The Grass-eating Leopard

"We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are…Seeing is subjective. Seeing is active…" (source unknown)

A leopard seen from the eyes of a four year old cannot be more imaginative than this picture. Shreya's grass-eating leopard could be a typical example of child art, but for me it's much more than that. Like all her paintings and drawings here too, there's something for me to learn. Rather, there's a lot that I should 'unlearn' about my perception of world around me. A good way to start could be some conscious efforts at seeing things differently.

It is simply mindblowing to view the world from the perspective of a four year old.There's an immense sense of gratification when you look at things devoid of the boxes we have put around them as adults. Children visualize things in their pure form. They percieve the reality around them as they are - innocent, uncorrupted. Just as they tell stories by making their imagination run wild, they can also create visual representations of their 'perceived realities'.

Shreya, the child artist has 'taught' me that creativity knows no boundaries; she draws and paints her crows in red, flowers in black and leaves in blue. She need not think twice to 'defy' all rules of proportion and perspective of her paintings. However, her drawings of human forms are consistent - they always constitute a triangle, a circle and some 'standing and sleeping' lines. Her flowers are always much greater in size than the stem and the leaves. She has no hang-ups in drawing her imaginary universe with all the nuances of pristine creativity. I'm lucky that I can closely observe and learn from this abundantly talented kid.