Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper Studio, Jefferson, Iowa, currently on leave of absence to Longmont, Colorado!

No matter the leave of absence, there are still artistic lessons to be had.  From a two year old, to be exact.

Let me set the scene:  so you have a Little Tikes slide, two plastic trucks, a blue ball, and a very outstanding :) two year old .  Surely I've already mentioned being the lucky abuela who gets to stay with Arridian while mommy and daddy are away?

Of course, because he is a two year old boy, and the slide is a Little Tikes slide, we did several runs with Arridian down the slide.  Then I learned how many times it takes a two year old to send two plastic trucks down the slide one at a time and think that he's practiced that skill enough.  357 times.  Then we changed it up a bit, put the blue ball in the back of one of the trucks.  Down the slide they go.  Let's call that one 243 times.  We changed it up again.  Truck #1, truck #2, and then the blue ball, one at a time.  Not a clue as to how many times that sequence happened.  (yes, I exaggerate, I did not count slide trips, but you get the picture, I am sure)

So now you are wondering how this applies to a painter?

Everybody knows kids learn by repetition, right?  Why should artists be any different?  50 paintings does not make an artist any more than a handful of trips down the slide makes a two year old a slide authority.

Isn't repetition just another name for practice?  If not, it should be.  Hey, advice from a two year old:  repetition is a good thing  :)

Later, Cooper