Today we did washes. First with watercolours…..

Then with bathtubs!

Seriously, though, it was much easier to explain the concept of a watercolour wash to Katherine, who is just over three, than it was to explain the Mona Lisa. When asked why the lady didn't have hair on her forehead, you CANNOT tell a preschooler that it was shaved/cut off because they thought it was more beautiful then. Trust me on this one. You don't mess with a kid's idea of how long their hair should be, especially when they can use scissors.

She was better with van Eyke's "The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami, Dated 1434." It's full of symbols that are fairly blunt and basic in their meanings. Of course, her summation is that, "it's about a wedding and the lady was wearing a green dress and has a dog and a mirror."

Okay, she's three. We'll cut her some slack for a few months.

As you can see from the above work, we were discussing the use of colour to depict creative chaos.

The work at upper left is symbolic of artistic mental turmoil exemplified through the use of an unfamiliar medium. (A kid frantically using her mother's expensive paints before her mother finds out)

Upper right demonstrates a refining of the artist's touch so as to better demonstrate the calmness and lightness of being that one feels upon the release of stress. (Mommy wasn't mad.)

Lower left is Mommy goofing around with sunsets.

Lower right is the artist releasing pent-up rage on canvas through the violent application of greens and burnt umber in such a fashion as to symbolise frustration and strength of will. (A child denied the right to splatter green all over her mother's sunset.)

As you can see, creativity is often born of strong emotions…..