A reader in Canada sent me an email, asking if we had lessons to help her teach her 7-year-old son to draw “using his right brain.” Others have asked that question, too, so I am posting my reply in case it applies to other parents who are reading our blog.
Thank you for your email telling me of your interest in teaching your 7-year-old to draw. Unless your child is precocious in drawing, age 7 is a bit too young for the lessons contained in my book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
The sign of readiness in young children for more formal lessons is an interest in depicting 3-dimensional space: e.g., 3-dimensional figures, paths going back in space, size change of close and far objects, first attempts at foreshortening, etc. These signs of readiness usually show up in children’s drawings at around ages 8 or 9.
In the meantime, you can help prepare your child for learning to draw by drawing his/her attention to negative spaces, the shapes of shadows, apparent size changes of near and far objects, etc., and by viewing and talking about artworks in books. Better yet, visit museums and point out how an artist uses negative spaces, shadows and lights, size relationships, etc. Still more effective is drawing together with your child: an image of a favorite toy, for example.
I hope this is helpful. Your child is lucky to have a parent so interested in developing perceptual skills!
Betty Edwards