COOL AMAZON FINDS AND ENCOURAGING TIPS FOR THE YOUNG ARTIST IN YOUR LIFE

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I am blessed to be surrounded by artists in my family. My husband, Larry, has always had artistic talent. He has done acrylics and oil paintings, sketches, and various other media. Back in high school, he even had a showing of his work at our local library! Here is one of his landscapes.

In the late 60s, wide-eyed kids and animals in artwork were a big hit. Larry painted this in junior high.

In junior high or maybe younger, Larry made this rooster plaque using dried beans and corn (it was a Scout project).

Two of our sons inherited their dad's artistic talent.

Our son, Eric, has won numerous local, state and national art awards and below are small samples of his work.

Eric was asked to paint basketballs for the Winter Homecoming King in high school.

Eric painted this on our window one Christmas.

Halloween creativity.

This pastel piece won Eric the Governor's Art Award when he was in 8th grade. He went on to win other Governor's Art Awards in 10th and 12th grade, too!

Eric is also the artist behind our Easter Egg Art.

Eric's older brother, Jared, also won the Governor's Art Award when he was in high school. That's Jared with Gov. Bob Miller, who was such a pleasant, friendly man. They had a lovely reception at the Governor's mansion for the award winners and their families (there were award winners from each Nevada county). The drawing of Rob Zombie (IYKYK lol) was done in charcoal.

So, it is no surprise that some of the grandkids are interested in art and also crafting; Staci and I both scrapbook, sew, make various crafts. Oakli loves to try any media!

Oakli and her water coloring a few years ago.

Since granddaughter Oakli, who just turned 8, loves to draw and craft too, I ordered some supplies for her for her birthday. Artists need drawing paper and this drawing pad from Amazon 
has 50 sheets of 9" x 12" paper to please! For her coloring and drawing, I added in these art markers (she really loves markers and she is 8 so feel comfortable my walls are safe. These washable markers may be better for younger kids). Oakli also likes to watch YouTube videos showing how to draw certain things, such as animals. She also enjoys this how-to drawing book which gives step-by-step instructions on drawing cute animals.

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Oakli's self-portraits.

Oakli went thru a period of drawing sweet little square cats. To make sure Oakli has a variety of supplies for crafting, I also gifted her these DESIGN-EDGED SCISSORS for whatever she may want to try next. I use those often for scrapbooking and trimming photos, making frames a bit fancier, etc. Oakli also likes to color her own stickers and this FUN BOOK would make a great gift for all young artists!

Grandson Parker created this lively little waterfowl!

TIPS TO ENCOURAGE YOUNG ARTISTS

One thing I was told as a young mom by a preschool teacher was that you never ask a child "what is it?" when they share their artwork with you but instead say, "tell me about your picture!" I found this to be valuable information over the years. 

Another thing she taught me is to never throw the artwork away in front of a child--display it on the fridge or somewhere for a while OR ask about it, set it aside and later, while alone, toss it. As a mom of 8, you can't possibly keep it all (though I tried for a few years lol).

If they are participating in an art show at school or in the community, make sure to attend if at all possible! Invite grandparents and take the siblings along. By putting effort into being present for talents, it encourages them to continue on.

Thanks for stopping by and viewing my post on my family of artists and ways that you can encourage art!

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