ADD 3rd grader

[solonite]

I wanted to pick your brains for a minute. I have a third grader (very smart) with ADD that I teach once a week. She comes up with the most marvelous comments...the last was "the mind is full of canvases that have already been painted". However..she is very abstract in her painting and is very stuck on creating her paintings in a very childlike way not accepting suggestions for improving her art. I teach to create individual thought processes and to expand creativeness in your own way but feel like she is resisting personal growth. The parents are VERY happy with her art and the way she is progressing but I feel she is capable of more. Once I had them painting a landscape and the student started to exclaim " this is not happy" I told her to paint a happy landscape and her brushstrokes flew with such ease resembling plumbs. At my suggestion the parents are supplying smaller canvas to create on so not to overwhelm her but I feel we are stalled. Her drawing skills are very much improved and she definitely loves art. I just don't want to do a disservice to her and her family. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance...

[jocko500]

I never teach anyone about painting. sound like a Van Gogh you have there when he went to a art school. he did what he wish and told the teacher off a few time. the teachers was going to ask him to leave but he left before they told him. anyway he learned on his own mostly. One of his teachers wrote in his dairy saying " I knew this man and the way he going he going to surpass us all or he going to go crazy. i do not know he was going to do both" He did get a drawing book and that how he learn to improve his skill on drawing.
Not sure if giveing the child a book wood help. Or show her ia lot of images of past artist to see which ones she likes and not like. just a idea to go from there as then you know what she likes and do not like.

sorry for the history here . You most likely know it already.

[solonite]

Jock you are right on...one of her favorite times of the day is when we sit and go through the artist magazines and talk about the works!..She tells me how they make her feel and even makes up her own names for the paintings. I never want to take her individualism away from her.

[Shamrock15]

Maybe going smaller isn't helping. Have you tried going bigger? Maybe "the canvases in her head" are bigger and she is struggling to fit big visions into small spaces. If Pollock can dribble and splash paint and be successful...