One of the first arts that children meet is the art of painting. Children make their first scribbles with pencils or similar tools that come to their hands without thinking. And this smear; As time passes, it changes, develops, becomes original and rises to the level of envy. Children can do this fun game by themselves, without anyone's direction, with love and willingness. Moreover, they do not give up easily, they do not give up in the face of difficulties.
When children are observed during painting, it is easy to see that their self-confidence and excitement drag them down, just like playing. So they go to their world and carry their childish values to their paintings. According to Gökaydın (2002: 27-28); children develop beauty, a sense of real and self-confidence, in an atmosphere that can be considered free of their own, rather than imitating the measures of power of adults to comprehend. The same objective and attitude applies to all age levels. According to Cizek, art teachers should have an understanding and loving attitude towards children, which will give them their inner richness as they are, instead of memorizing the strict order and laws that will provide their authority. Children are born creatively and these natural art forces continue until they are killed by imitating the standards of the elders. Creativity is a joyful adventure for a young adult as well as a small child. This adventure is an indifferent game of shaping, gathering and narrative in order to express freely what colors or any material is meant to be said.
Children may find it difficult to express their thoughts and feelings about what they see and know. Children can explain many things that they cannot express in words through painting. These spontaneous outlets, which they initially unconsciously put forward as “scribbles”, gain meaningful expressions over time. These meaningful figures are the first findings for the child to explore the world. While painting is not a tool for children, painting is a development tool for children (Artut, 2001; Atan, 2009). Painting is not only a pleasant time for the child but also supports development in mental, social and aesthetic fields, but also offers a learning experience (Yavuzer, 1995; Can Yaşar & Aral, 2008; 2009). Children acquire the ability to think critically and to solve problems as they work with painting materials within the framework of certain criteria but completely free. Art teaches children that problems can be solved in many ways (Striker, 2005). Art, which is a satisfying and personal activity at any age, is an expression of what 57 children have become aware of, but is also a way of explaining emotions that are the fears and joys of life (Lowenfeld and Brittain, 1987; Can Yaşar). and Aral, 2009).
Artistic Development of Painting; smearing period (2–4 years), pre-schema period (4–7 years), schema period (7–9 years), grouping (realism) period (9–11 years), apparently naturalism period (12–14 years) It was divided into five periods.
Scribble phase (2-4 years)
• In the first years, the child draws random lines on paper.
• The mark (lines) left by the pen on a white sheet of paper is an interesting experience for children.
• For a child who uses a pen for the first time, the marks left by the pen arouse curiosity. Thanks to these lines, the child passes through the «smear döneminde period.
• This is the period in which the lines are random and not intended for a purpose, since hand-eye coordination has not yet occurred.
• In this period, pictures are mostly for game purposes.
• Random lines on paper, first 10-12. month, more healthy 18 months begins to show itself. This first sign is an important step in the development of the child.
• These doodles are very important in terms of reflecting both the motor development (small motor and the desire to express oneself) of the child.
• Before the scribble phase, the child names the lines that occur when he walks on the sand by pulling sticks from behind, with lines drawn with his wet finger as a train or bow.
• He calls his scribbles on the paper a train or a road.
• The child who is in the discovery stage in the first years of life touches, looks at and examines everything.
• Initially random doodles turn into a line that adults can understand in the period between 1.5-4 years. Initially uncontrolled doodles become controlled over time.
Pre-scheme stage (4-7 years)
• In the pre-schema phase, the child begins to experience the anxiety to relate to the object or concept he / she wants to revive. The new paintings they make during this period are important not only for the child but also for the parents and teachers. so they have a concrete record of the child's thinking process.
• The first striking works from the scribble to the pre-schema period are the human figure.
• These picture attempts are very simple at first.
• Human figures starting at the age of 3 consist of a huge head without details.
• Children aged 4 years have passed to the stickman stage.
• Their favorite work during this period was the human figure. These figures are schematic, formed by the focus on what the child sees in the picture.
• People, houses or trees are recognized when they are 5 years old.
• At the age of 6, the subject, composition and layout of the pictures begin to form. In this period, children's pictures are full of dreams. Colors are available in many different ways. Body proportions can be plotted exaggerated by the fact that they are important to them. For example; If the child is wanted to draw yellow from the tree pink clouds should not be blocked.
Schematic stage (7-9 years)
• This period, which starts around 7 years of age, is also referred to as the period of «simplification basit.
• In this period, when the concept of shape develops, how the child sees and evaluates an event or object determines the formation of the schema.
• The detailing of human figures continues to increase.
• The child realizes that there are not only the head, eyes, arms and legs of the human figures he draws but details such as mouth, nose, ear, teeth and eyelashes.
• Detailed drawings started up to hand-fingers.
• They also draw detailing of clothes such as buttons, ornaments, rope and beads.
• The greatest achievement of the child in this period is the formation of a certain order in spatial relations. The child no longer thinks of tree, house and car figures separately, but wants to draw within a certain plan.
• He puts the figures into an event plan in the drawings he draws.
Realism stage (9-12 years)
• The child in this period is now aware that he is a member of society and this awareness is reflected in his lines.
• It is observed that the child in this period draws detailed lines and has a more realistic approach than his previous studies.
• In this phase, the child, while interested in detail, does not like to show their pictures gradually, does not explain them.
• Instead of choosing colors randomly, they are now being chosen in a realistic way.
• One of the greatest needs of the child in this period is to find their own personality, to realize their own difficulties and to develop their own relationships within their own groups.
• The child needs to explore his or her own relationship with the environment and the objects and materials that make up the environment.
• The child abandoned his freedom and adopted the anxiety of complying with the pleasure criteria of the society in which he lived.
• Human figures drawn in accordance with anatomy are handled with plenty of details.
Apparently naturalism stage (12-14 years)
• It covers a period that overlaps with adolescence.
• As it overlaps with adolescence, it can be said that the sexual elements become more prominent.
• Proportions are given at a depth as much as the proportions.
• Objects are proportional.
• Children are increasingly aware of the environment during this period of adolescence.
• They use colors very well because they are aware of color awareness.
Öğr. Gör. Buse KERİGAN
