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Culture vultures

Get tips on theatre and art from other Mumsnetters on our Culture forum.

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Original poster

art buffs - please come and help me boost ds's self-esteem...

22 replies

filthymindedvixen · 15/09/2008 17:26

He thinks he is rubbish at art and drawing. He thinks art is all about being to draw well (He has hideous writing and penmanship rpoblems.) Because of this he will not draw for pleasure

I want to show him how art is about other things; can anyone suggest some different artists we could look at, say naive art, tribal art, surrealism, cartoony art, abstract etc to show him there are different aspproaches he could try.

I know what I mean but I am so unknowleagable about art and different artists that it is really hard for me to find decent examples.
(eg jackson pollock, the ink splattery guy)

OP posts:

NappiesGalore · 15/09/2008 17:29

can i just say i think its great you are doing this to help him. i felt like he did, so i can see how great it is for someone to take the time to try to enlighten him to other ways to enjoy his creativity. bravo.
(right, well thats your self esteem taken care of...)

RubyRioja · 15/09/2008 17:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BellaBear · 15/09/2008 17:34

bridget riley? Looks like it's done on a computer (no idea how it is done)

fwiw, I am atrocious at drawing, didn't get on in Art at school yet recently found I can make really gorgeous things by knitting!

cornsilk · 15/09/2008 17:35

what about photography? You could look at Andy Goldsworthy.

Original poster

filthymindedvixen · 15/09/2008 17:39

He is actually very good at model making (he has high hopes of working for Aardvark animations one day ) and amazed me by being a whizz on a children's pottery wheel at a fete!
But it is more to do with making him see that artists come in all shapes and forms so not to be put off from drawing just because what he rproduces on paper isn't ''good enough'' in his eyes.

OP posts:

Original poster

filthymindedvixen · 15/09/2008 17:40

(and thanks nappies! I was actually just having a crap mum moment because he always ends up in tears over homework and I get irritated with him )

OP posts:

DrHorrible · 15/09/2008 17:47

DH isn't great at drawing, but he was (and should still be imo) a model maker WoW bookend

How old is he? Model Making degree at The Arts Institute at Bournemouth is perfect for him, shame you aren't local as they do courses for younger kids. Tell him to look at sculpture, look at architecture, look at films like The Mummy where the sand face/fists etc were all made by model makers and see if he still thinks that is not art.

SuperBunny · 15/09/2008 17:47

Aboriginal art can be good for children who don't like to draw - it's colourful, often features creatures and can be done using dots, a bit like pointilism.

Obviously other things like sculpture (have you taken him to the Yorks sculpture park where he can look and touch and climb on the art?) & photography (again, YSP would be good for that), mosaic, murals, pottery.

I agree, Andy Goldsworthy is great and appeals to children

DrHorrible · 15/09/2008 17:48

Oh, DH is dyslexic, didn't know his alphabet until about 10yrs old, was always told he was "stupid" at school, but give him something to sculpt and he is amazing.

SuperBunny · 15/09/2008 17:48

Things like painting those fiddly little models or making model aeroplanes might be ok for him too. If he likes that kind of thing.

BellaBear · 15/09/2008 17:49

bridget riley

DrHorrible · 15/09/2008 17:50

We have a sh*t load of lord of the rings magazines and figurines that DH was going to do, but never did, then he was going to ebay, but they are still sat here... they weigh a ton, but could probably convince him to part with them for postage costs

Original poster

filthymindedvixen · 15/09/2008 17:53

oh DRHorrible, that is a very kind thought -ds is dyslexic too (he is 10.5yrs)... And yes, your DH is talented!

OP posts:

Saturn74 · 15/09/2008 17:54

DS1 could barely draw at all at 9.
He has hand tremors, and has writing and drawing difficulties due to his dyslexia and dyspraxia.
Now at 12 he has developed into being pretty good at manga style pictures.
We have books on 'How to draw Manga' that you can borrow if you like.
It's amazing how the instructions start off so simply, and you've suddenly built up these complex pictures.

Original poster

filthymindedvixen · 15/09/2008 17:59

he is crying because he has to draw some character from a story (which I don't know)
If he didn't have to do it for school, and he was told to just draw a monster, he'd produce something pretty creditable.

Humph, his hand hurts after 5 minutes And we haven't even got round to him writing the character portrait yet. Sigh....it's that gap between what he rpoduces and what he sees other children his age producing which he finds so excruciating.

OP posts:

SuperBunny · 15/09/2008 18:02

FMF, does he have any help with his motor skills?

Can you remind him that the teacher isn't worried about what it looks like - presumably this is homework for English?

roisin · 15/09/2008 18:07

Where are you? A trip to the Tate Modern or other modern art gallery might help? Matisse has some fun stuff to look at or Kandinsky

I'm fascinated by this subject because as a child I was told I was rubbish at art, but not shown how to improve. ds1 (11) has had great art teachers who have really inspired him. He is very creative, but techniques don't come naturally to him, but he loves it. At the weekend he had some art homework to shade a sphere with pencil to make it look 3D and he spent about 45 mins on it, and it looks superb.

So you are definitely doing the right thing to encourage him and build up his confidence even though he doesn't find it easy.

Saturn74 · 15/09/2008 18:08

BIG canvasses. Lots of acryllic paints. Look at books on expressionism.

Sparklers for outside at night - get him to write sentences and draw pictures in the air.

We've been told to do lots of large, exaggerated arm exercises with our two.

They tend to worry about writing, so hunch up.

The exercises help to free their shoulders.

Original poster

filthymindedvixen · 15/09/2008 18:12

Humph, how much do you charge by the hour?...

Anyway, thanks for all this, more links please!

OP posts:

roisin · 15/09/2008 18:23

M C Escher
Chagall
Hundertwasser
Salvador Dali

mou · 15/09/2008 19:44

Don't know how practical this would be at home or if your school would organise an event but we did this at university and it is great for freeing up expression and also a great leveller(!!) as often the 'good' drawers struggle with it. Awful grammar!!
1/ paint with a paintbrush tied to a fairly long piece of bamboo at arms length.
2/paint/draw in the dark or blindfolded.
3/paint with a feather, piece of string...
4/paint in pairs. both start a picture and after 10 minutes swap and work into each others piece.
5/draw white on black..makes a surprising difference.

Mmmm IMO nothing wrong with a little cheating at this stage and having a picture by his side to be 'inspired' by.

If he likes model making i'm with the sculptur idea...especially Anthony Gormly, but will post more as i think of it

NappiesGalore · 15/09/2008 21:27

shucks fmf, i thought youd roll your eyes and think 'get to the point will you?'
seriously, i really think its cool youre doing this.
some great suggestions here.
god childhood is hard, when you think you know whats 'required' and are sure you just dont measure up... good on you not to just stand by and let those assumptions lie.

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