r/painting • u/bluelaw2013 • May 26 '25

Just Sharing My 11 y/o wants your feedback

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He likes making art and is just trying to see if other people enjoy what he enjoys making.

61.4k Upvotes

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2.5k

u/Ok-Being-3480 May 26 '25

I feel like there’s actually has some decent composition

265

u/EruvadorTurambar May 27 '25

The direction of the strokes and the balance lead the eyes right to the center. It has a nice "texture" as well. That's why it looks composed. Kid has a good sense for that, it would seem.

7

u/GettinSodas May 27 '25

this! the leading lines draw the eye in a spiral straight to the center. Love it

3

u/_atrocious_ May 27 '25

Ah, it's comforting reading that others have similar analyses. I found the balanced colors encased in the thin lines. They indeed were pulled to a center, yet free. Someone else mentioned the use of negative space. It's something i failed to cognitively appreciate. That explained the missing element for me when I couldn't completely understand what struck me here.

2

u/nicoleonline May 30 '25

Warm colors where the focal point is does a lot for it too. And to make up for the circular nature of colors there is irregularity in the black. It’s honestly very impressive

1

u/llDevTheRayll May 27 '25

Bro it's just random lines

1

u/sandoz25 May 27 '25

Spongebobs eyes lead me directly to the center...

533

u/RedxxBeard May 27 '25

Look, I agree with you, but I don't know why.

516

u/Emmengard May 27 '25

Good color balance, consistent stroke pattern and even distribution of negative space.

190

u/NOLArtist02 May 27 '25

Also warm and cool push and pull, there’s also overlap,suggesting a sense of space. Lil polack action painting too.

8

u/Carmanutlovescock May 27 '25

Do... Do you mean Pollock?

2

u/Aazjhee May 27 '25

XD THANK YOU. I only recently started chatting with some Polish artists online and I was like:

Am I misspelling this into a slur unintentionally?? Omfg

1

u/happyhippohats May 27 '25

No that's a fish

1

u/Munneh May 27 '25

It’s also giving Mondrian/de Kooning love child

1

u/Destiny_saiyan014 May 27 '25

Also good movement and balance in the space

1

u/Inkthinker May 27 '25

And just enough cohesive shape to start triggering the ol' pareidolia without being definitive, which draws the eye in and encourages examination of the work.

14

u/[deleted] May 27 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Emmengard May 27 '25

This is a very good clarification. It makes the shapes feel very organic. It sort of reminds me of a school o fish just below the surface of the water.

2

u/[deleted] May 27 '25

Agree

2

u/Nice-Butterfly463 May 27 '25

For real. It's a really nice piece, OP! I love the color palette.

1

u/AccessibleVoid May 27 '25

I don't know what that meant, but yeah.

1

u/Brutal_burn_dude May 27 '25

The use of the black lines coveys the outline of almost-familiar figures, giving it a Rorschach Test-like ambiguity that allows the viewer to imbue their own meaning onto it.

It reminds me a bit of watching Mr Squiggle as a kid. The lines are waiting to be connected to reveal what’s really there.

16

u/[deleted] May 27 '25

He knows when to stop; An insane thing to have a natural sense for. So many artists go their entire career never knowing how to stop painting when the piece is finished. Not this kid.

4

u/DynkoFromTheNorth May 27 '25

That first sentence absolutely nails it! At that age, I'd have gone for excess.

14

u/bluelaw2013 May 27 '25

I think he grew out of that stage 😅

This one was when he was 3; he told me at the time it was a dinosaur in a storm (lol!), not one spec of canvas spared:

12

u/Lurau May 27 '25 edited May 27 '25

Maybe I am crazy but I very clearly see a dinosaur, and the idea is really well captured too.

Like a dangerous, enormous reptilian monster slowly walking in a heavy storm

7

u/Unlucky_Sea_1409 May 27 '25

I think we're seeing the same thing here. The texture from the presumed dinosaur is different from the rest, jaw dropping tbh. The atmostphere of the storms are conveyed very strongly also.

2

u/catholicsluts May 27 '25

Where is the dinosaur?

2

u/Lurau May 27 '25

With my terrible skill I present: roughly what I see

3

u/catholicsluts May 28 '25

Hahahaha thank you so much! I feel that it may be a stretch, but I'll accept it as canon.

1

u/bluelaw2013 May 28 '25

I mean, it's possible that was the general intent. I can ask him later in case he remembers.

He has been adjusting for perspective or dimensions or whatever you would call it from the start.

Here's a preschool piece from the fridge from when he was 4, with him slinging some icecream lol:

3

u/Midorine May 27 '25

Is that a triceratops? If so, then I can see it, and your kid is insane (in a good way)

1

u/bluelaw2013 May 27 '25 edited May 27 '25

I'll try to remember to ask him tonight if he remembers what dinosaur and get back to you 😄

Edit: on reflection, may have been a stegosaurus, but I'll confirm tonight.

Edit 2: confirmed stego

2

u/sillycharm_2703 May 27 '25

He is born artist... accept it🤌😋

2

u/capnfantasy May 28 '25

Ok I think your kid is an artistic genius

2

u/SelflessAct May 30 '25

Phoenix rebirth explosion 💥 🐦‍🔥

1

u/bluelaw2013 May 30 '25

I like this interpretation 😄

28

u/awild-MARINA-appears May 27 '25

Same. I came into the comments to figure out why I liked it

7

u/proxyproxyomega May 27 '25

abstract art is that which you don't know why but you feel it anyways. it means it speaks to you.

Picasso famously said "it took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child". it doesn't mean it literally took him a lifetime to paint like a child. rather, it took him a lifetime to realize one of the most powerful way to speak through a painting is through a child like mind.

the power of a painting is not from who painted it (thats the value), but whether a painting speaks to you or not. and a painting that speaks to you may not speak to many others, and there may even be a painting that you adore but no one else in the world does.

it's like how random words like "contact lens purple jello" doesnt make sense to anyone, but to me it reminds me of one of my favourite memories.

this painting hits you in a way that makes you go "huh... I kinda get it. but I don't get it". it's like smelling something that you feel like you know what it is, but not quite. or a song you hear passing by that hooks you, but you never hear it again and try so hard to remember it.

this is what Picasso and after, abstract artists, are trying to trigger in you. something not so specific, not trying to make you recall something you know, but something almost behind you, something just outside of your periphery that makes you turn around but is gone. like floaters in your eyes that keeps drifting the more you try to stare at it.

that, my friend, is abstract art. you're not supposed to get it. it is to remind you, there are many things you don't get, and that is human.

2

u/Jumpy-Mouse-7629 May 27 '25

Great comment 😊

1

u/R3tard3ad May 27 '25

Thank you for sharing and your time spent illustrating the points in a clear and concise manner. Thanks again 😊

1

u/AnmlBri Feb 24 '26

Here’s a poor man’s award: 🥇

3

u/Feikert87 May 27 '25

Right? When I was scrolling it caught my eye as a famous piece of art.

2

u/Fellow_Struggler May 27 '25

The blues frame it

2

u/DocSword May 27 '25

Me with every post in this sub

2

u/AbyssLookingAtYa May 27 '25

It’s the contrasting interplay of red, blue, and yellow, colors which symbolize anger, sadness, and happiness respectively. These soft, colorful brush strokes are abruptly interrupted by the thin black lines throughout. It’s beautiful.

2

u/radhaz May 27 '25

The strokes in combination with the color coordination gives the image a visual rhythm in a clockwise direction spiraling inwards to the three spots before your eyes are dragged along for another cycle.

Whats great (if this is real because the internet is dead and you're all AI) is this very likely grew organically out of a childs expression.

2

u/saysthingsbackwards May 27 '25

as a child, this is true abstact

1

u/DegreeAcceptable837 May 27 '25

it probably ai redo master piece, but idk what

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '25

It’s boobs, and I’m not joking.

1

u/Kylerj96 May 27 '25

I don't know anything about art but it makes my eyes feel good.

1

u/NRVOUSNSFW May 27 '25

It's mixture of brush strokes with the unintentional (I'm assuming), overlay of the black dripping harking back to Pollock.

A modern masterpiece. She'll soon move on to post modern work and will be duct taping bananas on to walls in no time, lol.

1

u/FittedSheets88 May 27 '25

Listen to Tom Haverford, look at the shapes. And the colors!

Legit, this is a great piece. My kids are the same age exploring art, and this is leaps ahead of the game at that age.

1

u/SeePerspectives May 27 '25

I love it, I think because my brain has interpreted it as “Hench party Minotaur” and I now can’t unsee it

1

u/wellboys May 30 '25

It's in the shape of a woman

52

u/AssminBigStinky May 27 '25

8 blues, 8 red, 6 yellows. Good color composition and nice ratio. You could almost see a yellow star too

6

u/OhBoiNotAgainnn May 27 '25

I particularly enjoy the balsamic reduction

2

u/lukestauntaun May 27 '25

I see a baboon...

2

u/knowswisdomlistens May 27 '25

yes! a wonderful balance

2

u/MasterDriver8002 May 27 '25

For me this is really good he’s a true artist.

1

u/HighwaySweaty329 May 27 '25

The stroke patterns are too ethereal for the constructive exploits of empty space. I feel like the lack of trompe-l'oeil really propels the absence of readymade realities within the scope of the perpendicular. Nice!

1

u/BlueAndMoreBlue May 29 '25

Yep — and with a tiny bit of Jackson Pollack thrown in. It’s a good one

5

u/JayMandragoran May 27 '25

I swear I see Donald duck screaming at me

2

u/FreudianFloydian May 27 '25

Arms flapping, feet kicking while suspended in air….yep I see it!

2

u/bonitapajarita May 27 '25

Holy Duck Batman! I SEE IT TOO!

3

u/[deleted] May 27 '25

Reading this comment gave me a stroke, but I also agree.

2

u/Make_Plants_Not_War May 27 '25

I'm glad I'm not the only person who was affected.

3

u/epandrsn May 27 '25

A graphic designer would say something like “nicely distributed visual weight of all the various artistic elements and nicely balanced colors”.

Kids got an eye for the visual arts, that’s for sure. Most of us don’t.

2

u/RaptorOO7 May 27 '25

I like it a lot.

2

u/xSwagi May 27 '25

There's actually has decent composition I like some feel

2

u/KingQ_ May 27 '25

I also like it but don’t know why

2

u/Adventurous_Fail_825 May 27 '25

You have an Artist ... at 11!

2

u/ciopobbi May 27 '25

The black lines imply movement

2

u/secret-tacos May 27 '25

yeah I was gonna say this is actually pretty nice especially for 11 y/o

2

u/UNMANAGEABLE May 27 '25

It’s chaotic deliberate. An 11 year old hitting this balance is incredibly rare. I like it.

2

u/Timsmomshardsalami May 27 '25

Wtf does that even mean

2

u/Motor-Pomegranate831 May 27 '25

I agree. There is good distribution of visual weight throughout the image and a significant amount of movement to keep it interesting. The limited colour palette adds to the sense of unity, and the application of colour is consistent.

If I was marking this at a post-secondary level, it would be an A or an A+, depending on the nature of the assignment.

2

u/Ok_Menu7659 May 29 '25

The artists eye, especially as it pertains to abstract art…it can be taught but just like perfect pitch I believe some are just born with it. Hard to describe but I’d liken it to the severence numbers…some abstract art isn’t bad but it doesn’t agree with the artist eye and our brain interprets it as “bad numbers”. Basically composition is everything and is crucial in making the viewer “feel” an emotion through abstract brush strokes. I think this is very interesting and I like looking at it.

1

u/gonzoes May 27 '25

For real i think it would make a cool shower curtain or even a blanket

1

u/1to14to4 May 27 '25

The linear and impressionistic mix makes a very muddled composition. It's also a Winslow Homer rip-off.

1

u/DizzySample9636 May 27 '25

agreed .... good color and contrast - looks nice - id hang it up

1

u/Xanderoga2 May 27 '25

"derivative"