Michelangelo in the making

Last Saturday I helped judge an annual art contest for our largest local school district. I was in charge of judging the photography entries (go figure), and after I finished with my duties I wandered around looking at the other art. I was so impressed with this painting that was done by a six year old. In fact, all of the judges fell in love with it. At first I thought it was a painting of a goat, but after reading the artist's statement I learned that it depicts the family dog. Okay, maybe it doesn't look so much like a dog but take a close look at this painting! Look how prominently the dog is featured, and look at the horizon line and how it recedes naturally, just like it does in real life. Fantastic! I find it astonishing that a first grader can see, grasp and paint three dimensions so effectively. Needless to say, this painting was the big winner!