If we look carefully around us, we can learn from even the youngest among us. In this case, my niece
Nicole demonstrated great focus and dedication to her art by producing many pictures and postards to share with appreciative relatives.
I doodled this quick bee in crayon for her to copy when she asked for other ideas to draw
and she surprised me by turning it into a mixed media piece (using crayon, markers, and my prized
Kuretake brush pen) and improving the design with a smile and extra pair of wings. Truthfully, I didn't think that my special tools bucket was within her reach when I left her drawing at my drafting table. I have to admit that she achieved denser black bands with the
brush pen, and got to give her credit for her light touch and control of the delicate nylon brush tip. Though I suspect her younger sibling might have been rougher handling the same pen. Close supervision is especially important when allowing children to experiment and use artist grade tools (which tend to be fairly expensive and sometimes toxic). To be safer, select child grade art supplies like
Crayola and
Faber-Castell "Red Line" crayons and markers for daily practice.
Hrmmm, I suppose I should continue to lose weight since Nicole later crafted such a gigantic paper doll depicting me.
Gift suggestion for the kid artists in your list: colored pencils bundled with a generous supply of pencil sharpeners and a nice big sketchbook. Brand choices available in the children's art sections of Art & Craft stores and general retailers are quite adequate. Though if the kid in question has proven to be responsible and dedicated enough to handle Artist grade materials, you might want to shop around online for Prismacolor, Faber-Castell, Derwent, or Caran D'Ache colored pencil sets. In general there is a significant improvement in ease of use and color intensity when switching to the artist grade products. Still within the children's product range, Faber-Castell Red Line consistently provide bright intense colors.
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