ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Monday, April 7, 1997                  TAG: 9704080030
SECTION: NEWSFUN                  PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOHN GRIESSMAYER THE ROANOKE TIMES 

WHAT DOES YOUR COLORING SAY ABOUT YOU? EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM COLORING

You can tell a lot about people from the way they color.

For instance, I take coloring very seriously. I think for a long time before I ever put crayon to paper.

I like my suns yellow, my grass green and my skies sky blue. I always sign my name in the bottom right-hand corner of the page, and I never, ever color outside the lines.

I also tend to favor the traditional crayon colors. In my big box of Crayolas, the red, blue and green crayons are worn down to dull nubs while the fluorescent crayons remain almost as pointy as the day I bought them.

The fancy-schmancy glittery crayons don't do much for me. I could go a lifetime without ever picking up a ne-

on pink.

My sister, on the other hand, has always been a free-spirited colorer. In her world, it would not be unusual to see a magenta sun setting slowly in a goldenrod sky while a jungle green cow feeds on a field of periwinkle grass.

When she was young, her drawings often had people with more than one head. She's open-minded that way. The lines, to her, are only suggestions.

Her colors of choice are the bright ones: carnation pink, silver, purple mountain's majesty. "Blue is boring," is her motto. "Plain green is for old ladies. Brown? What's brown?"

Like our coloring styles, my sister and I have much different personalities. I am very serious. She is casual and easy-going.

She loves taking risks and trying new foods and experiences. I once ate the same exact lunch three months in a row. She likes parties and dancing and loud music and getting in trouble. I like naps.

Working with crayons brings out a person's true colors, so to speak.

The Crayon Hog always keeps all the crayons to himself. He always has the best colors and never shares. He might, however, let you borrow a broken burnt sienna for 50 cents. The Crayon Hog never lets you play with his new toys, either.

The Paranoid never lets anyone else see what she's drawing. She keeps her arm around her drawing like a prison wall and constantly accuses other kids of copying. The Paranoid is the same girl who thinks everyone is talking about her behind her back.

The Picasso takes art very seriously, but no one can ever figure out exactly what he's drawn. His work is characterized by bright colors and people with way too many eyes, noses or fingers. The Picasso is a misunderstood genius with a secret crush on the art teacher.

The Old Stand-by always draws the same exact picture every single time, no matter what: Same family of stick figures standing in front of the same boxy house. Same tree in the yard. Same V-shaped birds flying overhead. Same yellow sun. The Old Stand-by eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day for lunch.

Henry Hungry gets in trouble every day for eating his crayons. He says the blue crayons taste like blueberries, but he also eats paste, so he's not a reliable source. Henry Hungry always swallows his milk money by 10 o'clock.

The Pink Ladies color everything pink, no matter what. Do not stand between a Pink Lady and a pink crayon or you will be injured. Pink Ladies are big Barbie fans and are all in the same ballet class.

The He-Man ruins art time for everybody else because he colors too hard and breaks all the crayons. He uses very dark colors in his drawings and his desk is full of broken crayon stubs. The He-Man is sometimes the class bully.

Finally, Mr. Perfect is the best colorer in the class and he knows it. According to Mr. Perfect, there just isn't a fridge in the world big enough to display all of his masterpieces. If Mr. Perfect's work doesn't get a smiley face, he sulks in the coat closet until his mom picks him up from school.

So what kind of colorer are you? Are you the fussy perfectionist that never colors outside the lines?

Or are you a risk-taker who prefers your trees to be bright purple?

Whatever your preferences, just be glad the world is made up of some people who like bright colors and some who like dull colors. It makes sharing a box of crayons so much nicer.

After all, it wouldn't be any fun if all 64 crayons were timberwolf gray.

LENGTH: Medium:   77 lines