Coloring with Water, or, Stages of Life
When I was little, I loved coloring with water. It was so easy and so fun. I forget whether I even thought about the limitations of coloring with water, but I loved the immediacy, the instantaneous appearance of reds, blues, greens. And I loved the crinkly paper after the water has dried.
Color by number
I don't get to choose my own colors. Colors are preselected and prescribed. Trees are green and brown. Suns are yellow or orange. Sleeping Beauty is always blond and in a blue dress. Someone else tells me what to do. #1 is always one color, #2 is another, #3 is yet another. The challenge is in following the instructions.
Color with water
The least amount of work required. Although I can't choose my own colors, or undo the coloring once the water has been applied, I don't have to worry about coloring only inside the lines. In fact, the lines don't really matter. The joy is in seeing the colors appear, in seeing what was hidden appear so magically before my eyes.
Coloring
I choose the colors, I change colors, and I swap colors out. I can leave the images blank, or I can draw them white. I can redraw the images or change their shapes. Something so delicious in bringing colors to the paper.. Crayons, paint, color pencils, or markers
Check out Dora the Explorer's Water Wow Doodle Book!
