I have five grandchildren, all girls. When each turned four, I brought them into my studio, turned on the music, and we would sit down and collaborate. I chose the age four because a four-year-old’s art is as uninhibited and carefree as it will ever be. It’s perfect and pure.
They would draw and paint whatever they wished, and I would usually paint birds, fish, and flowers on paper. After several hours of working, or after they couldn’t sit still any longer, I would gather up their drawings, plus my own, take scissors, and cut out each image. I would then paint a background on a prepared canvas and arrange and paste down their images on that canvas along with my own—a grand collage collaboration.
After this we would each sign the painting in the lower right corner and on the back, also adding our ages. The piece would then be sprayed with a mat finish to set the images, followed by several coats of mat varnish. Simple pine slat frames were added to finish.
These paintings hang in their bedrooms. My oldest granddaughter just turned fourteen and the youngest just turned four. My four-year-old, Willow, will be in the studio with Poppy on Saturday, creating what will probably be the last of this Granddaughter Series.
It's bitter/sweet for me. I’m sad that this is the last, but so incredibly happy to have shared a real art experience with each of them. I don’t know if they will remember the experience or know how important the experience was for me as their grandpa.
That’s okay. They will have some proof that the old man truly cared.
