Childhood Art
Cedar Lee May 26th, 2009
When I was little, one of my mom’s close friends, Anita, had glorious long black hair all the way down her back. I thought her hair was so beautiful and remembered being totally enthralled by it.
This may have something to do with the short haircut that was forced upon me by an unfortunate case of head lice at the age of 6. My haircut made me feel like a boy, and I dreamed of having hair like Anita’s.
Although my hair grew back out quickly enough, and the whole thing was really not as traumatic as I make it out to be, my preference for beautiful long hair on girls lasted into my early teen years, when I chose to keep my hair as long as possible.
My family moved away and I never saw Anita again and rarely had reason to think of her. Fast-forward 20 years. Through the wonders of the Internet, my mom and Anita have now re-connected on Facebook, and now that I can relate to Anita on an adult level, I’ve gotten to know her a little bit online. It’s pretty cool.
Anita found, buried in a box in her garage, a picture I had drawn as a child, which she posted on Facebook today. A “Cedar Lee Original.” 
I have no recollection of drawing this, but I can only assume the figure on the left is Anita with her sleek & luxurious long dark hair. I interpret the surprised grimace on her face as my attempt at friendly open eyes and pretty red lips.
Anita holds hands with a legion of undefined stick figures (probably girls, based on their hair?) so numerous that they stretch off the edge of the page. I retroactively title this work “Anita, Friend to All.”
I’m still recovering from a very active Memorial Day weekend–I had siblings from out of town, and we went dancing, hiking, and to a barbecue. I also finished all my weekend chores, and went through every item of clothing I own and performed an organizational overhaul on my closet!
This week I plan to finish the “Looking Up” painting I’m working on, and I’m starting to draw up the plans for my next project, a commissioned cat portrait.
It is always wonderful to find treasures from the past! They come silently to show us what we could not have seen then…
My first impression of the main character in your childhood drawing is that it is you.
It is such an interesting drawing, so much detail in the first figure and the show of strength and solidarity in the followers; hmmm, lots to contemplate ; )
I know–the artwork of children always fascinates me! It’s cool to be able to see myself as a child through my own art from that time.
I know what its like to find art from the past too.
Funny how we have no memory of it usually.
But seeing it is better than any memory tho, don’t you think?
Take care….your friend and fellow artist on myspace,
Diamond Cutter (DC)