the primary colors to create a surprise inside a heart. You might also enjoy rain painting with this easy Rainbow Rainy Day Art lesson for kids of all ages.

Related: Best Flower Art Projects

2. How to Paint Surprise Watercolor Heart Art with Primary Colors:

The second way to create watercolor surprise heart art is to use the wet-on-wet watercolor technique. Use only two primary watercolors to paint each heart for the best results, and watch the surprise color appear! The surprise is revealed when the child discovers the magical third secondary color made when two primary colors are mixed. This watercolor method allows children to learn about color mixing through direct experience. In other words, they understand firsthand that blue and yellow make green, red and yellow make orange, and red and blue make purple, rather than merely being told that this happens when the colors are mixed.

Related: Rose Watercolor Art

Primary Color-Mixing Surprise Watercolor Heart Painting Idea:

You could also call this heart watercolor painting idea primary color mixing heart art, but I think “surprise” is more fun for the little ones. Besides, who would want to spoil the surprise by telling children they will be doing color mixing?! Shhh–it’ll be our little secret. 😉

Look at how beautifully the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) blend in the photograph of my daughter’s heartwork below. Because her surprise heart art is painted with all three primary colors, it creates the secondary colors (orange, green, and purple) within her heart-shaped watercolor painting.

But please be aware that my daughter has been using the wet-on-wet watercolor painting technique with all three primary colors for a few years, so she has experienced the secret surprise of the secondary colors appearing. She also already understood how to keep the colors separate enough so that her watercolor painting does not turn grey or brown.

So, to make her heart art color-mixing project more of a surprise, I used a chunk of white pastel to draw hearts inside the heart-shaped template. She loved it! In other words, we used both the watercolor painting techniques described in this post to create the heart art below — watercolor resist and color mixing. To share this surprise watercolor painting method with your children or students, follow the step-by-step color-mixing surprise art instructions below the photograph.

Related: Easy Rainbow Art Projects Kids LOVE! 

Step-by-Step Instructions for Painting Surprise Watercolor Heart Art With Primary Colors:

1. Draw a heart or print any of our printable heart templates onto heavy cardstock.
2. Cut the heart template out to trace onto watercolor paper, OR draw and paint directly onto the cardstock.
3. (Optional but recommended.) Use a spray bottle to wet the paper, so the paint colors can mix and blend more easily.
   • Use a sponge to remove excess water.
   • NOTE: The clipart heart template ink can run a tiny bit when you spray it, but you can cut the heart out when it’s dry for a cleaner look, like the hearts pictured throughout this article.
   • Another option is to cut the heart out with scissors before spraying it with water.
4. Put two primary colors (red and blue, blue and yellow, or red and yellow) on the table and a heart template or hand-drawn heart shape.
   • Or use all three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) if working with more experienced watercolor artists.
   • I don’t recommend using all three for beginning watercolor painters because the painting can turn grey or brown if too much paint is used.
5. Invite young artists to paint with watercolors to see the surprise color (or colors) appear magically before their eyes.
   • Painting with red and blue will make purple magically appear as the third color.
   • Using red and yellow will cause orange to appear in the heart art painting.
   • Painting with yellow and blue will create green in the watercolor heart art.

Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Painting Technique:

Click on the link if you would like to learn more about using the wet-on-wet watercolor painting method to create surprise heart art. The watercolor painting tutorial explains soaking the paper first. Another option is to use a misting spray bottle filled with water to spray the watercolor paper or cardstock, as mentioned above, and then wait a few minutes before painting.

Surprise Heart Art Painting Ideas for Kids (and Adults):

Try these fun ways to create watercolor surprise heart art for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents Day, a wedding anniversary, or to say I love you any time of year. It’s fun to create surprise heart art for kids by writing surprise messages or sketching fun designs inside the heart with crayon wax or oil pastels, and inviting them to paint it to see the surprise that magically appears as they paint the heart with watercolors.

Or invite the artist to use the wet-on-wet watercolor method with only two primary colors (red, yellow, or blue) to surprise them. You might also enjoy using watercolors to paint raised salt heart art. A mesmerizing video of the raised-salt art process is included in the heart art activity tutorial.

I have also compiled a fantastic collection of Heart Art and Valentine’s Day Art Projects for more creative heart painting ideas you can try at home or in the classroom.

Learn more about Nell Regan Kartychok, author, photographer, and creator of these original surprise watercolor heart art painting activities HERE, and Rhythms of Play HERE!

If you Liked This heart watercolor painting, You Might Also Like These Art Projects:

• Watercolor Surprise Easter Egg Art Project
• Snowy Alpine Tree Watercolor Resist Art
• Heart Art Salt Painting
• Best Winter Art Ideas for Kids

Valentine’s Day Craft Ideas:

• Valentine’s Day Crafts and Gift Ideas kids can make
• Thumbprint Heart Arts and Crafts
• Adorable Love Bug Crafts for Valentine’s Day
• Beginning Heart Sewing Project Ideas for Valentine’s Day.
• Lovebirds Felt Softie Sewing Tutorial
• Hanging Heart Beaded Suncatcher Craft
• Thumbprint Heart Necklaces
• Thumbprint Heart Magnets
• DIY Valentine’s Day Gifts for Her, Him, or Them