What happens when you give the creative brilliance of a child's mind the skill of a professional artist?
Artist William Lyday is discovering exactly that, by reimagining and redrawing doodles drawn by his young nephews Danny and Erik Kolar.
(William Lyday/PA)
The 37-year-old's talented hand brings the imagination of six-year-old Danny and Erik, nine, to life.
“The first time I got reactions from them they thought a majority of them were great and they loved them," William told the Press Association.
“But sometimes they can be critics!
“Because sometimes they won't include a whole lot of detail, leaving me to have to fill in the gaps and that doesn't always match the picture in their head."
One such example where William got it wrong was when he drew a “kind of alien tiger" from a minimal piece by Danny.
(William Lyday/PA)
“After Danny saw it he told me, 'No, this is all wrong, he's not furry, he's supposed to be covered in metal'."
William quit his job in January to pursue work as an artist full-time and says he would ultimately like to make his nephew collaborations into a book.
“A big thing I've learned from the project is I need to try and remove that unconscious filter I think we as adults tend to see through," he said.
“That gets in the way of us just making what we want without any second guessing."
(William Lyday/PA)
This freedom of thought is exemplified in some of the artist's favorite pieces.
“There's one that Erik drew with what looked like an alien collecting souls in outer space," he said.
“The alien had machine gun earrings, and a ball and chain for an arm.
“Another Danny did of some kind of flower creature with different flowers for different parts of the face and cat tails for eyebrows."
(William Lyday/PA)
Despite the occasional creative misinterpretation, Erik and Danny usually respond positively to their uncle's work and gain something from the experience too.
“I do see them showing more enthusiasm about art, and enthusiasm for brainstorming completely new creatures and worlds," William said.
“As a kid growing up, I loved art, but didn't have a lot of support or teachers that really fostered my abilities. So I wanted to make sure the boys had somebody in their life that fills that role for them."
(William Lyday/PA)
So far, people are loving the collaborations.
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And we can see why.
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Instagram
What's not to love?
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You can see more of William, Erik and Danny's fantastical creations at Facebook and Instagram.
A version of this article originally appeared on Press Association.
@GregAbbott_TX/X
