The Paperback Princess
July 14, 2015
A Collaboration with my Toddler
"The Paperback Princess"
by Eve and Ruth Oosterman
Eve is a very very busy toddler. She is one of those kids that just runs around non stop without ever taking a breath or break, so obviously I am ecstatic that she has finally begun to enjoy books. Not to say she didn't before, but now she loves to pour over them and really observe the details in each picture. She'll soak in each story so she can reenact them with her toys later or create drawings that revolve around her favorite stories.
As I'm sure you may have guessed, her most recent favorite would be the beloved classic, "Paper Bag Princess." It includes two of Eve's treasured characters, a Princess AND a Dragon, it doesn't hurt that the princess is finally saving a prince and not the other way around.
As we painted side by side, I let Eve decide what colors to use (pink and indigo) and it just took off. Other than a basic portrait sketch I had drawn there really was no plan for this piece other than having fun, I find anytime I DO have a plan it is quickly derailed by Eve's imagination. As I am still learning to embrace this wildly, unpredictable aspect to collaborating with my toddler, I have realized no plan equals less frustration and leaves me with an open mind.
Eventually Eve decided to move on and return back to the painting she had been working on earlier that morning. She had discovered my bag of old, ripped book pages and was gluing them to her piece when she decided our collaborative painting was clearly missing some.
Within minutes, she had decided it was also missing two arms (the lines she drew on either side), a purse on the left arm, a necklace and of course a crown which she asked me to draw. She would later add her final touches using more pencil.
And that is how "The Paperback Princess" came to be.
Don't forget to check out the Video Time Lapse down below!
http://youtu.be/u3GNKEowVQs
http://youtu.be/u3GNKEowVQs
As I'm sure you may have guessed, her most recent favorite would be the beloved classic, "Paper Bag Princess." It includes two of Eve's treasured characters, a Princess AND a Dragon, it doesn't hurt that the princess is finally saving a prince and not the other way around.
As we painted side by side, I let Eve decide what colors to use (pink and indigo) and it just took off. Other than a basic portrait sketch I had drawn there really was no plan for this piece other than having fun, I find anytime I DO have a plan it is quickly derailed by Eve's imagination. As I am still learning to embrace this wildly, unpredictable aspect to collaborating with my toddler, I have realized no plan equals less frustration and leaves me with an open mind.
Eventually Eve decided to move on and return back to the painting she had been working on earlier that morning. She had discovered my bag of old, ripped book pages and was gluing them to her piece when she decided our collaborative painting was clearly missing some.
Within minutes, she had decided it was also missing two arms (the lines she drew on either side), a purse on the left arm, a necklace and of course a crown which she asked me to draw. She would later add her final touches using more pencil.
And that is how "The Paperback Princess" came to be.
Don't forget to check out the Video Time Lapse down below!
http://youtu.be/u3GNKEowVQs
0 comments