Lady Liberty

I love when sometimes a project ends up in a place where you least expect.

When my six year old student showed up at the studio, he told me he wanted to do another Kandinsky inspired painting like the one he had done the week before.

(I think he really just like saying the word "Kandinsky")

It wasn't exactly what I had thought we would do that day but I figured if he really liked that style of painting, it wouldn't hurt for him to explore it for another lesson.  I did suggest we do something other than a landscape.

We talked about animals and my lack of wolverine reference. 

Have I mentioned that I have at least a hundred folders of animal reference and this child has the uncanny ability to always pick an animal I do not have on file?!

So once we had established that I was sorely lacking in the "interesting animal" reference material, he announced that he wanted to paint, "Lady Liberty".

I was shocked.

This is a six year old Canadian boy asking his born and bred American teacher to paint Lady Liberty.

Be still my beating heart.

He had no idea I was from the United States and that he had just scored the mother load of brownie points by suggesting to paint one of the country's most important icons.

OF COURSE I was "all in".

Again, I didn't have reference in my files for the Statue of Liberty because as I mentioned this child is truly gifted when it comes to picking subject matter M.I.A in my file cabinets, but luckily I did have my iPad (thank you Steve Jobs).

Once he settled on a reference he liked, he began to sketch. He is only six years old and the Statue of Liberty is not the easiest thing to draw. But as we worked together to simplify her down to shapes, I heard how he had looked out the windows in her head while on vacation. If you notice, he has made sure to include those windows in his painting.

We talked about how leaving out the ground made her look "big" and "important" and I think he was surprised at how long it took to paint all that blue in the background.

In the end he created a darling work that is without doubt, the apple of my eye.

acrylic and oil pastel, "Lady Liberty", six year old

In a million years, I would of never thought of suggesting to paint the Statue of Liberty. I love when a project forms through collaboration with the student.

Once again great things happen when a child is given freedom, beautiful freedom, that great thing Lady Liberty herself represents each and every day for millions of people.