My son’s got you covered. He loves to draw. So far his favorite thing to draw are black voids. He draws them in his coloring book, on our bed, or over other people’s faces.
Boo Boo has not seen Joker and is not familiar with his notebook, but Boo Boo has his own coloring book and sometimes the content looks similar, stylistically speaking. Boo Boo and the Joker both use bold, heavy strokes, and they both favor black ink. But the style is reminiscent of other drawings you see in horror films. Which ones? I don’t freaking remember, but I feel like there are as many horror films that have creepy black void drawings as there are horror films with a creepy doll voice that says mama. Horror films have one or the other.
I can see how one who is not familiar with the way that toddlers work could see their drawings and be totally creeped out. Besides the obvious fact that they’re working on their hand-eye coordination anyone who has encountered a toddler knows they do everything passionately, and nothing delicately. Their voices are loud and bold, and so are their coloring techniques. Boo Boo’s drawings are reminiscent of his tray after dinner. Covering the surface area of a piece of paper with black ink is akin to smearing avocado on the blank canvass of the tray. The only difference is the medium.
I love Boo Boo’s black void drawings. They mean five more minutes for me to drink my coffee, or wash dishes, or chop up an extra garnish for tacos. Sometimes these drawings afford me even more time than that. Before he started drawing there was no way I could park Boo Boo at the dinner table for a whole twenty minutes without him trying to climb onto the table and steal our coffee, grab my glasses, or go through our mail. But now, as long as there is a piece of paper and a drawing utensil, I know he’ll be content scribbling away.
In some ways though it is true that we’ve created a monster, but not because of his drawings. Not only does Boo Boo love drawing, but he also loves it when we draw with him. Every time he draws he wants us to draw with him. It’s like a tax we have to pay. Earlier this seek he was drawing at his high chair while I cooked dinner.
I was chopping onions when suddenly I heard a chorus: “Draw. Draw. Draw. Draw.”
I looked over my shoulder to see Boo Boo holding a blue crayon, which he raised toward my general direction. “Draw.”
While he did not raise his voice, Boo Boo’s persistence made it clear that this was not a suggestion, it was a mandate. And so I drew a sun on the back of a used cereal box we were using for a canvass and went back to chopping. Five minutes later, after I put some refried beans on the stove, I was beckoned to draw some more, so I drew a heart. After adding some cumin to the peppers and onions I drew a car. By the time dinner was ready Boo Boo and I had filled our canvass.
After a whole month of zealous drawing and much learning (Boo Boo knows now that paper is the surface he is allowed to draw on), we now have quite a little art collection.
Please Don't Lick the Taxi 
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