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Beautiful (and Easy) Watercolor Collage

Make this simple watercolor collage by cutting up watercolor paintings and decoupaging them to canvas. This canvas art project is SO easy!

Skills Required: None. You’ll be cutting up watercolor pieces and attaching them to a canvas with Mod Podge.

make a watercolor collage

I’ve painted with watercolors before, but never have I ever done a watercolor collage. I feel like it’s an absolute miss given that I love working with watercolor and I love working with Mod Podge!

I’m absolutely in love with this watercolor collage. I never thought of cutting up watercolor paintings (just done on that cheap paper) and Mod Podging it to a canvas. Isn’t it lovely?

Kate was able to get these drawings from her studio job that people left behind and make something from them. That is the ultimate form of reuse – and a perfect budget project!

watercolor collaging

And you know what – children can help too (because you know you have some children’s drawings lying around).

I am totally inspired to start decorating my home after looking at this watercolor wall art. Do you love this watercolor collage too?

If it’s a project you decide to tackle, I have a few tips for you:

  1. Go with thicker paper such as watercolor paper or cardstock for the painting. You’ll want to make sure to avoid wrinkles as much as possible, and the thicker paper will help with that.
  2. Mod Podge won’t bleed the watercolor as long as you don’t brush over it too much. If you continue to brush over and over the same piece, you’ll reactivate the watercolor. You can also spray the watercolor with hairspray to help prevent the bleeding.

If you’re ready to make this fun craft . . . learn more below.

make-a-watercolor-collage
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4.42 from 34 votes

Watercolor Collage

Learn how to make a collage with watercolors – using a canvas and Mod Podge.
Prep Time30 minutes
Active Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours
Yield: 1 canvas
Cost: $13

Materials

Instructions

  • Create watercolor art to begin. Wet the paper with water first, then apply the watercolors for a tie dye look. Let dry.
  • Haphazardly cut all of the small paintings into triangles of various sizes.
  • Paint the canvas with white paint and let dry.
  • Lay out all of the triangles on the canvas for placement. Apply Mod Podge to the back of the triangles and to the canvas and attach.
  • Repeat until the canvas is covered and let dry.
  • Apply two final coats of Mod Podge to the canvas, letting dry in between. Allow to dry for several hours before hanging.

If you like this easy watercolor collage art, I’d love for you to check out these other projects:

4.42 from 34 votes (33 ratings without comment)
Project Rating




Elizabeth

Wednesday 13th of December 2023

I had to use a faster drying 3-1 glue, and I held each piece of watercolour paper down for a full minute after glueing to the canvas. Also, modge-podge over the painted pieces did not work - it caused the paint to bleed. I tried spray varnish, but it looked spotty too. The best bet is a high quality fixative.

Jenessa

Friday 27th of January 2023

It is so pretty.