Outside the Lines

I've never really liked coloring books. Over the years, people have given my kids coloring books and I sometimes let them indulge in coloring inside the lines for a few pages. But for the most part, I have had a steady supply of crayons and colored pencils and watercolors and paper available for my kids. From early ages, my kids have been scribbling and drawing on blank paper and have managed to express themselves more or less to their own satisfaction. I think coloring books stifle a child's imagination, and force them to conform to someone else's. I do have plenty of how-to drawing books that teach how to interpret and draw, but the work is up to the child. There's nothing like a blank piece of paper to stimulate a child and allow them to let their imagination run wild. I guess some people think that being able to color inside the lines is somehow a sign of dexterity or mature small-motor skills, and maybe that's true. I think it's also a sign of a kid who has to think inside the box and follow the so called rules of art, a child who is not encouraged to think and create for himself, a child that could grow up and not be able to interpret or analyse his surroundings. Blank paper does not intimidate my kids; they see it as an opportunity. In the same way, I want them to see the world as full of opportunities, and I want them to think for themselves, outside of the box, and not be conformed to this world.

A dragon guarding a castle.

Lovely flowers blooming beneath a tree.

A Hobbit house in the shadow of a mountain.