Recent Art Work

The 4yo has rarely drawn people in his artwork, which I attribute largely to a lack of interest in the subject matter. He would much rather draw complex vehicles and boats. 

In the first few art lessons in this new art school, he resisted the suggestions from the teachers to draw people. 

However, ever since I talked to him about the importance of efforts in whatever we do and the principle of giving every challenge 'our best shot', he has opened his mind and become more receptive. 

So here is a selection of his recent pieces from his last two art lessons. 

Above: He was asked to draw people. Whoever, however he likes. He drew Mama and himself. 

Above: Then the class was guided to draw a 'singer holding a microphone'. The teacher drew on her paper in front of the class. The kids were free to draw their own singer and add other elements on the artwork. 

He is the only kid to draw audience and a dancer accompanying the singer. Everyone else drew just the singer and stage backdrop. So the teacher was full of praises for his originality.

Above: A self-expression piece. He drew two boats.

Above: Another self-expression piece. According to him, it is Mama on a boat, watching the fishes. Notice how his drawing of the person is already much better proportion-wise after just one lesson. The teacher claimed there was no suggestion nor correction from the teachers on this piece. 

Above: The topic was to draw bird. He said he didn't know how. So the teacher drew a bird soaring in the air. He disagreed and wanted to draw his own version. Everyone in class drew a solo bird with clouds in the sky. 

He was the only kid to draw a bird with its wings by the side (he said it was resting), a nest with eggs and a baby bird next to it. I love the comic effect of the tree he added, which has another baby bird standing on it. :)  Again, the teacher commented on how he is sure of what he wants to draw and doesn't get swayed by peers' ideas.

Above: Painted with brush, entirely on his own, without any pencil drawing or outline. He said the bird is ready to fly, hence spreading its wings.

Above: The topic was to paint koi. He refused as he said he doesn't know how it looks like. So he painted goldfish instead. Done directly with brush, no pre-drawing with pencil.

Above: The topic was to paint a pot of Mandarin Orange plant. While the other kids painted a small plant in a neat looking pot, he insisted of painting stripes on the pot to make it prettier and a large plant that is overflowing with leaves and fruits.

There are a couple more pieces which aren't really artwork. More like pieces which the school used to assess the kids' development and creativity. I was surprised when I looked at those at first. The teachers were quick to praise him for his creativity and how he thinks out-of-the-box, which they deem rather uncommon for a child his age. They think he doesn't feel restrained by the norms and having a clear focus of what and how he wants to express certain subject matters. That he looks beyond the obvious and hence he could visualise a lot more than many of his peers.

After looking at the similar assessment exercises done by other kids, I understand what the teachers mean.