I finally made a trip to my nieces’ house and brought my pretty white canvas for them to paint on. =D What I also enjoy observing about children’s work is the way they start to paint on a pretty white canvas without hesitation. They did not take any time to decide on where to start or what to draw – it is so spontaneous that we as grown ups fail to understand their thoughts.

They all started with their favourite colour pink and drew many flowers and trees – guess that is what they like. They did not really care if the paint was even, but rather focused on using colours they preferred like pink, red and yellow. I prompted them to paint on by suggesting different colours or adding objects to the sky when they were a little stuck.

I also like to trace how they draw and use their space. They both started painting the flowers, houses and grasses and proceeded upwards to the sky and flying birds and butterflies, then the balloons and raindrops, completed with the yellow sun. They didn’t really like white spaces very much, so towards the end, they, especially Erin, filled more white spaces with red and green (on the right). Pointing to the green patch, I asked what was it and they did not reply. They were very engrossed and painted in blocks of colour randomly wherever they thought it would fit in, focusing on the aesthetic appeal rather than its relevance to reality.

Erin even added a dark blue patch she claimed was a scarecrow. What was most cute was that although they were both left-handers, Erin also tried to use her right hand to paint. They did not just hold a paintbrush like we do, but roll them from sided to side in many different imaginative ways as possible! How creative! =D

This is the final work. I contributed the little yellow flower at the left end. It is the most disfigured flower out of the three. hahas.
Comment VI: Broken egg
Posted in Comments on September 19, 2008 by cxytrixieHi Zhengyan!
I think the most well-captured part of this sketching is the egg itself- both the yolk and liquid white. It is interesting that you have captured the the liquidity of the egg white very well, and the egg yolk looks round and yummy too. The subtle tones are also captured very effectively using just black pens… wow, even if it is last minute work, it is still very detailed! =)
http://nilyave.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/025-broken-egg/
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