Dec 13 2007
Abstract Family Portrait (Pic of the Week)
Ben likes to draw, and lately he’s been going through construction paper so fast that I’m expecting a visit from Treehugger.com. More and more these days, we come pretty close when guessing what he has drawn. Almost every time, his explanation of the scene makes sense in relation to the lines and scribbles on the page.
I was surprised when I walked into his room to see the latest creation on his dry erase board. It was a stick figure. Its circular head was the largest part of its body by far. It had spiky hair in front, arms coming out where the ears should be, and short legs with a line for each foot. The pupils were set under down-turned semi-circles, the nose was oblong, and each end of the smile nearly touched the corners of the eyes.
It was the first of his drawings to look that much like a person.
“Hey, Benjamin, I like your drawing,” I said.
“It’s you, Daddy.”
Hmm. Head way too big the rest of the body. Spiky hair up front. Possibly glasses over the eyes. Yep. He nailed me, for sure.
Knowing that, unlike his work on paper, this drawing could be swept away at any moment, I ran to grab my camera. After I snapped a picture, Ben asked if he could be in one. Then, he started drawing more characters. Naturally, I kept the shutter clicking in case it turned out to be something I wanted to share.
It did.
He added Cassie (our dog), Shannon, a “kitty cat,” and Darth Vader. He seemed to get in a hurry, however, and the results aren’t as discernible as the centerpiece. Can you guess which is which?
After honestly trying (or whatever), click the tiny white rectangle below for the answers.
Ben’s drawings are great. Upper right…Darth Vader. Lower left is either Cassie or the cat, because it has 4 legs. Amanda has the upper left as mommy, and lower right as the cat. They look like Jellyfish to me.
Just the other day Putter drew a picture of he and Ben, and he drew Ben with red spiked hair. He also made Ben a little bigger than himself, and said, “Ben’s a little bigger, because he eats more than me….he’ll eat anything.”
I know that stems from us always telling him that he needs to eat more like Ben.
Our latest trick is trying to supplement his diet with a few spoonfuls of peanut butter at random points throughout the day, along with a PediaSure. I’m not sure it’s working, but at least we feel like we’re trying.
Charles - I added the answers, which you can see by clicking the tiny white rectangle at the bottom of the post.
I’d love to see some of Putter’s pictures. Hilarious quote from him, by the way. Coincidentally, peanut butter is often the only thing Ben will eat these days. He usually asks for it “in a big glop” on crackers. No even spreading is allowed, and it drives me nuts!
Hmmm…. so you have a big head Mark? *LOL*
Well… hopefully some day he gives you a neck and arms where they’re supposed to go.. *S*
Have a great weekend… no blog post today for me.
I only guessed Darth correctly before checking on the answers. But I’m so proud of Ben for including him as part of the family! I nearly have tears in my eyes.
We’ve also snapped a LOT of shots of our guy’s magnetic drawing board because his temporary creations get erased so quickly and we’re *really* impressed by so many of them. But of course you can relate to that.
I got them right! Austin goes through construction paper fast too. Is it a better deal to go through treehugger.com or do you just not want to get out in the cold weather? Also, are those dry erase markers kid-proof? If so where did you get them? Austin has a dry erase board as well and I am too afraid to have him draw with ones that are not kid friendly.
I can’t believe how tall Ben is getting! Do you know how tall he is? Austin is 40 1/2 inches. He has grown 2 inches since his birthday! (May) Ben draws so good, considering that is only 4. Keep up the good work Ben!
-Gimpy
If you could only take it and frame it.
Thee’s a logic to this, as mentioned by Charles, that just proves Ben’s knack for this art thing. And I’d also like to mention the balance he brought to the “page” with his size and spread of charaters. Not only are the people (reasonably) identifiable…the picture hangs well. I hope Norah is doing as well at Ben’s age