The anger of the artist as a young girl

Audrey loves drawing. If the mood takes her she can spend hours entertaining herself with drawing and colouring pictures. It's nice to see but it does mean we have a constant scattering of A4 paper throughout the house falling from her room through to the living room and sometimes even scribbled sheets find their way into the bathroom. At one point we bought her a desk for her room in an attempt to contain it all but it got filled up pretty quickly and she went back to drawing on the floor, her bed, under the bed on the sofa etc.

This morning Audrey drew Pearlie. Pearlie is a fairy who lives in a park and stars in a series of books. Audrey loves Pearlie - I think because they have a lot in common (Pearly has a messy bedroom too).

Audrey had already knocked off a drawing of Pearlie a few days ago and had handed it over to one of her best mates - no doubt to clutter up her parent's house (or bin) and now she was desperate to re-create it for her own 'gallery'. In Audrey's mind Pearlie Drawing No.1 had been a masterpiece....a veritable Rembrandt or Rosetti. Now it was gone.

Pearly Drawing No.2 had started well. The head was drawn, skirt coloured in but the eyes, oh the eyes. Audrey drew, rubbed out and redrew the eyes a number of times. They weren't quite circular - all cartoons are based around circles - ask our kids and they'll tell you "Disney Loves a Circle" (a phrase picked up from a cartoon workshop they went to). I tried to help, but only increased the angst - Audrey sees through every attempt to 'humour her'. Eventually Pearlie's eyes were finished but now the smile.

Did Leonardo take such time over Mona's enigmatic smile as Audrey took over Pearlie's? I doubt it. Sometimes smiling, sometimes scowling Pearlie's smile was drawn over and over again as the eraser on the end of the pencil frantically wore the paper down ever thinner and greyer.

I thought eventually the artist would be satisfied, but she wasn't. A scream a shout and temper now at complete boiling point. The drawing was literally kicked and thrown around the bedroom. A terrifying sight of a nearly seven year old in full flight flinging an A4 sketch around her room. If the picture had been on canvas I have absolutely no doubt a size 2 shoe would have gone through it.

Eventually (after much cajoling) Audrey calmed down and came to breakfast. Perhaps she'll try again later with Pearlie Drawing No.3.

If she does, this time I'll stay well clear.

Pearlie drawing No.2 (mixed media)