Episode 12
The other day I sat down with my son and we doodled together. At this point he’s mastered the zigzag line, and enjoys drawing on his skin more than on paper, go figure.
Watching him with a pen reminded me of my first paint set and a book my parents gave me called “Panda Bear’s Paintbox”. Those two things really clicked with me, and it was then that I knew I wanted to make art for the rest of my life. The book was simple, probably only five or six pages long, but had these images of a tiny panda seeing cool things around him and using his paintbox to bring them to life on paper with wild colors. He made quite a mess, too, which is always appealing to a small boy. I’d take my own ten-color watercolor set (the kind that comes with a little brush inside) and imagine far away lands where tigers and ants roamed freely over prairies, while the sun smiled down from the upper right…or left.
Here’s to water colors, tempera paint, acrylics, finger paint, crayons, colored pencils, lite-brites, and any other tool that has sparked a child’s imagination. See you next week!
