About me

The artist at five.

I remember Daddy taking the photo. I remember Mommy braiding my hair. And I remember the dress and the thrill of getting five “new” dresses that another girl had outgrown. As the oldest kid in my family, I’d never gotten “hand-me-downs” before!

Interesting how at this age kids draw people pretty much the same, sometimes remembering to add the nose but forgetting there are five fingers. I think kids’ drawings are only partly from observing reality and possibly more strongly influenced by copying what we’ve seen of other children’s art and cartoon-y illustrations in books. And artistic development follows about the same trajectory till about twelve or thirteen: all along, remembering what we observe, recreating it in our imagination, and bringing the image to life on paper.