Why Do So Many Children's Artworks Look the Same?
Updated: 3 hours ago
Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” This is probably one of Picasso’s most famous quotes—and perhaps one of the most frequently used slogans in children’s art centres. You see it on walls, websites and flyers. Even parents who have never considered that their child might have much artistic talent may find it hard to resist a slogan that seems to suggest: perhaps my child, too, could become the next Picasso.
Yet when you look at the children’s artworks displayed in some of these centres, a contradiction begins to emerge. Despite quoting Picasso, the adults seem to have much less faith in children’s own art than the quote suggests.
In these art centres, art is taught to young children in a rigid and structured manner. If you're not sure what I'm referring to, I'm sure you've seen this kind of photo posted on social media—children smiling at the camera, each holding a piece of artwork so similar to the others that the whole scene looks almost like a celebration of sameness. Yes, these artworks came from little hands—probably with the hidden big hand of a teacher—but they are strikingly alike, almost as if they had rolled off the same assembly line in the early days of the Industrial Revolution.
Of course, some art centres oppose this approach. What they do is provide children with a basic framework and a set of steps to follow, then encourage them to add their own bits and pieces here and there, proudly announcing, "We are preserving children's creativity."
Parents—who aren't necessarily equipped with the knowledge to judge an art centre's educational philosophy—are usually pleased with what their kids bring home: artwork that is neat, presentable, and shows a level of complexity—something the kids couldn't have produced on their own at home.
In my art teaching practice, I often have parents of young children tell me, "I would like you to teach them some advanced skills so they can draw properly." Explaining why this isn't always the best approach can be just as challenging with parents as it is with many art teachers. Some argue, "If kids need lessons to play the piano, why is teaching visual art skills a problem?"or "Without basic skills, how will they turn their imagination into a drawing?"
Here's what I believe: art comes naturally to young children, and their creations have value in their own right. Teaching technical skills too early can do more harm than good.
Don't get me wrong—I'm not saying kids shouldn't learn skills at all. What I mean is that skills shouldn't be drilled through a rigid curriculum. Instead, they should come naturally—when a child is ready, interested, and when those skills help bring their ideas to life, not the other way around.
When Picasso said, "Every child is an artist,' I don't think he was talking about technical skills. The way I understand it, kids have a natural freedom to express themselves. Give them a pencil, and they'll create without hesitation—spontaneously, joyfully, and without worrying about the end result.
Let's imagine a child spotting a bird—watching how it moves, how its wings catch the light. He feels something stir inside him, an urge to capture the moment. But words don't quite do it, so instead, he picks up a pencil and starts to draw—just like a poet who feels the need to write a poem before the feeling fades. It's as natural as a bird singing.
He doesn't need to know the bird's anatomy or how to draw perfect lines, and he couldn't care less whether his drawing looks impressive. All that matters is getting that moment of inspiration onto paper. His work might lack detail, seem unfinished, or even look abstract, but through his lines and colours, we see something real—his own response to what he has seen and felt. To him, the bird isn't just an object; it's a fleeting moment, an experience that has touched him in some way. His drawing isn't about replicating reality—it's about expressing his experience of life.
That's why telling kids what their art 'should' look like—and how to make it—can easily stifle that instinctive creativity.
Why do kids create art this way? Perhaps because they don't yet separate what they see from what they feel in quite the same way adults often do. Their inner experience and the world around them can become intertwined in what they create. What they put on paper isn't just a picture; it's also something of how they experienced that moment. And they don't overthink it. They just create—freely, without too much doubt, judgement, or worrying about whether it 'looks right'.
This kind of raw, uninhibited expression is something many adults seem to lose as they grow older. It's what I think Picasso's famous quote points towards—and, funnily enough, the very thing many art teachers, with the best of intentions, end up stamping out.
It took me four years to learn to draw like Raphael, but a lifetime to learn to draw like a child.- Picasso
It's never too late to pick up skills. In fact, many technical skills can be learnt later, when children have better hand-eye coordination and are more able to understand complex concepts. But that authenticity, inner freedom, and courage? Once they're lost, they're much harder to get back.
That's why I don't 'teach' young kids what their art should look like—I give them the space and inspiration to explore, express, and create in their own way. I believe that knowing how to express themselves through art is something that will stay with them for life, whether they end up as professional artists or not.
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken" — Anonymous (often attributed to Oscar Wilde)
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