Childlike or drawn by a child?

The brief stated that the work should be created from a selection of reference points and I decided to focus on the "childlike" aspect. Instead of focusing on "childlike" drawings, I felt that it would be much better to look at drawings that have been done by a child. This would give the marks authenticity and would mean that the work would be organic. Trying to draw like a child and a child's drawings are actually quite different. A child draws freely, unenhibited and they are not precious. Drawing like a child can look extremely forced so it seemed like the best way to eliminate this.

I started by looking at a birthday card that I recieved from my 4 year old cousin, Sophie, who is learning to write independently and loves drawing and painting.

This also sparked an interest in looking at Sophie's writing. The placement and form of her letters was so charming and I felt like it could be a really intersting thing to look at and interpret for this brief.

I wanted to give Sophie some free reign over what she drew too, so I decided to simply provide her with paper and all of her usual materials that she already has in a box. This would help to determine both colour and texture.