My son, the child of two artists, isn’t better than any other kid. Does he have Gagosian-worthy drawing skills? Maybe it’s my bitchy French parent side when I respond, “mais non”. He’s just a kid who likes to draw. And I let him do just that. Before he is indoctrinated with the right way to draw a stick figure, he can just enjoy putting paint to paper for what it is.
I’ve always aspired to have that adaptable, well behaved child who can pop into a vernissage after a long day of school and not turn into surprise “performance art”. They do exist! But how can I continue nourishing his eye for art and beauty along with fostering empathy? Before he makes the ultimate decision to become a doctor or lawyer (classic MIL joke), he’s got to fine-tune his eye!
Some thoughts on the matter…
Life as art. It’s not just about beauty being reserved for gallery settings, but pointing out beauty when it is seen IRL. Otherwise it silos art into a special occasion kind of place. Point out the colors in a beautiful sunset or an animal form in a cloud. Being an artist is a lot about seeing and collecting references. And this is how it begins, with curiosity.
Ask questions. Here are a few questions I asked him at a recent visit to the Fondation Louis Vuitton to see the new Mark Rothko retrospective, which aren’t too different from those I ask my drawing students. How does the color make you feel? How do you think the artist constructed this? What was the first layer in the painting? What about how the artist made marks? (NOTE: THIS WAS THE PORTION OF THE VISIT WHERE HIS RESPONSE TO ALL MY QUESTIONS WAS “STOP!”) Can you see how the brushstrokes were applied? What is your favorite painting in this gallery? And why? If you don’t like something, explain why not. Do you find anything surprising? How would you draw this yourself? How would you describe the style of Mark Rothko?
Child’s play. One evening my son proclaimed he learned about a super musician and dancer named Jackson Pollack. “Jackson Pollack?” His hands went into a limp wristed box step dance and he shouted “srillerrrrrrr”. “Ah Michael Jackson!” “Yes, MY-kil JACQUES-sonne.” Call me old-fashioned, but aren’t French school children supposed to be learning about bunnies, cabbages and escargots? Michael Jackson has yet to be cancelled in France, but at least he learned two artist references at school. Kuddos to his teacher for doing art projects inspired by the permanent collection at the Centre Pompidou. It makes it very relevant even for the 4-year old. If you see an exhibition, how can you adapt it to an interesting art project at home?
Keep it up. Sometimes he responds more to the vending machine than the Impressionists. Can’t win them all! Limit your museum visit to under an hour to maximize the attention span. Don’t underestimate what they can appreciate. If kids witness your own love of art, it will wear off on them eventually.
Keep your head up, dear reader. And don’t drink the watercolor water. -jkw
Hi Jessie! We have 6 kids so we had group projects. Several we did together were, food art, peanut butter playdough(homemade), cut up little pieces of colored paper and we would glue them down to make something like an apple or banana or strawberry that was sitting in the middle of the table. When we were done, we would eat the fruit. Shadow art on paper to fine tune the ability to follow a line. Get a roll of butcher paper and trace around his body when he's lying down on it and have him color it in the colors of the season. Cut out sponge butterflies and flowers and let him decorate a landscape murel where you paint the grass and trees and sky. We did that on a bedroom wall once. Tissue paper collage.....later in life one of my daughters made it a regular habit of inviting her friends over to do art together ❤️.