So like I haven't done enough childcare to know how universal this is or if his parents are just doing something right and this is probably not an original observation but dang, there's no better hypeman for your drawing skills than my 5½-year-old nanny kid.
Like, he wanted to draw so I asked if I could too and drew a thoroughly mediocre train. The moment I started putting little dots for the bolts in the first half-assed circle, this kid's eyes go wide and he says "WOW!! THAT LOOKS SO GOOOOOD!!!", and then I do the most basic lazy swirls of the weird slab-crayons for the smoke and he's all "WOW I LOVE THAT" "YOU'RE GIVING ME IDEAS FOR MY DRAWINGS", and I do more of the same swirls in a pile for the coal in the coal car and it's all "THAT LOOKS A-MA-ZING!" "HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRAW SO GOOD"
And like, really, it is such a lovely glimpse into how we could be hyping each other up, a lesson in appreciating art. Like, yeah my train was elementary in every sense of the word, but this kid is in kindergarten, so to him it was mindblowing, inspiring, true genius. And like! When our friends and compatriots are making art, as adults we know what "good" and "skilled" art looks like and we compare it to that. And I know we've all talked about this already but I just wanted to take the reminder that especially when someone is doing art that I have no skills in, and they're doing an "objectively" middling job that is still leagues ahead of what I would do...I want to mirror this kid's energy and be like, damn, that is kickass! And even when it's something I am good at, like, we're all better than we were, and it is impressive every step of the way! And at the end of the day, in this global attention economy where everyone sees the best of the best, you get the socially-selected cut from all the art the world has to offer...we're all kindergartners, and that's rad. This is my reminder to myself to soak in the joy of it more :)
