When it comes to the quality of art supplies, you get what you pay for. I've learned this the hard way over the years. I remember as a little kid the frustration of trying to use cheaply made colored pencils--I spent more time sharpening them than coloring because the tips kept breaking off. Recently, I bought a container of off brand colored markers because they were cheap--they dried out within a couple weeks. Crayons that are more wax than color, pens that dry up or bleed out, paint that dries inside the bottle, I could go on. Junky art materials are the bane of my existence. It's better to pay a bit more and get something you can use for longer.
Now I'm not advocating buying Windsor and Newton products for your five year old. Obviously, the skill and interest level of your kid plays a part in what kind of art supplies you'll be buying. The child who just scribbles something out to get the art project done probably won't care as much as the kid who labors for hours on one picture. What I'm saying is Crayola is way better than some dollar store knock off. I'm a big fan of Crayola--I still use their products today when I'm creating. I throw some higher end materials in the mix when it's necessary (nothing beats a good quality pastel), but Crayola or Sharpie products do the job just fine for the majority of what I make. I use acrylic paint in bottles that I buy from Michael's for my paintings that hang in galleries. Good art supplies don't need to break the bank. Just don't get cheap off brand junk because you're worried about your child "wasting" it. Kids can get turned off to making art if the materials they're using don't do what they want. It's hard to draw if your pencil's tip keeps breaking off or your crayon falls apart. A little investment is required for making a work of art you want to keep.
Now here's another thing I've run into: the concept of "wasting" art supplies. What I mean by this is, "Only use the nice drawing paper for a really good picture." Or, "I shouldn't experiment with these paints--they cost this much. I'll wait until I have a better idea." I'm guilty of this myself. You'll never make anything if you're worried about how much you paid for this or that. It can really stop a kid's creativity in its tracks if they're only allowed to use the nice art stuff for "good" pictures. I remember in high school, I wouldn't paint something unless I was positive I could make it perfect. There were a lot of pictures I never made because I was too worried about "wasting" the art materials in case I messed up and had to start over.
During college I realized that the only way to improve my art skills was to "waste" what I had: making piles of drawings for Drawing 101, most of them not very good, to get a few great pictures I was proud of. Going through charcoal pencils and erasers like candy on my way to learning the fundamentals of perspective and anatomy. Spending time and effort on art projects I ended up throwing away or painting over. But every drawing, sculpture or painting I made was a stepping stone to the next level of ideas and skills. Those bad drawings helped me to get to where I could draw a person in five minutes pretty well. Or when I first started out making my doily paintings, I couldn't draw them freehand like I can now. I had to trace them over and over again until I had mastered that skill. Today I can create those patterns in multiple mediums pretty much with my eyes closed. And the art I create in the future will be based on the ideas I play around with now.
That's a big thing that's not indulged very often anymore: the idea of play. There's so much focus on accomplishment and doing something that the thought of simply dinking around with paint or crayons is looked down upon. We must impart the different kinds of perspective, or understand the history of the arch, or learn the various kinds of paint, or whatever for the art lesson to have importance. Yes. those all have merit, and art history is important...but sometimes a little bit of freedom and exploration is good too. I was allowed to make messes (as long as I cleaned up after myself). Having the opportunity to create simply because I wanted to. Coming up with an idea on my own, figuring it out and then making it. That was just as important to fostering my love for the arts as going to art museums or taking classes. I can lose sight of that myself sometimes: There are days when I get too focused and serious with my art making, and then I realize I just need to splatter some paint around or just start gluing things to a canvas and see what happens. I'll pull out my crayons and scribble in my sketchbook. I'll make a collage from clippings from magazines. Just something to remind myself that art is about exploring and trying new things.
A really good book on this topic that I've been working my way through recently is The Creative License by Danny Gregory. It's subtitled "giving yourself permission to be the artist you truly are." That's what it's all about: giving ourselves and our kids the chance to use and explore our creativity. I highly suggest this book. Seriously, go out and buy it. It's one of the best art books I've ever read (and I've read a lot of them). It's a pleasure to read, chockfull of pictures on every page, and a warm, conversational tone to the book. It's like sneaking a peek at the author's journal. You can read through it quickly or you can go page by page, following the suggested activities. It'd be a great addition to your art curriculum. The Creative License is aimed at adults, but you could definitely adapt it for use with your child. Buy sketchbooks for you and your kids, and go through it together. The book is broken into two page sections for the most part, so each day you can read that pretty quickly and have a short activity to do. There's things to do like drawing your sandwich or a bagel, listing the contents of your purse, tracing the outline of your shoe. Simple stuff that gets the creative juices flowing. I'm not one to really endorse something heavily, but this book is hands down fantastic. It's just fun to read.
So, in summary my point is: have fun. Don't get hung up on making the next great masterpiece. Give your kids the room to play and explore with nice art supplies that don't break your budget. Picasso and Da Vinci made a few messes and mistakes along the way too.
