Gotta Have It.

Isn't this Yin and Yang or  a Mandala or something mystical?
This just came off the kid's finger out of his head which is totally
unschooled in spiritual things. I thought Bill Cook of William Cook's art
would find this doodled design  interesting.

JD's iPad Oeuvre

I 've got to sell some paintings and buy some iPads for my grandkids. They've got to have the latest, greatest art pad of their era. Since they've been here, JD has used mine nearly everyday. This top design tells me the kid has ability that's worth nurturing.  It's more developed than his first works. Sophisticated

actually--though subliminal.

Until my iPad, he didn't draw. He played video games, soccer, football, wrestled--all the stuff that all the other kids do in after school programs that cost a fortune, turn parents into coaches who actually think they know better than real coaches , and send the kids to physical therapy before their time, (I was the oldest person in PT last year. The rest of the patients were nine years old through high school age. All sports injuries).

JD's Yellow brick road, which would lead him out of this mad house
to somewhere where no adult was telling him he can't go to Game Stop.

You saw this first try with the iPad. I thought I'd show it again  since
it's in  his iPad oeuvre and does display his fearless use of color.

Untitled. But  it may be a portrait?This looks like some
sort of TVcartoon character I've surfed  by. Why do all
of them gave square heads and sponge pants--Oh I get it!

A positive and negative look at anger. JD's developing his first
series. It has to do with his feelings towards his sister who does
tend to get a bit bossy and hoggish and insistent on having things
her way.  Art is a wonderful way for kids to speak their minds
in a very personal language.

This artwork was done by JD's dad, my son Jon, thirty five years ago when he was ten.
The devil jumping out of the sky is Jon. The kid on the balcony is his oldest brother Steve.
The shorter kid below is his brother second oldest brother Mike and his target. The two shared
a room, but Mike never let Jon in.What I like about this picture is it's expressive nature.
The house is on fire. (I'm guessing Ellis and I are the house and we're on fire because he obviously didn't think
 we stood up for him as much as he thought we should). NOTE the structure of
the roof. That's the outstanding part. Not only does the chimney suggest there's a complicated roofing system,
but it has two plumbing vents in it! Unusual things in a ten year old's drawing.  Today, Jon can build any structure.

Art can tell us who are children really are and what they are thinking about stuff. I encouraged it at home as did all of you I'm know. Mine were allowed  in the watercolors, the crayons, the paints, the pastels, the clay. 

I wanted them to find the freedom of expression available to them with those things. The rest of the world our kids lived turned art off. They cut it from their formal education. They kept music,  (or who would play in the band at HS football games and later in college), but not the art room with it's fantastic smells of paints and glues. Luckily, our art museum has a children's program every Sunday.  If it rains today, that's where we'll head. They're teaching mosaics and pottery. If the pot falls and won't hold flowers. it's a great spoon rest. Don't need a spoon rest? How about a paper weight? Art teaches you to be humble, be proud, be flexible, be creative, be free.  AND IT ALSO MAKES OUR HOMES MORE DECORATIVE, --Okay, I'll get off my soap box and see if the kids are up.