Can we talk about this picture for a minute? My 4 y.o. came home from preschool with it the other day and it’s been adorning our kitchen wall ever since.
The boy is getting to be quite the artist, I’ll give him that. It wasn’t so long ago he was bringing home deformed blobs of Play-Doh dotted with buttons and macaroni and pronouncing it “birthday cake.”
What gets me is the level of detail in his family portrait. He’s colored himself green (his favorite shade), aptly depicted his baby brother with red hair, and even included his dad’s Adam’s apple. And yet he couldn’t even give HIS OWN MOM hair or a nose?!
Now, I do like how he drew me with blue feet. Perhaps that’s a nod to my stylish footwear. But what’s with the crazy, bendy pose at the top of the page? Is this symbolic of how I bend over backwards for my family? How I tie myself in knots to cater to my kids? Or did he (more likely) simply run out of room after drawing the rest of the family? Thanks, kid. Thanks a lot.
It’s like the time he gave me a Mother’s Day card with what I thought was a lovingly rendered portrait of his mom. Nope. He set me straight: “It’s a candy machine.”
Of course, his Father’s Day card WAS adorned with a picture of his dad … and his dad’s smelly sneakers, complete with wavy lines to illustrate how the stench was wafting out of the shoes. Very life-like.
Miles’ favorite things to draw, however, seem to be animals. There was his koala period, when every marsupial was, oddly, drawn with a belly button. Dogs and cats are popular subjects. Then he moved on to his licensed-character phase: Mickey Mouse, Kung Fu Panda, and the Pink Panther. (Or, when he can’t find a pink marker, the Purple Panther.)
At age 4, my boy is certainly a prolific artist. Now the only question is, what do I do with all this artwork? I’m running out of room on the fridge. Maybe if he’d draw a decent picture of ME sometime, I’d even get it framed.
LINK O’ THE WEEK: Minky Moo’s portrait of another young artist, aka The Boss.
9/24/10
Portrait By a Young Artist
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7 comments:
Mail some of it to relatives. My family goes gaga over our 18mo's scribbles. Don't tell, but I keep all the best ones for me. :)
Diary of a New Mom
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Lady, you crack me up. The portrait of you is somewhat suspect, but perhaps he ran out of room on top of the page and had no choice to make you "bend over backwards." To me, you look like one of the Sneetches.
I just LOVED this post - reminded me of one I did for my lil Zachy (http://jenniferfairman.com/family/?p=1332). I am biased because illustration is what I do for a living. So here's a suggestion of what to do with artwork: I just went to IKEA to get two inexpensive picture frames and put tow of his pictures above his changing table. You can chose 2 or 3 of your favorites (or ask your son what his favorites are) and frame them for his room, or wherever you like. Put the rest of the artwork in a scrapbook - it'll be fun to see how his work evolves over the years ;)
I'd say your child is seriously talented in art! That is great! I see the humour, but think about it... that's more than just your average stick man! :)
My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
Adia drew a family portrait at preschool last week. There were 5 people in it, but they were mom, dad, gramma, DiDi and herself. She told me she forgot her sisters. Umm.. whoops?
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