Art with Babies, Art with Toddlers, Organization and Resources

Encouraging Layered Artworks with Little Artists

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Encouraging layered artworks for littles is a great way to:

  1. Expose your little artist to a variety of materials.
  2. Save paper (especially that spendy high quality watercolor paper).
  3. Facilitate the creation of a more “finished” looking product at the end of several child-led process art sessions, without adult interference.
  4. Teach the skill of leaving a project and coming back to it later.


If your little artist is under six years old, they likely don’t sit with a project for very long. That is normal and age appropriate behavior!

Leaving a project out for extended periods of time, switching up materials as the process evolves over the course of the week, is a great way to extend engagement.

My little artist (16 months) has been working on this piece all week as she explores a variety of new materials.

High quality watercolor paper is best for layered works, especially when using watercolor paints. Check out some of my taste safe paint recipes for those really little artists. Enjoy!

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