My daughter has been discussing art with us lately. She's been rambling on about some guy named Leonardo da Vinci and his painting Mona Lisa. Yesterday when I picked her up, we took time to browse some of the art reproductions hanging in the classroom.
When I pointed out Van Gogh's Starry Night and told her that it was one of my favorites, she placed her hands on her hips and said, "Well, let me show you my favorite!" Then we walked over to view the following print on the wall:
With a sweet-tooth smile, she told me the painting was titled Cakes. I immediately understood why my dessert-loving and chocolate-stashing daughter liked the painting, and I was thrilled that she had a favorite painting. At five I didn't have a favorite painting, and I certainly didn't know diddle about any artists.
At home that evening, I researched the painter, a man by the name of Wayne Thiebaud (pronounced T-Bow). Critics say his paintings look like "butter cream on canvas" and that "You don't just want to look at his paintings; you want to lick them." I would love to take my daughter to see one of his paintings.
In the research I found, Mr. Thiebaud seemed like one of the most humble and well-adjusted artists ever. The man doesn't take him too seriously, and I like his following observation: "If we don't have a sense of humor, we lack a sense of perspective."
I hope my daughter always keeps this in mind.
The following is a feature from CBS's Sunday Morning. I think you'll find it inspiring:
1 comment:
I'd never heard of this guy before. His paintings of pies and cakes are interesting, and I like the texture. I think I prefer his other paintings they showed, though. More than his paintings, I find I like him. He's very down-to-earth and, like you said, has a good sense of humor and doesn't take himself too seriously. He doesn't seem like the moody, tortured artist you usually hear about.
How neat that your daughter is learning about art and artists already! I think I'll show this post to my young artist when he gets home from school today.
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