A Visit to Ben's Studio

For the first time in 2010 Ben got to start some new canvases. He was so excited and fired up that both Nurse Tracy (his primary nurse) and Nurse Julie (his occasional evening nurse) got to work with him yesterday. He was so very full of energy which is not an unusual trait of Ben these days.

After I uploaded and began preparation of these post I was a bit torn. In one way I was rather disappointed in that none of them capture that energy I mentioned. However in another way I pleased to see once again how intense Ben is when he paints. This was Tracy's second "painting with Ben" experience and Julie's first - both absolutely marveled at the young artist's ability to convey what he wants, from the choice of paint color to the moment he says "I'm done."

I myself was blown away by his desire to all of the sudden mix colors on the canvas - something I rarely do. At first I thought it a fluke until he did it once more in his evening session. He is also (obvious to those around him) making a very distinct choice of colors much more dark and moody than I would choose. Is he developing his own style? I cannot answer this and none of us may never know. My gut feeling is that cognitively does understand what he is doing and therefore by creating art Ben is liberating himself from the constraints of his physical body.

Ben chooses his color. We usually give him only three distinct choices but last night (we didn't take pictures unfortunately) we rotated several sets of colors using a process of elimination. It worked wonderfully!

Earlier in the day I had mentioned that I didn't have a bottle of one of my favorite paint colors: lime green. Ben deliberately chose yellow (a first for him) and immediately blended it with the green he initially selected. The result? Lime green. Coincidence? By the way I have witnesses for all of these things!

Ben was none too pleased about this shade of purple. We are now positive that he wanted a real dark purple color that he is used to rather than this lilac. We eventually told him he could wipe off the paint if he wanted which led to...

...Ben wiping off the paint.

Ben At Work

Ben had a dear friend come to visit today. Nurse Stacey hasn't been able to work too many hours with Ben recently but today was a day we'd been looking forward to since she was scheduled to take care of him. Stacey has been the only nurse to facilitate his desire to paint since Vickie took a new job.

On top of that another nurse (Tracy) came to orient (learn about Ben) so that she can possibly be a part of Ben's care giving team. Nothing can be more fun than to show off one's artistic abilities! He's obviously feeling much better because it showed in the return to his flirtatious jovial talkative personality.

Given that my last show of the year is this weekend, I have a full plate of "Ben paintings" waiting for me in the studio upon my return...including this newest one. Check back with us often as I complete some of Ben's masterpieces!

Working with his favorite color. Notice his head leaning toward the right. We suspect this is intentional posturing to use the right side of his brain - the creative side.

When Ben is painting he will pause for awhile, lean his head to the right, and think about the next few hand strokes he will be making. Once the decision has been made he begins talking almost incessantly pausing to laugh every once in awhile.

Ben paints using both hands. The fingers of his right hand will spread out while he pushes it using his left hand. Essentially his left hand is "holding the brush" which happens to be his right hand. Note the lack of paint on the back of Ben's left hand at the top of this entry and the accumulation of paint on the right side of his hand above.

Once again he becomes very animated. It was interesting to note that he put his hands toward his face only once today. If you recall in past creative sessions Ben would often put his paint-caked fingers in his mouth while he thought. This is an obvious sign (at least to us) that our son's cognitive abilities are continuing to expand.

More friends participating in NaBloPoMo:

Down to Earth Mama

Nurses and Finger Painting

Okay, some of you need to go ahead and get your imaginations out of the gutter right now (KimmyK, Slick, Becky, and Bea all come to mind at the moment). This is a "nice" story. A pretty story. One of those with the bees getting all trippy-like around the cone flowers, or the hummingbirds buzzing the sugar water, or even my preacher neighbor's wife getting all pissed off because her kids had a mud throwing party in our backyard as I watched and didn't intervene while Tropical Strom Fay rained hail and damnation upon our neck of the woods.

For what it's worth the neighbor kids enjoyed it - for the most part. I'm almost positive no one noticed me turning loose my outdoor hose on the little pricks overly dressed imps of salvation after Fay yawned at us and decided to head toward more deserving destruction needing places like Washington. But let us keep our little secret between you and me for now. Won't 'cha?

So here's the serious part of the post. It is truly the part where I might even get a bit weepy wimpy. No. That's not a tear - it's probably an eyelash or something.

Honestly I've never counted how many nurses have come through the doors of our home since Ben's birth. All I know is there have been many that have placed foot upon our welcome mat. Most have been really nice ladies and even a few nice gays...I mean guys (one was an ex-Marine so I take that joke back). Some have even been a little strange while a few have been...beyond the edge of reason? Crazy? Bat shit crazy? Ummmm....worse? Yes.

It can't be easy to walk into someone else's home to do your job. And it's definitely not easy to host a someone else into your home for them to do their job. Think about it for a minute. There maybe two of you out there whose carpets are vacuumed daily, whose laundry is nicely folded, whose beds are made every morning, whose dishes from the previous night's dinner are already washed and in the cupboard, and whose den has already been picked up from the spontaneous popcorn fight that occurred after Obama's speech.

Our nurses are greeted with a den full of clothes lying about that may or may not include dirty underwear. After crawling over about two weeks worth of laundry they reach our kitchen where generally, they have to push aside 3 or 4 days of dishes, pots, and pans just to make enough room to prepare Ben's morning meds. Since school has started back they now have the pleasure of some hairy smelly guy with morning breath that could peel paint reporting the overnight lowdown about Ben.

I tell you these are special ladies (and occasional gents). Eventually they become a part of our family. They become a part of "the A team" - the folks we trust the most to make decisions about Ben's health. They sometimes help Jessie with her homework and actually get caught folding a basket of laundry (y'all stop that). They even get to hear all about the stupid shit that I do before any of you get to read about it. In fact they've heard far more stupid shit about us that Joan won't let me post on the blog. Most importantly they love our son too. We sincerely thank them for what they have to put up with here in our crazy ass household. Mary Brady, Kelly Manly, Julie Guy, Lisa Stamey, Jenny Ohly, Vicki Robertson, and Stacey Brophy - take a bow!

One special gift that Ben has been able to give them is painting. Only a few have missed out because Ben was too young but you can be sure they have plenty of SoulShine they've taken with them to their next cases. Yesterday was special because it was the very first time that Nurse Stacey got to work in paint with Ben. It is so very cool to watch this happen. It reveals the essence of Ben to someone quicker and better than any other way.

The funny thing is that Ben now prefers they work with him more so than with me. I can't figure that one out but it makes the experience all the more special. Maybe he knows this is a gift only he can give.

Ben choosing his paint. Actually he's making it known that he wants to work on something he's already started.

Stacey is helping with Ben's head control but I think she's really just wanting to rub his soft hair.

I had to sneak up on the two artists to get these next few. Enjoy!

A loving hand helps another - I love this shot!

How I Spent My Winter Vacation
(or How to Come Up With Art for the Outdoors)

After so many inquiries the past three years asking if my paintings could be hung in an outdoor or semi-outdoor (screened-in porch) I decided to increase my customer base over the winter. I spent a great deal of time and thought (really!) about this and came to one conclusion: I gotta use metal. Since my best iron-welding days occurred about 25 years ago back in college and the likelihood of magically gaining a TIG or MIG welder would be like expecting Oprah to call asking for art lessons I decided to pursue "manipulating" metal via hand tools, Home Depot, and my noggin.

Featured to the right for your viewing pleasure is my spacecraft for very, very, very, very, very (etc.) short people. I still have high hopes of one day capturing a huge tuna-like fish upon a lure made from this do-dad. I can then feed all the folks in some hunger-stricken country and fulfill my life-long dream of appearing on Oprah. Until then you may laugh at your heart's content at the very bad excuse for a Medieval shield.

I went back to basics and found some success. Now I need all of you to critique and offer suggestions just like we artisans did back in college. There are a few things that I need to keep secret for the moment since there are those that scour the internet looking for a fast buck (here's a hint for those of you doing so: this ain't no FAST buck). I'm looking for my art buddies Christy, Courtney and Conni to lay it on thick. Also Gretchen, look for "Gert the Fish" to show up in this genre as well as others. You get your version in June. Seriously, I need some direction. Here's what we have:

These are tiles laid out like a lizard on my newest canvas: wood. It is now painted and ready for finishing. Questions: I thought of puff-paint as "grout" but Joan thinks it'll cheapen the look. We're thinking definition via my use of those "squiggles" found in my horse paintings.

The sides are painted black. Should I do my thing like I do on my painted canvas sides? Squiggles and whatever via pens or paint?

Here's the rough lay-out for the first one.

This features a view of something I will incorporate into some of them. The gold flecks are actually metal and I have the adhesives to make them like a signature or a wide swath. I need direction ladies (and gentlemen). Let me know!

EdVenture First Weekend Memories

Ben is ready to work! Although it appears he's looking up at his surroundings he is actually doing something we've always found interesting while he thinks. He's actually trying to figure out where the paint is because I'm still setting up the display table. I bet he's thinking "Dad is way too slow!"

Me and The Artist are taking a break. Ben has worked on two canvases already and worked very hard while folks were watching. There was an African drum group from Orlando performing at the time so most of the visitors went to see them perform.

Joan gets a rare chance to help Ben get ready to paint! Ben made it obvious that he likes having Mom see what he can do.

Jessie was a great help yesterday. The three of us are getting ready to show our tile painting project. Again we know that Ben gained confidence knowing his big sister was there to support him.

Once again the drum group are doing their thing. Me and Jessie are watching from our viewing place which was on the second floor. The huge child in front of us is the museum's focal point. His name is Eddie and he's interactive. Children can venture inside of Eddie from the rear and see how a human body works. Jessie's highlight was getting to slide down Eddie's colon. Fun stuff.

I'll have more about the weekend tomorrow. We had modem problems today which we were just now able to fix. There is still much to tell about the weekend. We all went to breakfast this morning and discussed what we learned. The great part was that Ben was wide awake at dawn and ready for a new EdVenture. He ate fried apples this morning which he loved. Hopefully we'll have more informative photos next weekend. Also we can now share all of the details of the projects we introduced to the public yesterday. This was a great weekend for our family!

Stress

It is mayhem here in the Waddell household. Please believe me when I tell you that I've not been procrastinating in preparation for this weekend. We are just like every one of you in that there are so many family obligations some of them have to be put aside until necessary.

Ben is definitely prepared. I packed up his paints and supplies last night but I'm approaching this like I would a show. I spent most of the afternoon and evening printing giclees of our work to sell tomorrow and we now have 12 sets of note cards to offer as well. Joan has been busy getting posters ready to display which include the title of our blog, PKS Kids (with a description), and pictures of me and Ben working.

We have a slide show ready with music to play in the background that will rotate with Jane Robelot's piece from July. I have art supplies and samples ready to display on our tables. We've yet to pick out Ben's outfit (and a back up since he tends to throw up when he's nervous). And here I am blogging just to tell you what we have left.

With that said I think we'll have a marvelous time! We're carrying the camera to capture as much as possible. I wouldn't expect much from us tomorrow but who knows? Send some good thoughts our way. We'll need them!

Getting Ready for EdVenture Museum!


Ben and I are working hard to be ready for our visit to South Carolina's largest children's museum, EdVenture!, this Saturday. The museum is located in downtown Columbia on Gervais Street. The video is a bit longer than most (over 5 minutes) but it's worth your time. Nurse Vicki helps Ben work on painting tiles. You can hear him say "yellow" and "green" near the beginning as he is choosing colors. Enjoy!

Downtown Cola Town

Ben and I are excited to announce our official attendance as participating artists at EdVenture during EdCeptional Kids Month! Located in the historic mill area of Columbia, the facility is the "unofficial" children's museum of South Carolina (the "official" museum is located in Myrtle Beach which in no way matches the exhibits and education offered by EdVenture).

If you recall we announced our invitation back in July. Since that time we've been brain-storming about ideas, projects, or presentations that me and Ben could share with the public. As it turns out my initial idea of creating a permanent installation was not very practical. That became evident when I visited the museum in late July for the final planning meeting. The extremely cool part was getting a tour of the place guided by Cindy Detuello who happens to be the Education Director. In all honesty the place is kind of a hidden gem among all the other things our state capitol has to offer! EdVenture should be at the top of the list of things to do in Cola Town if you have children under the age of 12 (followed closely by a visit to The Riverbanks Zoo).

Details were somewhat finalized this afternoon during a phone call with Cindy as I returned home from a meeting in Columbia about a completely different and almost as exciting artistic endeavor. I'll be sharing about that one in a few days once I digest all of the information. Let's put it this way: when you reach my age brain-storming can be exhausting!

If you can make it, Ben and I would love to meet you and talk about whatever you'd like on these dates:

• Tuesday September 11 from 5pm until 8pm

• Saturday September 22 from 10am until 5pm

• Saturday September 29 from 10am until 5pm

"The Two Bens" will be demonstrating our painting techniques every couple of hours. We'll also have information about projects you can do with your children (regardless of being exceptional or not) and examples of those projects in various stages of completion. Our goal is to show the value of art as a form of therapy, communication, and building better relationships within all families.

If you are interested in attending at anytime throughout the month of September the get in touch with me via e-mail (benwaddell@bellsouth.net). I have discount coupons I can send you. We would really like to meet as many of our South Carolina readers as possible and this will be a great opportunity to that while you interact with Ben.

A New Method of Painting!

Another tremendous blessing related to Jane Robelot's recent visit was the interest of folks unfamiliar with our work in owning a painting by me and Ben. A few folks were a bit confused when they went to my website to view my past works thinking that all of those paintings were a collaboration. At first I was a little disappointed to have to explain that Ben was an obvious influence and observer but did not actually place paint on the canvas.

One particular gentleman came up with an interesting idea after deciding that he wanted to purchase one of my larger pieces. He asked that I allow Ben to add something to that painting even if it were a few finger strokes. In his heart he wanted something created by both of us yet loved that particular painting. Obviously a huge dilemma followed. Needing the money I said yes but the artist instinct within began to question the integrity of this process.

I was fortunate to have the advice of some of my most trusted artist friends last week. EVERYONE OF THEM agreed that I would not be harming the artistic integrity of the painting by allowing Ben to add to it. One of them even told me point blank that if I wouldn't consider Ben as a collaborator on one of "my" pieces then the integrity of Ben's work would be lost. Trust me when I tell you that I have some deep thinking friends!

So this afternoon Ben "finished" the painting which was originally titled "4x4."

This is the typical size canvas we work on. We've recently worked on some canvases that are a few inches larger in each direction.

I think Lisa will agree with me that Ben was just a tad intimidated by the sheer size of this canvas. Plus it was difficult to convince him that he was allowed to actually paint on it. He did understand the theme as he said the word "horse" several times while working.

Here I'm showing Ben one of the areas where I think the image needed work. When I limited the scope of what I wanted him to contribute he relaxed and finally got into it!

And so we turned him loose!

And after an afternoon of painting and a painted goatee like daddy's Ben gained a new sense of satisfaction.

And as always the clean up process is part of the therapy. I must give a great deal of credit to Nurse Lisa for making this an important part of "the process." Having to scrub the caked-on paint makes for great tactile occupational therapy!

This is a crappy photo of the finished painting which is now entitled "4x4x2." I hope to have a better photo tomorrow.

Artists in Residence Part II

Art & Abilitation: “Abilitation” is not a word recognized by Webster though it is a word used quite often by therapists and caregivers of exceptional children. In my own journey I have found that the creative process leads to profound positive impact upon my son. The first 3 goals listed above are more easily achieved through goal #4.

In my son Ben’s case we have seen dramatic improvement in hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and simple logic. We have developed methods of communication that reach beyond language so that we understand each other better. Ultimately we are meeting challenges head on and overcoming obstacles that prevent him from living a joyful life. In the end he has been rewarded with a sense of accomplishment which is just as important had he taken his first steps! Unlike physical therapies, there are no failures in art therapy.

This is what I want to share with the folks visiting EdVenture in September.

Considerations: There are many.

• Will the community creation become a permanent museum display?
• Will the individuals participating want to take home their creations?
• The toxicity of materials used
• The ease and ability of clean up.
• How often do I visit to facilitate or teach the activity?

The Idea: I have come to the conclusion that the best possible finished piece be some sort of mosaic. Individuals visiting the museum can take 15 to 20 minutes to work on and complete a small work of art. Since Ben and I use painting as our preferred method of creating I would like to have participants use the same. I have found a non-toxic acrylic paint called Liquitex Glossies (MSDS information can be found at this address: http://www.liquitex.com/healthsafety/msds/Glossies.pdf). Using soap and water can easily clean this type of paint. I would also suggest using either baby wipes or a similar type product for help in cleansing paint off skin.

The surface I suggest for use as a “canvas” is a typical bathroom tile. Acrylic paint will dry to touch within 20 to 30 minutes and can be handled easily with 45 minutes to an hour. The paint cures within 24 hours becoming “permanent” although scratching a sharp object across the surface could still damage the painting. That is why I would want to “fire” the tiles to be used in the community creation in an ordinary oven (325 degrees for 45 minutes achieves a scratch-resistant, high gloss finish).

For the “community creation” I propose to construct a large permanent mosaic of a Palmetto Tree using selected tiles from those made at the museum. I would use two or three Saturdays in September to complete the project. I would also use those dates to discuss more in depth my thoughts shared earlier. I definitely would like to have my son present for possible demonstrations and encouragement.

The selection of the tiles could be done in several different ways.

1. Submissions from schools across the state.
2. Selections from those tiles completed at the museum throughout the month.
3. Submissions from special needs schools or classrooms such as The Washington Center in Greenville, SC (Ben’s school).
4. Tiles that Ben and me work on at home for use to “fill in” areas needed for completion of the work.

Regardless I would like ALL people who want to participate be able to do so. It is important that the finished work include tiles made by exceptional children as well as those living a healthy disability free life. I also feel that the Palmetto Tree is a perfect subject to use. Not only is it a highly visible symbol of our state but it represents the courage, beauty, and fortitude of the people of our state.

I would also like the museum to pursue corporate sponsors to donate the tile and scaffolding equipment toward the expense of this endeavor.

Ben & Bennie:
Artists in Residence!

A little over a month ago we received an invitation to participate during the month of September at EdVenture Children's Museum in Columbia, South Carolina. September serves at EdCeptional Kids Month at what is essentially the official children's museum of our state. During September the museum will offer programs and exhibits to educate the public about issues and challenges facing families and children with special needs. We are honored to be a big part of it!

We have now moved into the difficult part: brainstorming! Although I already have an idea brewing I certainly wouldn't mind hearing anything the Blogoshere has to offer, particularly from those of you with close ties to the special needs community and my artist friends. You can leave them here in the comment box or e-mail me at benwaddell@bellsouth.net. And please don't hesitate to offer them to me no matter how "dumb" you might think they are. Trust me. I've already explored the depths of stupidity already.

The really cool part of all of this is that it's jump-started an idea I've had spinning around in my brain the past few months (yeah, I do know how dangerous that is). With some encouragement from Jane Robelot yesterday I'm going to explore the possibility of doing this type of thing more often, particularly if Ben gets to participate and it occurs during the winter months.

So if you know of a school, group, or corporation looking for some special education or plain old motivation we just might be your guys!

Here is the first part of my idea/proposal to the museum. Again if you want to comment or it generates an idea, let me have it.

Summary: As a professional artist and parent of an exceptional child I have come to believe that every parent of a special needs child is a practicing artist. Certainly every parent has to exhibit an incredible amount of creativity in leading their young ones toward an outcome of healthy happy adults. The parent of a disabled loved one faces even more obstacles and often has no specific outcome at which to aim. A finite amount of variables that factor into an ultimate goal is impossible to calculate.

An artistic example of the difference in parenting can be illustrated by asking an unskilled potter to complete a ceramic piece. The typical parent would be like a ceramic student taking a pottery class. There is an instructor to help the student begin. The student eventually gains more knowledge by asking classmates for ideas and suggestions. By the time glazes are applied the young potter knows from lectures, study, and observation that there are several ways to fire the pot. Ultimately by making a few typical choices the student can already envision the end result before the piece is placed into the kiln.

The exceptional parent however enters the studio alone. There are tools and some instruction manuals lying about but no instructor is to be found. Sitting at a bench is a large lump of clay. At the other end of the room is a large structure that looks like an outdoor fire pit. Some brightly colored cones are arranged neatly off to the side. The student looks at a chalkboard on a wall and reads an instruction written upon it: “Make a completed pot out of your clay.”


Target: It is also my belief that a community shares in the education and healthy growth of all children. The exceptional child is no different. Access to all possible forms of instruction must be gained. Certainly teachers, therapists, medical personnel, facilitators, and caregivers are obvious candidates that would benefit from further education but more important are the majority of South Carolinians that have no exposure to the world of special needs. Despite the fact that most people will eventually face the situation of caring for a disabled individual (ex. elderly parent) or will know someone who requires special care (a neighbor or family friend), many folks have no idea how to even greet a person confined to a wheelchair.

To enlighten the secondary audience is most important. These are the individuals who without knowing it break the hearts of many exceptional children. Many a child requiring profound care through the means of medical equipment, wheelchair, and nursing services has visited a shopping mall and never once received a smile during that visit. I know for a fact that this occurs since it happens all too often with my own son. These excursions are extremely important toward the growth of our son. If he is to function one day in normal social situations we need for him to learn how to interact with others in a healthy manner. We also need for those individuals interacting with our son to deal with him in a healthy social manner.

Goals:

1. Educating individuals without disabilities about the obstacles and challenges exceptional people face.
2. Gaining better communication between the general public and exceptional kids.
3. Teaching creative thinking to caregivers of special kids.
4. Completing an art project in which everyone participates as a means of learning and building self-worth.

The Shows are Heating Up!

Literally and figuratively. I would classify this past weekend's festival as pretty good. Sales were decent and the weather cooperated for the most part. Also the event took place at one of the more interesting places that I'll visit this season. My friend Christy attended and our booths were placed next to each other so we were able to entertain each other during the slow periods.

The Sacred Heart Cultural Center was phenomenal! Essentially a very wealthy family kept an old Catholic church (built early last century) from being razed and donated it to the arts community of Augusta, Georgia. Being the art geeks that we are Christy and I had a blast rummaging through the church. We got some cool pictures that I'll post tomorrow. By the way Christy had one of her best shows ever. I hope that good luck carries over for me this coming weekend in Hilton Head.

If I had to come up with one not-so-good thing about the past few days it would have to be the heat. The temperatures were in the mid to high 80s but I'm sure the heat index was even higher. I maybe getting in "show shape" but I definitely need to get better acclimated to the summer-like weather that's already here.

One of the best things about the folks attending Sacred Heart was the interest shown for mine and Ben's blog! It was the first show this Spring that almost everyone visiting the booth wanted to know about Ben and our painting projects. That alone made me accept the invitation to return next year. Thanks again Walter, Betsy, Judy, Kay, Donna and the many other fine folks that let me tell them about Ben and our family!

I'll have a collage of photos up sometime tomorrow. Since inventory has been fortunately depleted I need to get to work painting. Before signing off tonight I do want to tell Redneck Mommy and KimmyK that I have a new most favorite song. It's by Banjo & Sullivan and titled "I'm at Home Gettin' Hammered While She's Out Gettin' Nailed."

The pic is of my newest painting entitled "One Tree Hill."

Collaborating With Ben

This morning while studying some of Ben's latest paintings for images that might begin to take shape Joan made a clever suggestion. Why not show on the blog how this process actually works? It immediately hit me how we could very simply pull this off without an elaborate video production.

To begin with and particularly if you've not visited here often, you might want to check out the video of "Jen & Ben Painting" from a few days ago. You can also find several photo collages of Ben doing his part under the category labeled "Art by Ben and Bennie" over on the left sidebar. One can easily see that Ben has a blast painting even though he also takes it very seriously. We've also seen Ben make vast improvements with his fine motor skills using his hands and arms. You can witness this for yourself in the video as Ben pulls the canvas panel toward him to look more closely at the painting and eventually picks up his hands to move the paint in the direction he wants.

This was not happening when we first started doing this for the blog back in October. We generally would lay Ben's hands in the paint and either move the canvas around for him or he would just very slowly slide his arms over the surface. Those early paintings were much more subjective on my part since I generally controlled the paint colors and the movements of the canvas.

When the nurses began to aid Ben we obviously started to see Ben's own "style" emerging. In fact he's making most of the paint choices for himself these days. We can also see the difference in the way he paints for each nurse. I've felt it important not to influence how they accomplish their work so that I get a "purer" image from Ben's own creativity. I think it's worked beautifully. Let's see what you think.

I'd encourage you to spend a few moments looking at each picture before moving on through it's development. What you are about to see is "step 2" in the process where I have to find that image Ben wants to convey.

This is very new piece that Ben and Lisa worked on together (perhaps a week old). This was the very first time I told Ben we had a specific request for a subject matter. In a few moments I'll show you another canvas that the subject wasn't necessarily suggested but he clearly had overheard Lisa and I talking about what we might be seeing in another painting he was working on. All I told Ben was that someone had asked for a cat. Can you see one? I just happened to clearly see the image of it this morning.

Here I've taken a paint pen and began to outline the image with in pink. Now can you see the possibility of a paw (possibly two) in the foreground?

I've now taken a blue paint pen to continue shaping out a paw. After studying it more as I made these photos I can now see that the paw should actually be much larger. The extra blue arc I added represents how it will eventually take shape and I can also see the possibility of another paw that will be underneath the first.

This canvas was done by Jenny and Ben the same day we made the video. What do you see?

I am pointing at what could be the body of a dragonfly. At each of the corners you can see teal blue paint that could be the tips of it's wings.

Again the same painting. My hand is covering an area that could possibly be the right wing of a butterfly. The left wing is much more defined particularly by the shadow of my hand.

Recall how we discussed a butterfly in working with Ben? This shape jumped out at me immediately! You can see how I've already used a purple pen to clearly establish it's shape.

I'll try and update the process as we finish these up over the next few days. I hope you enjoy seeing how this all works!