Opinion

Colouring in books are for kids, not adults

Should colouring in be left to the kids?
Should colouring in be left to the kids? Should colouring in be left to the kids?

Far be it from me to criticise other people’s leisure pursuits, but I fail to understand the current craze for adult colouring books. There’s something rather sad about it.

There’s a place for ‘colouring in’. It’s at the bottom end of the school curriculum – a valuable exercise in the development of small children’s fine motor skills.

Ability to colour without going over the lines marks a graduation from the scribbling stage to the degree of control necessary for learning to write.

It’s charming to see a mixed infant, head bent, tongue protruding from the side of the mouth, concentrating fiercely on keeping within the lines. It’s incongruous to see a fully-grown adult doing the same.

Maybe they didn’t have enough creative and expressive experiences in their early years? While colouring serves a specific educational purpose for children, it can’t be said it does the same for adults. One isn’t ‘creating’ a picture, merely finishing off somebody else’s.

It reminds me of ‘painting by numbers’ which once enjoyed a brief vogue – “Create your own Mona Lisa or Van Gogh’s Sunflowers” – but let’s face it, nobody ever mistook either for the original.

It wasn’t art, just a mechanical exercise. Art is free, flowing and creative, inspired by the imagination. The fruits of the imagination are new and unique to every individual. Spontaneous doodling in a boring meeting is creativity of a sort. Filling in the ‘o’s on the agenda sheet is not. Colouring in is for people too timid or lacking the skills to express themselves.

It’s amazing the number of adults who declare, “I can’t draw.” Yet every child can draw, but something happens along the way to persuade them they’re not much good at it. It could be the unwary parent who asks, “What’s that supposed to be?” (Might I recommend the phrase, “Tell me about your picture…” as a failsafe formula against psychological damage.) Perhaps it’s a teacher who fails to praise their efforts. Maybe it’s a home environment devoid of parental interest, materials or activities to develop the imagination. Hero of the hour is the parent who, presented with an indistinguishable splodge, sticks the picture to the fridge door as proudly as if it’s an original Picasso.

Quite often on adult creative writing courses, participants are asked to draw as a stimulus to the imagination. This is invariably greeted by a dismayed chorus of “But I can’t draw!” by fully-grown adults, (some of them teachers.) Much blandishment and reassurance is necessary from the facilitator. There follows an undignified scrimmage to ‘bagsy’ the favourite crayons, coloured pencils and felt pens of their youth. It’s just like kindergarten, only with bigger chairs. Significantly, when it comes to the ‘show and tell’, most begin by apologising for the quality of their picture.

We all carry a creative spark within. The trouble is, discovering it. Upbringing, circumstances and lack of opportunity may well have almost extinguished it, but many in their senior years find within them a talent that has lain dormant for years.

I know any number of post-retirement painters, potters, crafters and writers who revel in their new-found creativity. They describe the experience as akin to pulling the cork out of a bottle and letting the creative juices flow. The results, however flawed, are original and spur them on to hone and refine their skills. It’s a developmental process and hugely satisfying to say with pride: “All my own work.”

Before a letter of complaint floods in, I suppose we’d better consider the merits of adult colouring books. Fans describe the activity as soothing, relaxing and positively therapeutic. True, it focuses a busy mind, aids concentration, fosters an appreciation of the subtle gradations of colour and the end result is hugely satisfying.

All valid reasons, but working to someone else’s blueprint is hardly conducive to developing one’s own. Still, whatever floats your boat.

Government is forever sternly reminding us we’re ‘living in an era of lifelong learning’. Hot on the heels of their colouring books’ unlikely and phenomenal success, publishers are currently rushing to press a series of ‘join-the-dots’ books.

Gawdelpus all…