Be Yourself ~ Not As Easy As It Sounds in the ART World (And How to Draw a Grumpy Bunny)

The internet has made what Disney called a small world even smaller. We get information in the blink of an eye, and we are exposed to far more than any other time in history.

We can get news from the other side of the globe faster than if your neighbor ran over from next door. What was once underground and very hard to see can now be considered mainstream. 

The web has leveled the art playing field somewhat--what was once relegated to a very select group can now be viewed by millions with the right amount of retweets or shares.

We see hundreds if not thousands of images a day as visual artists. We are lucky enough to look at the work of our peers, and in a matter of seconds we can find millions of images to help as reference points for our work.

Looking at other beautiful artwork can certainly elevate our practice, but I feel it can't help but influence our style, too. When we see a color combination we love we get excited and want to try and incorporate it into our work too. A new medium can have us running to the store so we can try it at home.

It is hard enough to develop a style that is recognizable yet unique, and now we have to contend with the daily hyper-viewing of images.

I am not complaining! I love the web and I love that I can see all the lovely art I could I ever dream of. But I am just a tad more aware of the fact that I need to stay true to me and my style, and not get seduced by something bright and shiny.

Every Friday I will be sharing a video that is geared towards helping kids learn to draw. I will be demonstrating in a way I liked to learn as a child--with fun and fancy images that are easily repeated and not too complicated. This week it is the grumpy bunny from the image above.

Please feel free to share this post or video with any artistic little ones you may know.

This is an image from a book I illustrated a few years ago for author David Rowinski called The Open Pillow. Another style for PPF.

So get going! Draw draw draw with abandon--and help your kids do the same. Before you know it you will have your own amazing style.

xo

Drawn with the Kuretake brush pen.

Kid Magic

When we are young almost everything we experience is touched with a bit of magic.

The first-ness of our moments adds wonder and beauty to the most simple things. Glimpses of our day, like a butterfly gliding through our wisteria, feel as if they are visited by a Disney fairy godmother when we are little.

A walk through grandpa's garden is Narnia to the preschool set, and more rich and poignant than any CGI filled movie you could pay for.

But the lives of our little ones are chock-full of busy-ness. From homework in kindergarten to pee wee sports practice, our kid's lives are hectic. 

Reading and art allow children to slow down, to do something calming and centering. Unbeknownst to them, while they are munching along with Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar or roaring with the terrible beasts in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, they are expanding their imaginations and increasing their literacy skills.

If they can't read yet themselves, they sit with a loved one, experiencing closeness and developing an ability for meaningful discussions.

When given a paint brush and a blank canvas, children are allowed to expand their consciousness and develop creative and open-minded thinking. It awakens their senses and helps with problem solving skills. You do not have to tell them art is timeless, they delve into the moment and are somehow connected with the self-expression that has been part of humanity since the dawn of time. 

Appreciation of art and literature starts young, and happily they have no idea they are learning. Children have the special ability to have nothing attached to what they are doing--they are creating art or reading simply because they love it. There is no agenda attached to their creativity. They go with the flow, a gift that Picasso spoke about when he said "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist as we grow up." The magic in their completely un-self-conscious creativity allows them to be wholly in the moment, something we as adults can have a hard time with.

Our kids grow up so fast. Our days are filled with bills, cleaning, cooking, and a whole lot of reality. We are focused on test-taking in school and a very one sided IQ score that is probably decent at grading one's general knowledge base.

But what about creativity? What about those kids who are notoriously considered square pegs simply because the current system disallows for square holes?

The magic of childhood is lovely, and it would be nice to stretch at least some of that Abracadabra into our adult lives. 

Reading and art are two examples of wizardry that seamlessly moves with us as we grow. Along with the obvious advantages of reading to kids when they are young and allowing them to create unguided art, these bewitching gifts stick--they are endless presents of love that happily never have to end.

I'd love to know of any books or forms of art you loved as a child, and what made them special to you.

xo Dea