May 17, 2011 - Mo'a Dat

It took me four years to paint like
Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.
- Pablo Picasso

My toddler regularly asks to "payn" [paint]. She fearlessly attacks her little pan of non-toxic watercolors. She uses every brush. She uses every brush in every possible way. She smears, pours, dabs, soaks, scrubs, and swipes.

She uses the ends of the brushes, her fingers, and her elbows. From the evidence at bathtime, she apparently also uses her ears and chin.

This child careens full-force into each little painting. Sometimes she's quick, and sometimes she's slow, but she is always fully engaged.  Not once does she say, "Would you critique this for me?" Not once does she ask, "Is this finished?" Not once have I heard, "What do you think of these colors together?"

Instead, she confidently hands me her finished product at the (apparently) appropriate time, gleefully points at her personal pile of scrap paper, and firmly requests, "Mo'a dat."

Yes, more of that, indeed.  Mo'a dat total freedom. Mo'a dat breathless focus. Mo'a dat boundless energy. Mo'a dat pure joy.  The whole world could use mo'a dat.  I will do my part. I will aspire to paint like my child.