Our grandson Madox visited on Saturday, and as always, he wanted to do a little painting. I’ve bought him a set of watercolors and brushes, and he has his own pad of watercolor paper now. On his last painting adventure, he somehow… well, I hate to say he spoiled Grandma’s good watercolor paper, but it did get some unusual streaks of color soaking through from the edges. Let’s just call it creative and let it go at that. I don’t really do watercolors, so I wasn’t upset.
Madox, of course, took it in stride. When he saw the splotch of bluish green color at the bottom corner of the page, he shrugged. “We’ll just make that into a pond.”
I wasn’t surprised by his solution to the problem, but I was surprised to hear that we were going to be painting a picture. Together. The last time Madox painted and I “helped” by adding a few touches, he was very upset. I still remember him telling his mother how “Grandma ruined my painting.” I vowed then never to repeat the same mistake. I wasn’t going to touch this new drawing.
When I handed Madox a pencil so he could sketch in his scene, I stepped back from the table. He quickly drew a horizon line — what a good place to begin — but then he looked up at me. He wanted a few trees in his scene.
“How about you draw and I paint?” he suggested. He pointed to where he wanted a tree.
“You want me to draw a tree?”
“Two trees. One there. Another one here.” He pointed again.
I hesitated. He really wanted me to collaborate on this drawing? I took a deep breath, grabbed a paintbrush and added trees and branches. Next, I gave him a small sea sponge and showed him how to dab leaves onto the tree with it. He loved that idea and was soon dabbing paint all over the page.
He enjoyed painting the grass, the leaves, the blue skies, and I enjoyed feeling that I had contributed in some way. In the end, Madox was quite pleased with his painting. Of course he had to borrow an easel to display it.
Not only is it fun to watch Madox paint, it’s fun to see him progressing as a young artist.
Here are links to other paintings Madox has made:
I am very glad that I can be part of the art journey for Madox and our other young grandchildren.
Artistcoveries 
I love to paint with my grandchildren, we spread ourselves all over the kitchen table. Unfortunately, after a certain age they insisted on using my own supplies, but I still keep my brushes strictly for myself.
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I’m glad I have a variety of art supplies — not just watercolors, but pastels (soft and oil), colored pencils, charcoal, conte. As the grandchildren develop their art skills they’ll be able to experiment with different media, Having “art days” where we gather around the table is really fun. If nothing else, we’re making beautiful memories.
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So are we! We’re lucky, I think. Grandchildren make it worthwhile getting older😊
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Yes, indeed. We also have two great-grands, the most recent just arrived on October 15.
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Wow! That’s fantastic 💕
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Sounds like a terrific time!☺ Well done!
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Madox loves to paint. He’s one of those very active little ones who is always on the go — except when he sits down to paint. He becomes quiet and thoughtful, and his paintings are actually quite good for his age, I think. But, of course, I’m his grandmother, so naturally I think his art is good. 🙂
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I think it looks great!☺ Sounds like he’s having a lot of fun with it ☺
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It’s especially fun to listen to him talk about his painting. He loves making up stories about the scene.
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How old is Madox? The painting turned out good! 👏👏👏
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Madox turned 7 in September. I do think he has an “artist’s eyes”.
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This is awesome! I love making art with my grandchildren – their imaginations are so unrestrained.
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Yes, and they are always so excited to draw and paint.
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That’s awesome! Great work Madox and Judith! I have so much fun creating art with my son and teaching him what I know. He loves art now and draws me pictures in school all the time. They get better and better everyday. He grabs inspiration from others as well and makes his own style. It’s exciting to watch them grow and create!
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Yes, it is. At one of our art club meetings we had a program by an art therapist who works a lot with children. It was fascinating to listen to her and to learn how expressive art can be.
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