Visual Language
I analyzed the picture that was a child’s portrait very carefully while capturing the stress and the strong points of the artist. The artist was a female child at the age of 7 years who drew a friendship portrait using different color representations. The major theme of the picture as it was indicated by the artist is love which was represented with a big heart colored purple. The reason for a big heart was to show the size of love and color purple represented the love itself.
It was perceptible that the artist used different picture patterns which included use of color, inclusiveness, overlapping figures, specificity, two mid action profiles, 2 new patterns, human figure drawing and size differences. Precisely, the total number of picture patterns was 10 where mid action profiles and new pattern took the largest percentage. Mid action profiles and new patterns had the percentage of 20 each whereas the others had 10% each. Citing from the analysis, the most interesting patterns included use of color, specificity, human figure drawing and use o an icon. Under use of color, the artist combined symbolism with color to convey the theme of the picture. She used color blue to represent the clouds and the time she is able to see the person she loved. Additionally, she used a heart which is the symbol of love together with the color she loved to represent love. For specificity, the artist used details in different symbols appropriate for the portrait. Additionally, the artist used every necessary component of the human figure in the picture making it easy to spot the differences. Lastly, the artist used icons perfectly to convey the theme of the picture. For instance, the artist used a heart in combination with her favorite color to represent affection.
Under the mid action, the artist used wavy lines to represent both the shining sun and the ground probably the grass. For the sun, the artist used color yellow whereas representing grass with light green color. According to the child, the reason for using color purple is because it is her favorite color. Therefore, she used the color to represent love in combination with a heart to signify affection. In normal basis, purple represent an ambition towards something. According to the child, she does not talk to Ryan and she can only talk to him when the sky is blue with fluffy clouds. Therefore, a heart with a color purple represents a desire for something which in this case is to talk to Ryan very often. The artist did not incorporate any textual captions in the picture to convey the theme. Instead, she used detailed icons and symbols to represent intended mood and theme. Citing from the size of the human figures incorporated in the picture, it is perceptible that the child had a problem displaying spatial concept. Size was not well represented well in the picture especially referring to the size difference between the human figures. Generally, the patterns in the picture represented the artist’s favorite things such as orange flavored cotton candy.
According to Malchiodi (2012), drawing is one of the most common ways that children express themselves especially emotions and personality. It is hypothesized that the drawings of children represent their inner worlds by depicting their thoughts and feelings that relates to their interpersonal life and psychological status (Malchiodi, 2012). Even though children might use drawing to explore the world and to exhibit their ideas and observations, it is factual that their artistic expressions are composed of personal statements with unique conscious and unconscious meaning according to them (Malchiodi, 2012). According to therapists, drawing by children is an efficient therapeutic modality citing from the fact that it helps children express themselves exclusively that language cannot help them do (Malchiodi, 2012). Apart from expressing children’s emotions, it is factual that drawing represents their daily experiences. In this case, children use both patterning and realistic depiction to depict their experiences (Soundy & Lee, 2013). Additionally, at this age when the children use drawing, neither of the form of art is regarded as more enhanced than the other. Psychological research indicates that children rely on visual representations while interpreting a story (Soundy & Lee, 2013). Correspondingly, they use image making as a technique of storytelling. It is perceptible that though children can make realistic pictures, they tend to use patterns such as wavy lines and color to design their art work. The reason behind this is based on playful and creative activity that children use while making a realistic depiction (Soundy & Lee, 2013).
Conclusion
The paper was a description of a portrait made by a seven year-old female child. The picture was a depiction of affection between the girl and the boy by the name Ryan. Furthermore, the picture represented love for the orange flavored cotton candy and desire to talk to Ryan often. Generally, the picture incorporated perfectly picture patterns which included use of color, inclusiveness, overlapping figures, specificity, two mid action profiles, 2 new patterns, human figure drawing and size differences.
References
Malchiodi, C. A. (2012). Understanding Children's Drawings. New York: Guilford Publications.
Soundy, C.S., & Lee, H.Y. (2013). A Medley of Pictures and Children’s Drawings. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/yc/files/yc/file/201305/0513_Medley_Pictures_Patterns_Soundy_0.pdf
