How to Make an Imaginary Friend

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when you grow up." -Pablo Picasso Oil, Acrylic, Charcoal, Concrete, Ink How to Make an Imaginary Friend is an original painitng from my series about the power of imagination. It is a testament to our need as a society to harness the unbridled creativity of childhood in any adult role we play, both personally and professionally. Imaginative scientists will develop vaccines to prevent viruses while imaginative logistics will get the vaccine into the hands of the public as soon as possible. At the same time this piece is a statement about how as a society we are not promoting the use of imagination in young people today, hence the sarcasm in the "how to" series. From the high stakes testing environment that plagues schools to the prevalence of handheld technology, children are not creating blanket forts, doodling, or even allowed to create art in school. Our obsession with providing our children with the latest technology and competing with the math and reading scores of other countries is slowly robbing our children of their imagination. We do not provide enough opportunity for children to strenghten the neural networks in the brain that deal with the habits of mind such as observing, reflecting, and expressing. What does this mean for our future? Why is the figure devoid of color in a world filled with it? Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like a video tour of any of my pieces. I paint with gesso, concrete, and plaster so it’s hard to get a sense of the texture from digital images. Thank you for your interest in my work.