Beginners find it difficult to draw three-dimensional objects. They have been painting by making lines on a plane and filling them with colors. Light is needed to make any object three-dimensional and realistic. To do that, you need to understand the concept of lump. In order to understand this mass, it is necessary to understand the contrast and shadows that change depending on the angle of light.

 Of course, in the case of Cézanne, he approached with the idea that the angle of light does not determine the essence of an object, and succeeded in drawing the essence of an object as it is. However, when students first draw, they do not quite see through to the essence of the object.

 So, it is good for students to go back to the basics and learn the foundation first and then create their own expressions based on them.

​ Personally, I think the point at which students begin to understand three-dimensional is when their drawing skills increase. Curiously, at this point, students have something they want to draw on their own. It means that you have a sense of accomplishment that you know how to handle something.

  Today, I would like to introduce children's works full of passion and talent for painting. The children I introduce today want to learn to draw and paint daily without anyone telling or instructing them to do it. They have a lot of energy with solid motivation. They know the joy of drawing and can express the details of a painting.

  ​Below is a picture of 10-year-old Sophia. Her colored pencil touches show how delicately she approached her lines and made her effort to create contrast.

  Below is a picture of Cindy, 10 years old. Cindy is very good at portraying animal gestures and features. It's amazing that the pictures below all came from her imagination.

  Below is a picture of 6-year-old Elbert. His paintings have strong brushstrokes and waves. I wonder how a 6-year-old can come up with brush touches and marks with such strong energy. It seems likely that he will paint such a great picture that expresses his feelings and emotion well with his brush.

  Below is a picture of 5-year-old Audria. Five-year-olds have a wonderful ability to tell stories in their drawings. If her ability is well developed, she will probably be able to write and draw wonderful stories herself.

  ​I love this quotes. My favorite German painter, Joseph Beuys, said something similar phrase. He expanded on this by saying that everyone is born an artist. I truly believe that this statement is true.

 We are all born artists. As long as we maintain our inner purity, passion and uniqueness, we will all be able to live as great artists. Education is to help them maintain and discover this purity, passion and uniqueness.

In this regard, I am grateful to be able to introduce three little artists today.

  I'd like to happily show my student's artworks in my blog.
 
As I teach students, the part that was initially limited to coloring within the line gradually breaks through the line, and returns to the line again, but I see that it is not the same as before and has developed more and more.

 Usually first-time learners are afraid of shadows and shading. However, once you feel the joy of painting, your fear of shadows disappears and you become more and more daring.

  They know very well that what they have to express in the end is the feeling of painting and themselves.

  ​Children love to play and daydream. They hop, run and sing all the time. Whenever I look at children, I see their hearts always full of dreams and imagination of future. Looking back, my childhood was like that too. There were difficult, poor and hard times, but I don't think I've ever stopped dreaming.

 However, there are children who have the luxury of even dreaming like this. Because they have no future to dream of. So are the children of Ukraine currently at war, as well as the children of Myanmar who have become victims of the military coup.

 On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military caused a coup and detained high-ranking government officials such as Aung San Suu Kyi, a national advisor. Large-scale protests against these military coups began across Myanmar on February 6th. According to the Myanmar Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), about 5,000 people have been arrested or detained since the coup, and about 1,000 people have died.

​ Added to this is the lockdown due to the pandemic, accelerating the tragic situation. Due to the military coup, the public health system has collapsed, and most patients are being treated at home because they cannot go to hospitals. All of Myanmar has been closed, and most shops, including schools and government offices, have been closed.

 During these times, children in Myanmar are still having a hard time. The national turmoil is not settling down, and in the meantime, children are having a heartbreaking time as they are separated from their parents and friends. Children who should be loved by their parents and play with their friends for a long time are driven to the streets against their will. And while playing in the yard, they are shot and killed.

 Daycare centers and kindergartens are closed, and parents do not send their children because schools show and train children with guns. And even if they go to school, they have to be educated under the watchful eyes of soldiers with guns. Currently, it is reported that only 20% of students are attending school in Myanmar. These are mostly children of parents who support the military.

  ​I recently participated in a job fair for orphans in Myanmar. Those who could not even go to school sat in one place and listened intently to my lecture. Personally, it broke my heart to have to teach them about painting, which is not an essential skill for their survival and life. However, my lectures had to cover general content.

 But I think the most important thing for children is drawing. Because they have to keep dreaming. I decided to prepare a lecture on teaching drawing for children. Art allow children to have a variety of imaginations. I hope that they will become a guide to express the difficult situation they are in and find their own way in it.

 At the beginning of this year, I gave a lecture on the profession of an artist to children from an orphanage in Myanmar online.

It is one of project from StarKids.com. 

  I reflected that the last lecture would have been  official and boring, and this time I prepared the presentation again so that it could be easily approached by children. Additionally, I read the related children book for Myanmar children.

 In all cases, as always, there are regrets. Because I had a desire to do everything perfectly. However, I feel that perfection is not more important than communication with children. So I tried to explain it as comfortably as possible.

 However, in a given time within 30 minutes, it is not easy to explain an artist in general, but an abstract concept.

 Besides, since I had been told beforehand that children could understand English, I prepared the material for that situation. But there was always a twist. In real life, the children did not understand English and the interpreter delivered the content in the Myanmar language line by line. But even in this embarrassing situation, everyone did their best. This is because we know that there are always variables in everything and that there is no perfect system from the beginning.

 Above all, it was more important to communicate with the children and share their hearts than the perfect system.  In my case, because I had to read the book, it took a lot of time and ended up exceeding the expected time. Half of them had to end unfortunately without proper translation.

This time, I was looking for a good children's book that would explain the job of an artist more simply to children. 

 Of course, the artist who painted a blue horse by Eric Carle introduced earlier in my post has good books, various kinds, stories, and illustrations and pretty pictures.

  However, there have been few books that have explained the internal factors rather than the external factors that make an artist. Motivation is more important than anything else for children, and internal factors are more important than external factors to actually become artists.

​ So I decided to make a children's book myself with this intention.

  Manuscripts for this children's book have already been prepared. And I have to draw pictures that will go into the book. It seems to be busier for the time being. I decided to enjoy this kind of creative busyness.

When the book is complete, I will let you know through this blog.