Artist in Residence

I've mentioned before that we live with a budding young artist. Since he's an only child, I really don't have anyone to compare him with developmentally, so I was a little skeptical when people who saw his drawings and handwriting, starting when he was 3, gushed over how advanced his fine-motor skills are and what a good eye for detail he had.

Then I saw his classmates' work on the walls at preschool and thought, well, yes, he is a bit advanced.

I'm still not sure he's the next Picasso, but since my duty as a mom is to proudly tout my child's achievements, I thought I'd post a few of his drawings here. Like I said in an earlier post, he is not a nature lover; therefore, these drawings are not replete with verdant landscapes. Think strip malls. Corporate logos. Cars and trucks. Basketball goals. And, of course, traffic signs -- some of which, if taken to heart, would cause chaos on the roadways of our nation ("Right lane MUST turn left" comes to mind.)

Here are a few of my favorites from the last six to eight months (from age 4 1/2 to a couple of months past his fifth birthday):


No, it wasn't anyone's birthday in particular. But why not have a festive greeting ready, just in case?


This one is a reproduction (isn't that a nicer word than "plagiarism"?) of the cover of one of his favorite books, which features a little boy who always manages to get into trouble. Elijah really seems to identify with poor, beleaguered David.


This is Jesse, from the "Toy Story" movies. He also draws a sharp-looking Prospector and an elaborate sheriff's office.


I don't really know what the story is behind this one. But he loves to draw happy houses!


I'm also clueless about this one. But I'm all for anything that involves a delivery of gifts!



His fascination with basketball goals, along with the pattern of the stitching on the balls themselves (as well as the pattern of all the lines on the court) is, thankfully, beginning to fade. His therapists have always referred to it as a "perseverative interest," which is therapy-speak for "autistic kid's obsession." (We preferred to think of it as "persistence"!)



No explanation needed.


Elijah is a big lover of hotels -- as long as we remain people of modest means and stay in non-suite places like this, where the beds are perfectly spaced for leaping back and forth.


Unlike me, Elijah is a big fan of live music. This is his rendering of a band that Jeff took him to see at a Fourth of July celebration at our city park. (Yes, that's a keyboard there on the left).



Mommy's coffee got spilled on this one. Please note that Mommy was NOT the one who spilled it.


This was inspired by the oh-so-cheesy YouTube video of the '60s song "Everywhere a Sign," or whatever it's called. You know, the one about how long-haired freaky people need not apply. (Can you tell I'm not a flower child?)


Last but not least, we have the world's happiest fish. This one has earned a place of honor on my computer at work for several reasons. At least we now have something smiling around that place.

I have more of these to impose on you at a later date (including some very happy butterflies), but I think I've probably pushed the limits on everyone's little-kid-drawing tolerance for now. And besides, I need to straighten up the house. Because for every one of the 10 or so drawings he completes every day, there are at least five or six false starts, each of which is tossed aside in disgust by our little perfectionist. If you do the math and then consider that several days often elapse between my housecleaning sweeps, you can just imagine the state of the house right now.

I try not to think about the toll his paper use is taking on the majestic old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. If any hard-core environmentalists are reading this, you'll just have to accept my apologies. But at least we keep the paper-recycling workers of the world gainfully employed.