Yesterday my kids and I watched “My Kid Could Paint That.” It’s a documentary by Amir Bar-Lev about the 4-year-old painter (now about 10) who set the art world abuzz with her abstract paintings. In the midst of the documentary filming, “60 Minutes” broadcast a piece, which called into question who was responsible for the painting–Marla, the child, or her parent(s).
My kids spent a bit of time debating whether the father was responsible for the paintings, but mainly, it made my kids want to paint. All three of them, grabbed paintbrushes and painted, while dinner was cooking, and set about to paint. They woke up wanting to paint and be creative.
My 8-year-old assured me she didn’t plan on making as much as the young child in the movie–within a couple years, Marla had earned $300,000. In fact, money was not the object. Instead, my daughter realized it had been a long time since she had painted.
Watching the movie also made me want to paint.
I’ve always had a secret desire to spend more time painting and working with clay. But I’ve seemingly never found the time to dip into either. I generally tend to think I don’t have the time or patience for invoking the spirit of my college drawing classes to mold clay or pull out the paintbrushes.
An art teacher who purchased a work by Marla says (and I’m paraphrasing!): Marla’s art taps into something from our childhood. I thought that was one of the truest statements as to why Marla’s art was so successful.
Another effective part of the movie, for me, was seeing how carefree Marla’s paintings seem. Seeing Marla’s work and studying Bar-Lev’s work, his medium, was freeing in a way I hadn’t expected. (I watched the special features on the DVD, which included Bar-Lev’s comments about his own work and its impact by Marla and her world.)
If I could accomplish some of their artistic freedoms, I’d be a happy and colorful painter…and writer.
Is there a movie you’ve seen that has helped tap into or resonated with your creative flow?

Share on Facebook