How to draw - part 1

In this first installment,  Mila gives us an informative, invaluable, and in-depth tutorial on the subtleties and nuances of her craft.  Prepare to take notes.

"Eraser"

crayon and pencil on paper

At first glance, I didn't know what this was.  Mila said it was a little birdy and then that it was an eraser.  Huh?  An eraser?  But then Kelly reminded me of Mila's new giant white eraser she has - it's about the size of a small biscuit and has a little bird on it.  On a whim, Mila just drew up a picture of her eraser - and added much more color to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

"Bird"

crayon on paper

Mila brought this one in to the computer room while I was checking my e-mail. She said "look at this bird, Daddy!" 

- so proud! I think she may have drawn a weird shape and then saw it as a bird afterwards - adding the eye and then the "wings" (those

lines out to the sides). Never-the-less, it's pretty darn cool and it's a pretty sophisticated shape to associate with a bird. I also love

how simple it is and how Mila left it simple. To me, it looks like a 

hawk sitting on a thin branch or a saggy power line - Mila insists that 

those are wings though!

"Dinkus, Miss Kitty, and Skeeter"

washable bath tub crayons on bathroom wall

Mila has these very soft and somewhat messy crayons for drawing on the bathroom walls around the bath tub while she is taking a bath.  Many, many, many drawings have been put on those walls (and subsequently washed away) - these three portraits of our beloved cats are her latest.  In order, they are Dinkus with his big whiskers, Miss Kitty with her little bell collar, and Skeeter with his shiny lip.  Strangely, Mila's drawing shows Miss Kitty's head to be vastly more gargantuan than the other two - but in reality, Miss Kitty's head is about the size of a small, black tangerine.

"Nemo"

marker, crayon, and artist tape on paper

Mila loves the Pixar masterpiece (aren't they all masterpieces?) Finding Nemo.  Here's her portrait of the title character - done much larger than she usually works - 11x17.  Mila got so focused on the orange part, that she forgot Nemo's white stripes - and got very upset about that.  Since there is no such thing as a white marker and since white crayons are a cruel and useless joke,  Mila's mom came up with the idea of using some artist tape for the white parts - much to Mila's approval and joy - (Mila loves tape!)

"Gramma and Grampa P's Cat"

crayon on paper

Mila's grandparents on her Dad's side (the "P" stands for Prescott) have a feisty little calico cat - young and entertaining and multi-colored.  Mila drew this and called it Gramma and Grandpa P's Cat.  Why didn't she call it by the cat's true name?  Well, "Cali" is so rarely referred to by name, that it is easy to forget that she actually does have a name.  She is well loved though, even without an obvious moniker.  

The lines in the upper portion may seem arbitrary but my folks will attest that it is debris and destruction as a result of Cali's latest escapade.

"Frog"

crayon and cut paper - glued onto construction paper

Our friends in California (Chewer and Missi) sent Mila an activity book for cutting out circles and semicircles of colored paper and making animals out of them.  Mila was very excited about this and hopped to it right away - as in seconds after opening the package.  "Frog" is one of the first animals she made.  That is a hat the frog is wearing on his right eye.  It is hard to see because of how red the paper is, but for whatever reason, she wrote the word frog backward - probably just to be silly.