One day, while my daughter was happily distracted in her own marker drawings, I decided to risk pulling out a new sketchbook I had special ordered. It had dark paper, and was perfect for adding highlights to. I had only drawn a little in it, and was anxious to try it again, but knowing our daughter’s love of art supplies, it meant that if I wasn’t sly enough, I might have to share. (Note: I’m all about kid’s crafts, but when it comes to my own art projects, I don’t like to share.) Since she was engrossed in her own project, I thought I might be able to pull it off.
Ahhh, I should’ve known better. No longer had I drawn my first face (I love drawing from old black & white movie stills) had she swooped over to me with an intense look. “OOOH! Is that a NEW sketchbook? Can I draw in that too, mama?” I have to admit, the girl knows good art supplies when she sees them. I muttered something about how it was my special book, how she had her own supplies and blah blah blah, but the appeal of new art supplies was too much for her to resist. In a very serious tone, she looked at me and said, “If you can’t share, we might have to take it away if you can’t share.”
Oh no she didn’t! Girlfriend was using my own mommy-words at me! Impressed, I agreed to comply. “I was going to draw a body on this lady’s face,” I said. “Well, I will do it,” she said very focused, and grabbed the pen. I had resigned myself to let that one go. To let her have the page, and then let it go. I would just draw on my own later, I decided. I love my daughter’s artwork, truly I do! But this was MY sketchbook, my inner kid complained.
Not surprisingly, I LOVED what she drew. I had drawn a woman’s face, and she had turned her into a dinosaur-woman. It was beautiful, it was carefree, and for as much as I don’t like to share, I LOVED what she had created. Flipping through my sketchbook, I found another doodle of a face I had not yet finished. She drew a body on it, too, and I was enthralled. It was such a beautiful combination of my style and hers. And she LOVED being a part of it. She never hesitated in her intent. She wasn’t tentative. She was insistent and confident that she would of course improve any illustration I might have done. …And the thing is, she DID.
Soon, she began flipping through my sketchbook, looking for more heads. “Do you have any heads for me today?” she would ask me each morning. So I began making a point at night to draw some faces for her (which was my pleasure–faces are my favorite part, anyway). She would then pick up a pen with great focus, and begin to draw. Later, I would add color and highlights, texture and painting, to make a complete piece. Sometimes she filled in the solid areas with colored markers, but I would always finish with acrylics later on my own.
Sometimes I would give her suggestions, like “maybe she could have a dragon body!” but usually she would ignore theses suggestions if it didn’t fit in with what she already had in mind. But since I am a grownup and a little bit (okay a lot) of a perfectionist, I sometimes would have a specific idea in mind as I doodled my heads. Maybe she could make this into a bug! I’d think happily to myself as I sketched, imagining the possibilities of what it could look like. So later, when she’d doodle some crazy shape that seemed to go in some surrealistic direction, or put a large circle around the creature and filled the WHOLE THING in with marker, part of my brain would think, What is she DOING?!? She’s just scribbling it all up! But I should know that in most instances, kids’ imaginations way outweigh a grownup’s, and it always ALWAYS looked better that what I had imagined. ALWAYS.
For example, the filled-in marker of the one above, she told me, was a chrysalis, for the caterpillar to transform into a butterfly. Of COURSE it is. I never would have thought of that. And that’s why kids make awesome artists.
Later, I would show her what I had done with our drawings–the painting and coloring. She seemed to critique them pretty harshly. “That’s silly, mama.” or “you put WATER behind her?” But for the most part, she enjoyed them. I enjoyed them. I LOVE them.
And from it all, here are the lessons I learned: to try not to be so rigid. Yes, some things (like my new sketchbook) are sacred, but if you let go of those chains, new and wonderful things can happen. Those things you hold so dear cannot change and grow and expand unless you loosen your grip on them a little. In sharing my artwork and allowing our daughter to be an equal in our collaborations, I helped solidify her confidence, which is way more precious than any doodle I could have done. In her mind, her contributions were as valid as mine (and in truth, they really were). Most importantly, I learned that if you have a preconceived notion of how something should be, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE DISAPPOINTED. Instead, just go with it, just ACCEPT it, because usually something even more wonderful will come out of it.
SIDE NOTE: As an idea (mainly for myself) I decided to put just a few of our collaborative prints up for sale on a site called Society 6. I purchased one myself (the space beavers, called “Outer Face”) to see how they would turn out, and I’m pretty happy with it. We’ve done dozens and dozens of collaborative sketches, but I only put a few up as prints. I’m not sure what to do with the others. Maybe make a children’s book out of them? Make poems to go along? I’m not sure, but I love them with a very large portion of my heart, and they need a special place.
busy mockingbird 
I love, love, LOVE this! Your collaborations with your daughter are so beautiful. I am going to save this idea for when my girl gets older. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank YOU!
These turned out AMAZING!
Thank you so MUCH!!
You could make a sort of coffee table book. Either to share by somehow publishing it, or just for you by scanning in all of the collaborations and putting them together in a photo book through something like shutterfly.
These are definitely awesome. I love the contrast of the two styles. They go perfectly together.
Love it! I’ve got plans to make a little book out of it. We’ll see what happens! Thanks!
Please do make a book!
I agree – please make a book! The drawings are so lovely. I think it would make a phenomenal museum/gallery exhibit, however.
These are gorgeous, and teach an invaluable lesson! I’ve shared this page with everyone I know. If the whimsical dinosaur lady is ever available as a print, I’ll buy it in a heartbeat!
Thank you so much! I’m putting more up soon as I get them scanned. Stay tuned!
I saw that you added several more, including the dinosaur lady. Thank you so much! I just ordered two prints, and I can’t wait to hang them up in my house. 🙂
THESE ARE BRILLIANT!!!! I can’t even come up with the words for how great I think not only the idea is, but both your and your daughter’s creativity. It’s unbelievable how both your styles look so crazily cohesive – even though you are doing realism and she’s doing kid work, they look seamless and not at all mismatched or awkward. Kudos to you both – kids are the best little creators, and creativity vehicles for us as parents, too!
Thank you so much! Strange how a kid’s eye makes me realize how stiff i have become in my own work. So much fun seeing through her eyes.
So great! I’m an artist and often times an over-thinker. Sometimes we can get amazing results when we let go a bit. I want to try this with my son now. Thank you both for the inspiration. 🙂
I’d love to see the results! Thank you so much!
[…] https://busymockingbird.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/collaborating-with-a-4-year-old/ […]
Wish I thought of this when my children were little! I’m a former commercial artist, now I run a small home daycare…I think I’ll try it with “my kids”
I’d love to see what you both come up with!
[…] https://busymockingbird.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/collaborating-with-a-4-year-old/ […]
Wow! These are fantastic! And a great thesis on preconceptions in artistic endeavours.
This is truly inspiring, sometimes we pass the art and we think about it as an established thing in life. But letting go is part of the esence of being an Artist. We are what we become and the things e put on paper are the new marks of the tree. It’s poetry watching your daughter to create new moments of time whit you. Marvelous!
Thank you! She has her own curiosities, her own talents, and it’s so awesome being able to glimpse a little through her eyes…
[…] it’s the little things.) + These art .gifs – (For being adorable and relatable.) + Collaborating with a 4-year-old – (Kids man. They know what’s up.) + Help fill the silence – (For all those […]
These are really really lovely–and yes, what a great lesson. A long time ago, I shared a house with a friend of mine. We were both taking painting classes at the university, and would work on our paintings at home. Sometimes she’d come paint on mine, and I’d go paint on hers, and it was an eye-opening experience as well, because we didn’t have the same sensibilities at all, and what she did to my paintings forced me into directions I never would have taken otherwise, and I’d work with it (just like you are working with your daughter’s contributions). They really are lovely, and surprising, and interesting. (And I envy you a child who is also into art–both of my boys would digress–the markers would turn into rocket ships and the paint brushes swords.)
Thanks! Pre-kid, I might’ve probably chewed someone’s hand off for drawing in my sketchbooks. I never thought to SHARE with her, but she really learns so much from it. She didn’t used to be into art–and then suddenly one day that was her thing. She’s great.
Look for the “Anti-coloring book” series. It would be right up her alley (though I’m sure more fun for her to draw on mom’s pics).
Those are cool–I’ll have to see about those. She loves Doodle books too, where you finish the picture.
These are simply amazing. I truly hope you do publish them! Working with children and art, when we let go and simply let them take in their own direction, can produce wonders. There was this one time with puppets…..ah, a wonderful memory. 🙂 Thank you for reminding me what’s important about art. Technique is useful, but play is the heart of it.
Thank you so much for making these available for us to buy. I’m absolutely in love with Slugs Need Hugs and have plans to purchase a throw pillow of it as soon as I can afford to! I have more artwork than I have walls, but I have actually been looking for some interesting pillows and Madame Slug will definitely fit that bill and then some!
Oh good, I’m glad you like her! While we’re drawing, we talk about the character. She cracked up that “slugs” rhymed with “hugs,” so there you go!
I keep coming back to this post again and again to admire the art, as well as the evidence of a fantastic relationship with your daughter. I’ve shared it with a ton of people and even though they’ve not commented here, I’ve heard nothing but positive things. I hope you’re compiling all of these comments somewhere for your daughter to enjoy when she gets a little older and can truly understand how special this time in her life was. I wish nothing but the best for you both and look forward to seeing more and the evolution as she gets older. Maybe some day she’ll be drawing the heads and leaving you to come up with the bodies!
These are so wonderfully weird! I can’t get enough. I’d love to see a book with your story and the collaborations. As an educator, I know this is a valuable lesson in sharing and collaborating. It could be turned into a lesson plan too! I’m going to have a look at your Society 6 shop now. Thanks for sharing!
Well, thanks! Weird is a compliment to me. I’m working on a book plan for them, and if I can figure it out, I think it’ll be pretty cool.
She’s obviously got your drawing talent – I don’t think any of the 4 year olds I know could draw as well as she does. My son certainly can’t draw – he’s a perfectionist and if it doesn’t come out like in his head he gets mad and refuses to continue or try again. I have no idea how to encourage him to keep trying – any suggestions?
My daughter used to be like that as well. The main thing is, I didn’t push it. It was actually a surprise to me when she started liking it more. She saw me draw a lot, and I think it made her more interested. Just encourage your kid in whatever they love. Do what you love, and ask them to keep trying. I used to tell my daughter to try again, that there’s always a way to fix a “mistake.”
Oh my goodness. I actually have tears in my eyes. These are brilliant…
Will have to have a look in the shop. Thanks for sharing this.
Amazing! Delicate and honest in a way that is specific to a child. I spent a lot of time looking at them, have you made holiday cards?
I haven’t, but I think there is a card option on the Society 6 site. Thank you!
Ahhh, this is the best thing I have seen all week! I’ll have to do some collaborations with my 4 year old, too.
These are fantastic! I love these!! If my daughter ends up with artistic ability, maybe she’ll allow me to collaborate with her. Your 4-year-old’s work surpasses anything I can do with a marker.
These look amazing! I love the work you’ve done together! I’ll be sharing these with my eldest who is a blooming artist as well. I’ve saved books of her works!
These are so great! Now I want to do something like that with my 6-year-old…
Do it! I’d love to see what you come up with!
These are beautiful. Would it be possible to order a custom-made one of my boyfriend and me? You and your fab daughter can do whatever you wish. If not, I’ll still order one of your pieces. These made my afternoon.
I am SO GLAD that when I got to the end of this, you said you put some up for sale as prints. The entire time, I was thinking how beautiful and perfect these are and how i would love to have something so special on my walls. With a parent like you, your child is going to grow to be brilliant.
These are beautiful and amazing! You should definitely create a book or do something with them!
Thank you so much! I’ve got a book run in mind…I’ll post once I have something solid!
These are fantastic. I’ve had the same hesitation you had about using my sketchbook in front of my children for fear that I’ll have to share. I might just have to give in.
Thank you! Do!–it’s aggravating at wonderful all at once.
Might you two do a few pieces on commission? Perhaps I could send you a few pictures of faces and let your imaginations run wild? And please please do a book!
Thank you so much for asking! I think we’ve decided, for our daughter’s sake, not to put the pressure of custom work on her. Several people have asked, and while I really would love to, I would hate for it to become like a job for her. I hope you understand. We’ll still have the prints available on Society6.com/micaangela, and I am looking into self-publishing a story/activity book of all the works. I’m so grateful that you appreciate the project we’ve done. Thank you again!
Really incredible series. I’m so glad you decided to share!
I loved this post! Great art!
These are some of the most beautiful and whimsical illustrations I’ve ever seen. Simply poetic in their perfection ❤
These are brilliant, I love them! Especially the caterpillar chrysalis one. I’m surprised that one isn’t up for sale.
I’ll work on it! I had to get them all scanned…
My daughter started a business for keeping children’s drawings such as these.
treasurebooks.com.au if anyone is interested. 🙂
Love it. Absolutely adore both the approach and the results.
Absolutely brilliant stuff! Love it!
It is, in fact, great stuff. Will be interesting to see the changes to the nature of the collaboration as she progresses through the childhood stages of drawing skills.
Just bought 4 of your prints on Society 6! I think your and your daughter’s work is inspiring, and a lovely reminder of the child inside each of us. Thank you!
I absolutely think you should put some pieces together and make a book. It is fabulous work, and a great message for young and old alike.
Please let me know if you choose to sell the chrysalis piece! It is my favourite. Thank you again for sharing 🙂
Ill be putting more up soon! Please follow the blog and the Facebook page & I’ll post what’s going on. Thank you so very much!
Thank you so much! I’m working on trying to get a print run of a book. I’ll post when it’s together!
[…] illustrator collaborates with her four-year-old daughter on some sketches. The result is kinda […]
These are absolutely amazing! What a beautiful collaboration. I teach art to kids and these just took my breath away. Thank you so much for sharing them.
Thank you, I’m so happy you enjoy them!
Insanely, beautifully, madly, gorgeously, freakishly, wonderfully, joyously fantastic. Damn. Love these to death.
Thank you so much!
These are AWESOME! Another suggestion would be to create a children’s fabric with them. I can see some beautiful quilts in my head.
Oh that’s a beautiful idea!!! I’ll have to give that a try, thank you!
This is brilliant. Seriously.
Wonderful! My daughter is in 7th grade and a full blown artist (as am I), and has been since she was itty bitty. Just like yours! Get ready to share lots and lots of supplies, until it she starts demanding her own!! But just like this collaboration, it’s wonderful. It just gets better and better. Thanks for sharing both your talents with us!
(Oh, and thanks for the link to the GoT embroidery! *swoons*)
These are absolutely amazing. You and your daughter will have wonderful memories of this for years to come! I think putting them together to make a book of some sort, would be beautiful.
Very very cool. I can learn something amazing from you here today. I don’t have kids yet, but I imagine myself being the SAME WAY! It’s mine, and I don’t want to share with you! I am also an only child so anyone using my supplies other than me is difficult to watch. Your story is beautiful and inspiring…so is the work you create! Just so very unique!!
i absolutely LOVE this idea! not sure if my daughter has the same attention span (she’s 4 as well), but i think i might give something like this a shot. oh, and your work makes me want to do caricatures again. maybe… 😉
Lulu.com (and probably lots of other places) will help you self-publish something like this. Self-publishing is surprisingly cheap, and they will probably help you format a physical book, and/or a pdf version. Either way, I think you should shop it around. That’s very marketable, in my strictly clueless opinion. Why not try?
Thanks so much! I most certainly will try!
These are so great! And what a great lesson they brought you both!
Mr. Beever is SO WONDERFUL. Thank you, and thank your daughter, for this gorgeous piece of art.