Simon recently wrote a letter to his friend Ethan. When he was done he showed it to me. He wrote:
"Now that I got into Spain how much I like art has shot up like a rocket. But what I like drawing best is landskapes. I'm realy glad that I took your dad art lessons in shool. Tell him thanks for me." (Ethan's dad is the art teacher at the kids' school and a good friend of ours.)
Simon then explained to me: "Yeah, when I was in Kindergarten I didn't really get that much into art, but then Mr. Pratt taught us how to do real art like landscapes and portraits and now I really love it. " Later in the day he asked, "Do you think that abstract art is more popular than realistic art? Because I like abstraction, but I like landscapes best." (He really did say ''abstraction." His latest landscape is posted above.)
He and I spent the day in Madrid and went to the Prado Museum. They currently have an exhibit of the works of Patinir, a lesser-known 16th century Flemish artist who is considered by some to be the father of landscape-painting. It was a great exhibit and I learned a lot. What a thrill to go through the Prado with a 7 year old who is engaged and excited about art. He couldn't wait to get home and draw afterwards. Thank you Steve for the great job you are doing! Teachers can never know the full effect of their efforts.
The Prado is such a steal. Simon and I got in for a total of 6 Euros (much less than going to a movie in the US). We took a quick peek at the more famous paintings, but we'll be back again which is one of the great blessings of being here for so long.
1 comment:
Fantastic, Simon! I really like your perspective--looking up into th tree. Keep drawing. I know that by seeing so many wonderful artists' works in the museums you will get all sorts of ideas about your own drawing. We are really proud of you. Give Alex, Eva, and your folks a hug for us.
Abuela y Abuelo
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