Sunday, November 29, 2009

Creativity by Jake

My heart has many chambers - many more than a doctor could find. And three of those chambers are reserved: for my nieces, Emma and Ashley, and for my nephew, Jake - Jacob Kent.

Today is Jacob's post.

Jacob, though he is only nine-years-old has tried his hand at watercolors. He drew an ornamental plate of his grandmother's that you can see to the right. He did, I believe, a wonderful job. But I am only the uncle - what do I know?

I sat next to him sketching and painting the same thing. It was my version of the plate - not a perfect representation of what I saw, because, as we know, art is not photography. And thank goodness for that.

So Jake drew, and his was not perfect either. He found that his leaves and vegetables crowded a bit towards the top. Sound familiar? This left him with a choice.

He could:
(a) Give up;
(b) Add more leaves and vegetables (which is what I would have done); or
(c) he could be more creative than that.

And as I looked on in amazement, Jake did what is so natural for kids his age - so nonchalantly natural - he chose "c", and was creative.

"I think I'll add a cat," he said, and he did. Not only did he add the cat, but he allowed the tail to fly beyond the outline of the plate, which in itself was enough for me to raise my mental grade for Jake to an A plus (not that I was grading him), and to lower mine to a C.

Then Jake thought for a moment.

"What color should I paint the cat?" he asked me.

Well, being the artist that I am - acutely observant, and fully aware of the sights of nature - I naturally thought of browns and blacks. But instead I asked him, "What color do you want to make it?"

Jake thought for a moment. "Blue," he said. "I'll paint it blue."

I have a lot to learn from Jake about creativity.

Before I came to his town this weekend, Jake did some works in watercolor pencil, a medium I know many of you use. He did a Thanksgiving Turkey:



And especially in preparation for this blog post, he sketched the world:



So this is Jake's Post. Please feel free to leave your comments for Jacob. I am sure he will appreciate it.

29 comments:

  1. Nice work, Jake! Love your colors!

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  2. Jacob,

    I like what you have drawn and I like the creativity I see in your art.

    I especially like your use of color and how you sign and date your art.

    xoxo

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  3. Jake, the cat was the perfect addition to your plate....and blue was the perfect color for him. Great job! I like the squiggly border, too!
    Your other two sketches are nice, but the plate is my favorite!

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  4. Awesome paintings, Jake! I like the bold colors and how you fill the page with them. Keep up the good work!!!!

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  5. Absolutely wonderful watercolors Jake! The plate is beautiful and blue was exactly the perfect color to make the cat as it makes all the colors in your painting sing! The turkey and the world are very well done too. I hope you keep making art and never stop :-)

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  6. Good work, Jake! It's pretty cool when you can teach a grown-up instead of us teaching you, huh? I really like your drawings. Especially the world. You have a lot of talent...just like your uncle. :)

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  7. I think we grown ups can learn a great deal from you, Jake. Thank you. And I love the blue cat.

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  8. The colors are so happy. Jake is lucky to have such a neat uncle.

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  9. Keep up the good work Jake. Always think out of the box because you grow up and learn that nothing is really quite what it seems anyways. Love your style.
    His is fortunate to have someone next to him encouraging him to be himself.

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  10. Way to go, Jake! Love your work -- my favorite was the turkey. It made me think of breast meat, which in my own opinion, is the best -- forget the rest!

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  11. Hi Jake. Loved your sketches. The first thing I noticed was the way the cat's tail wandered over the edge - that was a great idea.

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  12. Beautiful sketches Jake, full of life and beautiful colours.I love the way you painted the world; it reminded me of a lagoon in French Polynesia I loved so much. Go on painting, it's worth it !

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  13. Jake - you ARE an artist! Keep drawing and painting :)

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  14. Jake - it is wonderful artists like you that make me miss my teaching days. Keep on creating and never let anyone tell you there is a "right way" to make art!!

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  15. Jake, I could use a few pointers from you on color!! These are wonderful, just beautiful! I noticed the cat's tail right away, great idea! And my favorite is the world drawing. I really like how the continents seem to have a three dimensional quality to them!

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  16. Jake, You did a great job on your paintings. I do love the plate the best! Keep creating in whatever form it takes you.

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  17. Ah the freedom in the mind to not be bound by rules! He created what he wanted and made his own design. I LOVE it! Now if I could learn to do what he does.

    Way to go Jake! And way to go Dan for recognizing it!

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  18. Jake, I love your plate--the colors are amazing. But the best drawing, I think, is the turkey. I was going to say that you are going to be an artist---but you obviously already are one. Kudos!
    Laura O.

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  19. I love the blue cat, Jake! :) Very creative!

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  20. Thanks Jake! You've taught me a thing or two today. I think us 'adult' artists need to look at our work from a kids view every so often. Also thanks for the new inspiration for planning my kids meals. They might actually take to eating vegetables if the only other thing to eat on their plate is a blue cat! (all I need is some blue paint and that annoying little cat next door).

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  21. Thank you all so much for your comments for Jake. He was blown away by your response, and awed that there are real artists among you!

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  22. Brilliant job, Jake. Your idea to add the cat to the tray was inspired, and I love that the tail trails off the side, like maybe it is coming to life and ready to walk off the design! You are obviously brimming over with creativity!

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  23. Wonderfully done, Jacob. I think it is so wonderful that you follow your own voice and add things like blue cats in the space you had to work with....something unexpected. I love that all of us "older" artists can learn so much from a young artist like you because you still listen to your heart. Keep on doing that!

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  24. Hi Jake, I'm not a 'real' artist, I'm really a grandmother pretending to be an artist to amuse my grand children... I have a grandson just your age, his name is Joseph... even your names are similar... he likes to draw dinosaurs and monsters from his imagination... I love your plate and especially your turkey... Do you ever draw imaginary things too? Keep up the good work, and tell your Uncle Dan he should include your work more often in his blog.

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  25. Jake, follow your heart. Always leave room for art in your life, and look to your life for inspiration. You are very creative and will do well.

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  26. GReat job, Jake! Goes to show you what we can learn from kids when they haven't been taught by adults yet!

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  27. I think my comments echo everyone else's: Jake, keep that creativity in your life, never let go of it. You can teach a lot to adults who have lost that creativity in their life! Wonderful, wonderful paintings!

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  28. Jake you are an awesome artist. I hope you continue to draw and paint, and share your art with all of us.

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  29. Jake, I love your painting and hope to see more of it. I really enjoyed your world... I wish that we adults could see the closer links between ourselves, no matter where we live.

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