r/MadeMeSmile • u/Defiant-Hair2784 • 17h ago
Family & Friends (OC) "My 15 year old daughter’s art school assignment was a self portrait using only 3 colors. I am so blown away by what she created.
The art teacher challenged the class to limit themselves strictly to three colors (she chose blue, purple and pink). When I asked her why she skipped traditional skin tones she told me, "I wanted it to match my personality bold and vibrant." As a parent seeing her embrace her identity and creativity like this absolutely made my day.❤️
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u/TreXeh 17h ago
Deffo got talent!
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 17h ago
She does, l never knew this side of her.
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u/Tankeverket 16h ago
might be time to pay attention to her then, this kind of talent doesn't just pop up from nowhere, you must have noticed her drawing at home?
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u/chbjupiter 15h ago
Kids tend to keep stuff private sometimes, that doesn't mean the parents aren't paying attention to them. I did a lot of creative things my parents had no idea about when I was little because I was private about it
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 14h ago
I agree with you. I have 3 daughters and this is the middle one. She is so private, keeps everything to herself. She doesn't like art but it's her subject and she takes it seriously. Her main thing is football well futsal and is always representing her school at the national Australasian Futsal competition. Thank you for the positive comment.
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u/Nina-Boogfilm 10h ago
As a middle child,I completely understand this dynamic.I seemed much more closed off than my older sister and younger brother growing up.For your daughter,steady quiet support matters more than asking her to open up.Simply show her you’re proud of her interest s -both her art and distal and she will share pieces of herself naturally when she feels comfortable
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 6h ago
You are completely right, she said the same thing to me. She really enjoys her own space but as a mother l always think what if there is something serious going on and she is hiding it from me. But then she has this friend who comes over all the time and she told me how my daughter tells her everything and there is nothing to worry about.
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u/SpitefulOptimist 11h ago
My sister was a lot like that. The more you pried the more she was private. But if you let her be she was open to showing you stuff
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 6h ago
I get what you are saying you are right. I have 3 girls and they are all so different. The oldest one shares only some things, middle one barely anything and the young one absolutely everything 🤣
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u/natathecococat 10h ago
I’m a middle child who loves to draw too. I don’t talk much and I nurtured my art skills on my own. My parents didn’t see my talent for art till I convinced them to let me go to university a second time for an art degree. Since I graduated, I have restored painting and photographs of my great grandparents that was damage for years, and was often the only painting or photo my family has of them.
If your daughter shows interest in pursuing art, she should. She’s has very solid understanding of human facial anatomy and colours 😊
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 6h ago
Oh wow that's really great, glad to hear that you went to do what you love. I bet restoring your grandparents photos was remarkable achievement for you and your parents. I honestly love your enthusiasm 😊
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u/EarlyXplorerStuds209 17h ago
You must be so proud :D
She’s quite talented
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 17h ago
Very proud, the only thing she doesn't want to pursue art. She plays football for the school and wants to be a football player.
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u/chbjupiter 16h ago
Thats still really cool! When I was little I was really gifted at writing, but I didn't want to pursue writing, I wanted to do dance. My parents insisted I had a gift for writing and kept nudging me in that direction, which led to me burning out and seeing it as an obligation, and I didn't pick writing up again until my 20s. I think I would have kept writing if it was purely my enjoyment fuelling me, rather than my parents pressuring me to nurture my gift. You sound like a very supportive parent so I'm glad she has you, I just wanted to share what the other side of the coin sometimes looks like
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 16h ago
You are right, I get what you are saying. She hates art doesn't like it at all and wants to play football only. I tell her it's shame to waste her talent like that but she doesn't care. So I said okay what ever you want as long as you are happy. Hope you found your happy fulfillment.
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u/NegotiationSharp4370 13h ago
She may pick it back up when she’s older. Just to relax/have fun, draw pictures for her kids, stun everyone at Pictionary-type games, etc. it’s a great skill to have.
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u/Watchkeys 17h ago
She can still pursue art without pursuing it at school. Vangelis (who wrote the Chariots of Fire theme, amongst many other well known works) famously was not a trained musician and was grateful about that.
Someone with talent and passion will acquire the instruments they need and they will create, regardless.
I think that even her choice of colours is clever here because she's gone for a selection that offers her warmth and cool. And the lovely thing is that she doesn't even know how clever she was by doing that!
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u/eliz1bef 15h ago
Terry Crews was a football player, and is an artist and an actor. She doesn't have to choose.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 14h ago
You are right, l agree.
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u/eliz1bef 14h ago
I just now realized you didn't mean American football! How ethnocentric of me. LOL
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 13h ago
Hahah it's okay, for me it's football for Aus it's futsal. I don't get it, to me it's the same, they still kick the ball ⚽
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u/Stucklikegluetomyfry 14h ago
That’s fine. While we might be disappointed in someone not pursuing or taking something seriously in something they show so much talent or potential in, there’s something nice in it just being a hobby and a personal source of pleasure for that person, rather than making a career in it or going to university for it.
Girlie is probably just what we call a multiple threat talent who just wants to focus on one of them seriously.
I hope I didn’t sound condescending because I didn’t mean to
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 12h ago
Not at all, l understand what you are trying to say. I think you are right, can be just a hobby for her. Hope it just doesn't disappears completely. Would be a shame.
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u/Stucklikegluetomyfry 12h ago
If it makes you feel better, sometimes trying to pursue a talent in education or a career can end up ruining it for a young person. Like when I was a kid I loved acting. I got a lot of praise for it. For example, one guy said to my mom “oh he’s such a natural, the camera absolutely loves him.” This was a guy who worked in film and television, so it wasn’t just an uncle or a friend of the family. So I ended up going to drama school. The teachers there were really toxic and played favorites massively, and weren’t shy about it. Their favourites always got the main roles, while their unfavourites would always end up playing Servant No 3 or….a tree. One of them straight up told my mother that I was the worst actor in the school. Not sure how they could come to that conclusion when I was never given a chance to play anything that had more than one line that wasn’t something like “Tea, my lady?”
After a few years of that, I stopped wanting to act. So I found I liked drawing and painting instead and something very similar happened when I went to art school. One of my teachers told me that I was the worst drawer in the class, and that all the other teachers agreed. In both those cases, I just thought, well if you think I’m that talentless, why didn’t you give my place at your precious school to someone who you thought was worth it and deserved it then? Why are you wasting all our time and that place in the course if you don’t think I should be here?
Now, I’m not knocking all arts institutions based on my own experience, what I am saying is that they can be toxic and damaging instead of nurturing, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing that your daughter can enjoy it as a hobby and for the pleasure it brings. My sister was a really talented painter as a young teenager, much better than me, but a really cruel art teacher completely nipped her confidence in the bud and she hasn’t picked up a paintbrush in almost thirty years.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 7h ago
Omg that's horrible, I'm sorry you had to go through that and your sister. The world is cruel, some people are so critical and judgmental. I think the words just come out of their mouth without actual proper thinking. They don't think how their words can impact that person, scar them for life. I always tell my daughters don't let anyone to bring you down, you know your worth but also don't ever put someone else down. You..never know what's that person is going through. Life is hard for so many people. But yes sometimes people judgement can totally ruin a person.
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u/Ilookouttrainwindow 10h ago
I knew this high profile lawyer who, I found out, was very artistic. Like, his painting were amazing, much like this drawing. Yet he was a lawyer through and through.
One doesn't undo the other. Your artist can be an artist while focusing on sports.
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u/Godphree 11h ago
Don't worry about her "wasting" her talent, sometime down the road, maybe after retiring from football, she'll decide that she didn't hate art that much after all and decide to explore it.
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u/LieutenantNitwit 11h ago
Get her a box of Prismacolors.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 6h ago
Omg I love this, l was honestly thinking what to get her as a gift and this would be perfect ❤️. Thank you so much for giving me idea
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u/DJpowerhammer 17h ago
She's going places, friend. This is undeniable natural talent
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 16h ago
I was honestly so impressed when she showed me this, I couldn't believe it myself.
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u/CarrotEyes 14h ago
That’s AI
Absolutely Incredible 😏
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u/Sarahgoose26 14h ago edited 13h ago
Update: leaving comment here in case anyone else here is a bit slow like me to get the joke. See comments below catching me up that this was indeed a joke.
I really don’t think this is AI - there’s real colored pencil texture, notable uneven pressure, little imperfections in the lines and shading. Beautiful drawing but not blurry or overly perfect like AI would. Even the angle of the image on the desk doesn’t read as AI.
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u/ggbcdvnj 14h ago
They were making a joke using the acronym
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u/Sarahgoose26 13h ago
Ohhh wow, I feel silly. Honestly my mom hackles got raised but I had not had my coffee yet to get the joke!
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u/Standard-Flatworm-15 14h ago
If only you had read it completely
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u/Sarahgoose26 13h ago
I did but I somehow didn’t get the connection and attributed the wink as sarcasm. Luckily others caught me up on the joke.
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u/Moumow 8h ago
Why she drew sssniperwolf
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 6h ago
Haha just a coincidence, her goal was to capture her own likeness for class. 😊
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u/FastMembership9 17h ago
The way she used the colors to express her personality make this so much more meanningful
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 16h ago
I agree, she keeps everything to herself when she shared this it made me cry because l nnnever knew she had art talent. I just asked herr to do portrait of me, so will see how it ends. Thank you
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u/jayroc1023 3h ago
WOW! Please tell her if you can to keep going. Keep pursuing art and it will give back to her😊. This is absolutely beautiful!
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u/Friscostrong 12h ago
She did an amazing job. I always felt drawing eyes are the hardest to do. She did great and aligned them.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 12h ago
Thank you, her determination was really impressive. Especially to focus that much on every detail.
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u/danielbearh 10h ago
I'm really glad to hear you say that.
I taught young folks at design school. It's always good to compliment talent, but it's more important to compliment the effort. How hard they worked. The determination.
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u/ThankTheBaker 3h ago
Please frame it and hang it on your wall.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 3h ago
I will have to print it from my phone, she had to leave it at school for classroom display. Not allowed to have it until the end of year.
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u/Stucklikegluetomyfry 14h ago
Your daughter is very talented and full of potential as an artist. This is a really striking piece.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 13h ago
Thank you, she read some of these comments and said lm still sticking to football 😂. You are really kind 😊
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u/Stucklikegluetomyfry 12h ago
That’s great, because now she can have something she focuses on as her career and something else she is really good at for pure pleasure and enjoyment.
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u/RobotSam45 16h ago
The colors she choose are a really great choice! I wouldn't have picked those, and she blended them well! (I always sucked at choosing a color palette) Growing up I always had trouble with shading the soft spots of a face like the cheeks or nose, she did fantastically! I never pursued art either, but I can always entertain at a gathering if someone gives me a pencil: It's a great feeling, and I'm sure your daughter will feel good about it even if she doesn't pursue a career in it. She is talented, you must be proud. I would be! High five!
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 14h ago
Thank you for such a nice comment. I was never good in art but she nailed it. She doesn't like it but l asked her to do my portrait, will see how that goes. She plays football for the school so she is just focused on it. 🙏💙
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u/Embarrassed-Cause250 12h ago
She has talent for sure!
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 7h ago
She sure does, only if she was interested in it 🙂
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u/Embarrassed-Cause250 5h ago
Kids!!! I know, I have an older teen daughter 🤭
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 5h ago
I have 3 of them and they are all different. Last night l told them I might be pregnant so the oldest one goes no mum you aree too old (37), and the middle one gave me tears(the one who draw this) she said mum l hope this time it's a boy I will share my roomz but if it's a girl get her her own room please, the youngest one (14) was over the moon 😂
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u/Embarrassed-Cause250 4h ago
🤣🤣🤣🤣That was a good one! We have a few kids (5) all 3-4+ years apart and every once in awhile at the dinner table I would announce that I wanted another child! Oh, the protests! Mine are all grown and my youngest goes off to college in a different State in January.
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u/project-shasta 11h ago
Great job, she's very talented and creative. Reminds me of that one Art anime where the objective was to paint the sky and the talented dude did it without the color blue.
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u/Time-Wrongdoer-551 10h ago
Don't let her go to Germany
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 6h ago
Why is that? We were just there 2 months ago. Have friends there, and believe me she loves Germany 😊
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u/Time-Wrongdoer-551 6h ago
Can you upvote my comment please? Yeah every painter loves Germany
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 5h ago
Sure can 😊. Just so you know you shouldn't be asking for the upvotes as it can get you banned. We do love Germany 😊
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u/Impulsive_Machine 9h ago
Beautiful Art!
Colloidal Silver
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 6h ago
Haha love the science joke, l promise it's just an art. Thank you for the compliment 🙏😊
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u/NoYou5043 8h ago
This is beautiful! ❤️ I love how she used her creativity to express her personality instead of following traditional expectations. The confidence and originality behind her work are what make it truly special. She has a bright future ahead of her! 🎨👏
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u/ilovepi314 7h ago
This is a fantastic piece of art. I hope she keeps making more.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 5h ago
Thank you mate, lm waiting for my portrait she told me it will be ready in two days. 😊
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u/JezusTheCarpenter 13h ago
This is awesome. As a substitute teacher that visits different schools one of my favorite things to do is to check out student art. It's awesome!
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 12h ago
Thank you, that's really nice to hear. I'm sure you get to see a lot of amazing talents and beautiful art 💙
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u/milesehway 15h ago
Please don't post pictures of your kids! Why has no one learned!?
/s
your daughter is super talented
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 14h ago
I'm sorry, what's the issue?
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u/milesehway 14h ago
My ability to make jokes 😆
Redditors typically freak out when parents post pictures of their kids, literal photos. And rightfully so.
Basically, I was trying to communicate that your daughter's self portrait is very well done.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 13h ago
I'm sorry my bad. I will be honest with you, l misunderstood it. Thank you for the kind comment and for the explanation. English is my second language so sometimes l don't get jokes straight away.
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u/eliz1bef 14h ago
They were jokingly implying that you had posted a photo of your daughter, not a drawing. They meant it in a complimentary way. Sometimes jokes fall flat.
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u/OrchidCreepy9256 14h ago
/s means satire
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u/Kimiko_kawaii 14h ago
Means sarcasm actually, for outright jokes you have /jk (joking) /hj (half joking) /hlh (half light hearted) /i (ironic)
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u/Fivefinger_Delta 15h ago
Awesome. It also looks cool when you invert the colours with a negative filter.
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u/P0thandev 14h ago
I'm also blown away from my seat by seeing this!!
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 12h ago
I honestly don't know how she has done it. Yes it's my daughter, but l was so surprised.
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u/peacefulby40 13h ago
That quote from her about matching her bold personality is the best part.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 12h ago
She is 15 year old, but the way how she acts and how her mind thinks it's unbelievable for her age. Thank you
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u/VeneMage 13h ago
This should be her Avatar.
Sorry, terrible humour. Amazing drawing, wish I had such talent; I’m more on a stick man level.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 12h ago
Hahah the same, unfortunately she doesn't have any social media just uses tik tok. I'm more like house level 😂
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u/alwaysworkingprinter 11h ago
lol i think he meant like the people from the Avatar movie because they're blue. sorry you're having a tough day reading reddit's vague jokes.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 6h ago
Hahahahahahahahhaha hahahaha omg it's about the movie, I thought he meant like Reddit avatar or something 😂😂😂😂😂😂. Well joke is def on me 🤣
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u/Vivid-Map1798 17h ago
I love her reasoning!Art is all about expressing who you are
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 16h ago
I have 3 daughters. And this is middle one, she is so different always sticks to her beliefs regardless. Loves everything that has to do with the vintage. But at home she is quiet, she keeps everything to herself.
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u/Icy-Pangolin5382 14h ago
Kids are smarter than you think. Your kid is probably smarter than you.
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 14h ago
I'm pretty sure she is, but that's okay.
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u/simpsonscrazed 15h ago
I remember doing this same project and mine didn’t turn out half as good as this!! I hope she keeps creating!
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u/Defiant-Hair2784 14h ago
That's totally fine, l have no skills with art what so ever 😂. She is more involved with football
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