Little Boy’s interest in coloring has blossomed in the past month, to the point where we have to literally drag him away from his crayons, markers, and pad of paper (of which he has gone through three) when it’s time to eat or go to school. While knowing that kid’s interests are fickle, it’s still tempting to wonder if he’s more of a creative type than we originally deduced. We always imagined he was a burgeoning engineer, with his fixation on machines, patterns, and insatiable curiosity to understand how things work. “Great, another nerd in the house,” I would sigh, secretly pleased.
But, I am thrilled to see him so into coloring. He is meticulous, thoughtful, and very careful about everything he commits to paper. Some of the designs and color choices were astounding. Then, we realized he was essentially copying drawings from other sources — books, magazines, etc. For instance, here is his interpretation of a Thanksgiving card my mother sent:
After we realized he was reproducing the artwork of others, we try to encourage him to “draw what you want” and not be so concerned about copying exactly what he sees. But, it looks like he may be an engineer at heart after — he prefers doing things to spec.
