; the paintings did teach me to see objects as composed of many hues and colors and later, when I did crewel work, I changed patterns to more fully show these variations. I can't see that the  paint by number   would ever stifle someone's creativity. Rather, it provided a way for people to connect to art in a way they never had before, encourage them to visit "the real thing" at their local galleries and use the medium of an artist to create something they were proud of. My mother also gave us large pieces of blank paper, crayons, paint, chalk on which we could draw to our hearts' content.  paint by numbers   wasn't the exclusive artwork we did. When my own boys were young I never thought to give them the kits to try; were they still available in stores? I wonder why I didn't think of  paint by number ? Seeing your Web page brings thoughts of these paintings to mind for the first time in years.