The Looking Book
Lucia Vinti
Pavilion Children’s Books

Very young children are all artists, no one’s told them otherwise; but once they get to around seven, many become hypercritical of what they create saying such things as “I can’t draw”. Or to use the words of Pablo Picasso, “ Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
Now here is a book that will help them get over that can’t do notion.

It’s full of creative ideas that show youngsters how to view the world as an artist might and then go on to create art of their own. By looking at things as if through the lenses of eleven artists including Clementine Hunter, David Hockney, husband and wife photographers Hilla and Bernd Becher,

Kehinde Wiley and Henry Moore children can try their hand at producing folk art paintings, a ‘joiner’ sequence, a photo grid of different versions of one item (a bench perhaps), a portrait in the style of Kehinde Wiley

and draw a collection of some interesting natural objects, maybe textured sticks and leaves to use in a design for a sculpture, as did Henry Moore.

These are just a few examples of the exciting challenges of the seventy suggested by illustrator Lucia Vinti. She encourages looking closer, looking up, down and all around, taking time to appreciate the surroundings, not taking anything you see for granted wherever you are and wherever you go (ideally with a copy of this book at the ready along with items from the toolkit shown on the opening spread).