Most people believe that kids’ drawings are poorly drawn or strange. In 1997, David Devries looked at some that his niece had done, but he had a much different reaction. He saw how the original, unselfconscious, and creative they were: “The goal of illustration has always been communication. A child, however, ignores the idea of mass communication by creating images solely from his or her mind. Often, a parent must ask the child to describe what exactly the young artist is drawing.” Pablo Picasso’s entire artistic style was based on that notion and he has been quoted as saying: “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

Devries began working with children’s drawings and created paintings that were based off of the drawings his niece did. He began doing demonstrations at schools and universities, and over time he was able to distill the process into a few simple steps. To begin he projects the original drawing onto a canvas and traces each line. Using the outline he fills in the rest using acrylic, airbrush, or colored pencil until he is satisfied. The result is surreal, child-like art that at the same time is quite sophisticated. After completing the painting he interviews the child who drew the original and asks about their reaction to final product.

The process is simple. I project a child’s drawing with an opaque projector, faithfully tracing each line. Applying a combination of logic and instinct, I then paint the image as realistically as I can. My medium is mixed—primarily acrylic, airbrush, and colored pencil.

He has written a book called “The Monster Engine” which includes drawings, paintings, photos, and interviews.

There is a gallery of some of his paintings below, and you can find more at themonsterengine.com.

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