made by daniel

This post is filled with the work of nine year old Daniel, who is painting in the photo above. Before I show you the work, I have to ask: Is there any experience that’s as sweet as receiving a hand-written thank you note from a child?

I gave Daniel a Fotoplay book for his birthday, and on Sunday, I was able to see some of the pages he completed with watercolor, markers, and colored pencils.

I happen to know that he has been drawing dragons in his own journal for awhile now, so I was especially curious to see what he would do with the page above. I believe this is the first dragon Daniel has painted with watercolors. I love the light but strong feeling of the dragon… his/her gentle approach to the seagull… that it feels like a suspended moment…a real encounter…

And here. Each face is funny, but also individual, filled with character and so carefully composed within each shape. Plus there’s a sensitivity to Dylan’s presence on the page, so that the six faces are relating to him…

This is the first time I’ve seen this page completed. In terms of the prompt, it’s a unique deconstruction/reconstruction page in the book. Seeing the flying bird/plane that Daniel designed, I’m inspired to create more pages like this one for my next Fotoplay book.

Now really. This is some serious fashion design. Daniel asked me if I knew what the elephant was wearing. Of course it’s a tutu. But look at the rendering of the gauzy material. And how he used layers of warm, fiery colored pencils to create dimension…

Beautiful work, Daniel!

Have you, your kids or your students completed any Fotoplay pages?

Send them to me and I will post them : [email protected]