# Suminagashi-Style Marbled Paper with Oil Paint
> Drop thinned oil paint onto a shallow pan of water, blow or stir the colors with a straw, then float thick paper on top to lift off a marbled print. It's an easy take on suminagashi, the ancient Japanese 'floating ink' marbling technique.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/art-projects-for-kids-using-oil-paint-and-water/
- Ages: 4+ · Difficulty: medium · Mess: high
- Time: prep 25 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group · one batch serves about 1 kids
- Skills: art, patterns, fine-motor, observation, cause-and-effect, cultural-art
- Cautions: ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- Oil paints (tubes)
- Brush-cleaning solvent (to thin the oil paint)
- Small clear cups (household)
- 1 piece Shallow pan (e.g. glass baking dish) (household)
- Water (household)
- Medicine droppers or spoons (household)
- 1 piece Drinking straws (optional) (household)
- 4 sheet Thick paper (drawing paper)

## Substitutions
- Instead of paint thinner: Turpentine (The author's reply: turpentine is the best way to thin oil paints. Adult only: strong fumes, flammable, use with good ventilation.)
- Instead of paint thinner: Linseed oil (The author suggests it as an oil paint thinner if the brush cleaner doesn't work.)
- Instead of oil paint: Store-bought marbling kit or Suminagashi inks (The author mentions an original store-bought kit. A reader has used Suminagashi inks with kids aged 2 through adults with great success. No solvent thinning needed.)
- Instead of shallow pan: Large plastic cafeteria trays (A reader buys them at a restaurant supply store for paper marbling and reuses them for other messy art.)

## Safety
- Adult does all paint thinning. Brush-cleaning solvents, turpentine and other paint thinners give off fumes, can irritate skin and are flammable. Work in a well-ventilated area, keep them away from flames, cap them right after use and store them out of children's reach.
- Not taste-safe: oil paint and solvents are harmful if swallowed. Kids blow OUT through straws only, never sip, and should not mouth droppers, straws or paper.
- Keep paint and paint water away from eyes and faces. Supervise the whole time, and wash hands well afterwards.
- Don't reuse the pan for cooking. The author used an old pan that was on its way out.
- Oil paint stains clothes and surfaces. Cover the work area and wear old clothes.
- Don't pour leftover solvent or paint water down the drain. Follow local rules for disposing of paint and solvent waste.

## Before you start
- Adult, in a well-ventilated space: squeeze each oil color into its own small clear cup and stir in brush-cleaning solvent until smooth with no lumps, about the consistency of washable paint.
- Set aside an old shallow pan you won't cook with again.
- Have thick drawing paper ready that fits inside the pan.

## Steps
1. Pour shallow water into the pan and line up the cups of thinned paint beside it, with a dropper or spoon in each.
2. Drop a few colors onto the water, one at a time, and watch the patterns spread.
3. Blow gently through a straw across the water to push the colors into new shapes.
4. For more dramatic patterns, stir the water with the straw. Stir hard if you want the colors to blend.
5. When you like the pattern, gently lay a sheet of thick paper flat on the water.
6. As the colors start to transfer, lift the paper up gently and flip it to reveal your print.
7. Lay the print flat to dry.
8. Add more paint and make another one. Repeat until you're tired out!

## Tips
- The thinning step is important: oil paint straight from the tube is not the right consistency, so a solvent is needed to thin it out.
- Thin it until you get a smooth liquid without any lumps, about the consistency of washable paint.
- Pattern quality seems to differ brand to brand. We tried two and found Reeves to be better.
- Gentle air blowing gives open, separate blobs of color. Not-so-gentle stirring blends everything into a busy marble. It was beautiful to see varying degrees of mixing creating unique patterns.
- Use a pan that's on its way out. Ours was a greasy old glass pan.
- If your brush cleaner won't thin the paint, you can't go wrong with turpentine or linseed oil.
- Large plastic cafeteria trays from a restaurant supply store work well for paper marbling, and for other messy art centers too. (from readers)
- One reader who teaches kids from age 2 up found real Suminagashi inks worked well, while the homemade alternatives she found online didn't. (from readers)

## FAQ
**What ratio of oil paint to brush cleaning solvent?** There's no exact ratio. Add enough solvent to get a smooth liquid without lumps, about the consistency of washable paint.
**My acrylic brush cleaner won't thin the oil paints. What should I use?** The off-brand brush cleaner from the craft store worked for the author. For a sure thing, she recommends turpentine or linseed oil. Thinning is an adult-only job; use good ventilation.
**What is suminagashi?** An ancient technique for marbling paper with ink. The name means 'floating ink'. It originated in China and has long been practiced in Japan. This version uses thinned paint instead of ink.
**Can I use my baking pan again afterwards?** It's better not to reuse it for cooking. The author used an old pan that was on its way out.
**What age is this for?** The author says it's good for kids 4 and above.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013)

This art project is good for kids 4 and above. If you been following our blog, you would have noticed that we have been sharing quite a few easy art projects for kids. When taking up art projects for kids, easy really is the key. You just need a few supplies for this one but be prepared to be amazed with your kid. Suminagashi art is an ancient Japanese technique for marbling paper using ink. It actually originated in China but has been practiced by the Japanese ever since. Sumingashi just means “floating ink” However, in this art project for kids we are using paints to create a similar effect. If you prefer to use an original store bought marbling kit, visit the following link.

- Thinned oil paints
- Shallow pan with water
- Medicine dropper/spoons
- Straws (optional)
- Thick paper

I used Reeves brand oil color. From my experience the quality of the patterns seems to differ brand to brand. I used two brands and found Reeves to be better. First I thinned out my oil paints in small clear cups.I used acrylic brush cleaning solvent to thin out the paints. Ths step is important because the consistency of the oil paint in tubes will not be appropriate for this art project. A solvent is needed to thin them out. With the paints in clear cups, shallow water in a pan, medicine dropper nearby and a thick paper ( we used drawing paper) I invited my pre schooler to experience this phenomenal art project.

 It is better not to reuse the pan ( for cooking) you use for this art project. Anyway my fabulous housekeeping skills are quite evident from the above image of my greasy glass pan. Yeah that pan was on its way out and we used it for our project. My older started off with dropping yellow, blue and red. As soon as the paint hits the water it starts to create a fantastic pattern.

 To create even more dramatic patterns, we blew air through straws and even stirred the water with the straw.



 Once satisfied with the patterns created, we floated a thick paper on the pan. As the colors starts transferring, flip it up gently and reveal the awesomeness.

 Tada! Oil paint patterns transferred.

 Of course we did not stop with one. Art projects for kids are meant to be repeated over and again until the kid tires out right?

 We added more colors to this one and stirred with a straw vigorously until all the colors started blending.

 Our own marbleized paper



Here is the line up of our patterns created with gentle air blowing and not-so-gentle stirring



It was beautiful to see varying degrees of mixing creating unique patterns.

 To extend this art project, you can decorate each paper with embellishments, turn them into cards by cutting out shapes or my favorite turn them into a book and store them as a nice keepsake for the time you spent creating with your child.



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Below you will see some supplies needed for this art project along with other kinds of paint which will come in handy while creating with kids.

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