Harry loves to draw – at the moment. His enthusiasm goes in fits and starts, so I try to go with the flow and encourage him to have fun with painting and drawing and thus delay for as long as possible (forever, I hope) the moment when he throws down his pencil, decides that he’s ‘no good at art’ and is lost to the sports field forever.
We’re going on holiday soon and I’ve designed Harry a pack of blank postcards to draw on during the long waits for dinner, or in quiet times between dips in the pool and races on the beach. We’ll post them home to family and friends – and address one to ourselves for our Memory Box – and it should be a fun, creative way of capturing the best bits of the holiday. He’s already feeling inspired..
The back of the postcard is a simple template with - crucially – space at the bottom for the artist to sign their name (and because after all that hard work drawing, it’s only fair that the grown-ups should have to do all the rest of the dull writing and address-filling);
And the front of the cards I’ve either left blank or used this brilliant free download from the illustrator Quentin Blake’s website (see later) to make the white space a bit less daunting and provide a bit of additional inspiration..
I’ve packaged Harry’s into a box with a set of fun twistable crayons and we’ll pack them in his case at the last minute, along with approximately 104 other things that he considers to be critical for a week by the sea (Batmobile, pirate telescope, Lego, winter boots, random household objects etc).
They make good small gifts for Harry’s friends as we prepare to say goodbye at the end of term…
You can download my template below if the idea appeals (and there’s no reason why this should be just a children’s activity of course; I’ll certainly be painting a few of my own to mail alongside Harry’s ).
Talking of inspiring children to paint and draw, I love discovering how some of the best-known illustrators are providing resources and encouragement to help kids do just that. I mentioned Quentin Blake earlier, who has a site full of activities and projects, like this one where you are encouraged to decide – and draw – the marvellous person who has just arrived at the door;
The Guardian newspaper in the UK featured a series of awesome illustrators showing how to draw famous characters from their books and animated films, like Emily Gravett, who is helped by the unreliable Cedric in teaching us how to draw dragons;
…and the wonderful Polly Dunbar who draws pigs, step by step… (follow the link for the whole tutorial).
I remember that when I was growing-up, copying pictures and learning how to draw the characters and things I loved were what slowly built my confidence… and I’m hoping it does the same for Harry.
I’d love to know who your favourite illustrators are, and any other links and resources… the more the merrier! Here are a few more of mine;
Eric Carle (The Hungry Caterpillar) has a great site with kids colouring pages but also resources for artists on how to create wet-tissue works like his.
Fans of the Gruffalo and Axel Scheffler’s drawings can find lots of brilliant crafting activities here
Elmer is our current favourite bedtime book; David McKee explains here how to draw elephants like Elmer – or if colouring-in is more the ticket, find a printable here.
Have a great week!
Kate
Fiona Humberstone
LOVE this Kate. Well, I love all of your posts but this time I’m sat at my computer and able to type a response. Enjoy your summer.
Kate
You too Fiona; lovely to hear from you!
karen
What a fantastic idea im going to give some postcards to my neice samantha so that she can send some when she goes on her holiday to devon
Kate
Karen, that could be Samantha’s first artistic commission – love it!
katengland
I’m going on holiday soon with my grown up daughter… We’re going to love making our own postcards. Thanks!
Kate
Brilliant, Kat! I’m sure they’ll be characteristically creative and beautiful!
Dana
This is awesome, Kate! Thanks for sharing. My daughter and I adore Emily Gravett, but my favorite illustrator is Jon J. Muth, and she loves Mo Willems and Lauren Child.
Kate
Hi Dana, I’d never come across Jon J. Muth but you inspired me to look him up – that panda! Just beautiful. And I’d agree with your daughter’s taste in Lauren Child; I love her collages and characters. Thanks for the new discoveries
Dana
You’re welcome!
I am definitely a fan of Stillwater the panda, but I think my favorite Muth artwork resides in two collections of poetry for children, both edited by Caroline Kennedy. They are amazing.
jennylratcliffe
I really love this idea. And the links to illustrators who share are fab. My little girl is still a bit young, but my nieces will love them! Thank you Kate.
Kate
You’re welcome Jenny – enjoy!
Sarah Morris
Ah these postcards are great idea and I love the way you’ve packaged them up for his friends. We’re off to Cornwall for a week at the end of term, so these will definitely come in handy to send back to grand parents, thank you. On illustrators… my girls absolutely love the Richard Scarry books, but I have to say I’m more of an Oliver Jeffers fan, my favourite being ‘Lost and Found’. Thanks for the tips on the illustrators websites will have a look at them
Kate
Ooh, enjoy Cornwall Sarah – one of my favourite places in the world! I’ve just discovered Oliver Jeffers – we’re currently reading The Way Back Home and loving it; I’m looking forward to working through his back catalogue with H in the months to come…
thefolia
As usual another grand idea…we will most certainly try this…happy trails.