our little bird is a picasso.

he will stack and climb bar stools and yoga blocks, tricycles and throw pillows to get his hands on a forbidden stash of markers. this child has an endless supply of paper AND a giant cardboard rocket ship opon which to illustrate his brilliance.

but alas… he prefers the walls.

there was a time when i would frantically scrub down the bird’s “canvases” with all manor of products guaranteed to erase even the most stubborn toddler doodles. but i got tired of my surroundings looking smudgy, like the back of that “soul-glow”-covered sofa in the movie coming to america:

so i no longer make any effort to eliminate the bird’s masterpieces. i even took a cue from my friend autumn, and i put a frame around this particularly nice mixed-media piece that the bird did with his cousins on thanksgiving:

pen, ink, marker, boogers, and eye pencil on flat latex

the bird knows that drawing on the walls comes with consequences. it is now common for him to fetch cleaning supplies himself or to retreat to his room for self-imposed time-outs. but to him, these are but small prices to pay for the thrill of making his very own mark on the world.

crayon on glass

to the bird, everything is an art supply. toothpaste is a turquoise sky. chocolate is a muddy swamp. and strawberries… well, who knows what they’re supposed to be.

strawberries on latex flat

i am seriously contemplating drawing on the walls myself. after all, we will already have to have the entire house re-painted in a few years (and possibly sanded first). why not follow the lead of virginia wolf and her friends, whose entire home in england is full of unconventionally placed art:

if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.