The Impact of Art on Communication and Observation Skills

I would like to discuss common mistakes made when helping children develop their communication and observation skills. Above all, parents should avoid forcing children into familiar patterns and restrictions. Children are highly creative, and each brings an individual spirit to the marks they make on paper. Their confident, spontaneous lines, drawn without knowing any formal technique, give their work its originality. We should avoid remarks that belittle their imagination or hinder their creativity: “Why did you paint the sea purple?”, “Why does that bird look like an M? Birds do not look like that!”, “Are clouds ever red?” or “Have you ever seen a smiling sun?” Children should be free to express themselves by drawing what they want and choosing their own colours. This can help develop communication and observation. By contrast, saying “That part is wrong; let me fix it” or “I will draw it for you; copy this” may make children doubt themselves and lose interest in drawing. They may begin to think their own work is wrong and repeatedly search for the supposedly correct answer dictated by fixed expectations.

The author also questions relying on ready-made colouring books, arguing that they can restrict originality. Children should have opportunities to create their own images without worrying about staying inside someone else’s lines. Give them space, blank paper, pencils and colours. They already bring the most important ingredient: imagination.

Every child is an artist; the challenge is to remain one as we grow up.

Like Raphael, painting it took me four years to learn to paint; to paint like a child took a lifetime.

Pablo Picasso

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Rekor Sanat – Art Teacher