Landscapes

Landscapes:

This class was drawing then painting landscapes based on photos they chose to try to copy or get inspiration from. Pictures of paintings of landscapes were posted around the room. Each child picked one that spoke to them for whatever reason and went to work.

E picked one of of a house with a farm. It has a huge tree in front, taking up most of the landscape but then the house balances it out on the other side. There are also cows in the picture just standing around. As cows do.

At first he was bummed out he wasn't getting to make a monster out of clay. But he was voted down on that one by the girls in the class so paint was the winner. I thought they were going to use watercolors for some reason but it was tempura. E is pretty easygoing but I could tell he was nervous that he wouldn't be able to make a nice drawing/painting. It did look pretty daunting.

That's when I left. After I knew he picked a painting and wasn't sulking about the clay. I try not to go too far even though it is a two hour drop off class. I swear I'm not a helicopter parent. However, like in a lot of his classes, I'm almost positive he's the youngest in the class. He's also the only boy that is there every single week. Sometimes there is another boy in the class but not every week. The girls are a bit older and can be a bit...precocious. E can be sensitive about things I find kind of odd to bother him. The girls also can be a little on the wild side. If E sees that kind of behavior, he will join in if it looks fun. Sometimes he needs to be reigned in. I take all his extracurricular activities seriously as I want him to do. I don't bother him when he's in the class. Most of the time he doesn't even know I'm still around. I just like to listen. I tend to leave from 4p-5p-ish. Then I come back, bring my laptop and sit on the floor out in the hallway and just listen. If I hear behavior I think needs to be discussed, we'll talk about it later. I also like to keep the ruse up that I have eyes everywhere, like I've told him.

This particular week I was gone longer than anticipated and came back to what I think was an incredible painting by my five year old. I was a very proud mama.

Drawing Room Fine Art & Sculpture Studio
Midland Park, NJ
http://drawingroomllc.com