Frustrated at the way his watercolor paintings were turning out, Byron Carr was ready to throw away his paints.

“I started with watercolors and did lousy with it. I essentially gave up and went back to acrylics,” said Carr, of Contoocook.

“I thought I might as well use up the paint, and then it dried and came out great.”

Years before his watercolor discovery, Carr was sitting in his apartment at the Vespar George School of Art in Boston, when he came up with the idea for children’s book that developed around a simple illustration.

He worked on the idea, found financial backers and, in 1988, he published “Doodles,” which took the basic shape of a mushroom and adapted it into illustrations for basic words.

Carr will now be sharing his illustrating experiences with Hopkinton families, as he will be running a “Meet the Author Drawing Class,” hosted by the Recreation Department, on Saturday, May 10, at Columbia Hall.

The class is for children ages 4 through 8, and their parents. Carr’s books will be on sale for $5, with 50 percent of proceeds going to the food pantry. The presentation costs $5 for parent and one child, and $1 for each additional child. All supplies are included. There will be two sessions, 1 to 2 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m. Call 746-2915 to register.

During the class, Carr will tell children and their parents how he became interested in creating his children’s book, and help them get started creating their own doodles.

“It’s a lot of fun. You can see (the children’s) brains working, thinking about the problem of creating the illustration. It’s a challenge for them,” said Carr, will run his first class since 1994. “They succeed in their own small way, each and every one of them, and that’s a reward to get people thinking and drawing.”

Part of the theme of the class is getting families drawing together, as Carr requires each child who attends the class to do so with a parent.

“That’s important to have them working with the kids, spending time drawing with them. That’s a big aspect of it,” he said.

Carr said no matter how many years he’s spent as an artist, he still has a hard time being satisfied with the final product.

“Having it come out as good as you want, it never does. You have to say, ‘I want to do better,’ but that’s the best I can do at this point,” Carr said.

One obstacle for young artists is becoming frustrated, said Carr. He hopes to teach children based on his experience that the next painting could be the best.

“Usually the problem is people quit when it gets difficult, and it does get difficult. People get frustrated,” said Carr. “Don’t quit before the magic happens. I almost did one painting before that magic happened.”