If you are a regular reader of my blog, you have heard of the most famous artist in my life, Leo LeBlanc. He is only 4 years old, but as my dad (an artist himself) told me “If only Van Gogh’s mother had saved all his drawings.” So my daughter Maggie started a shared album on her phone. While he was living, my father took delight in seeing Leo’s art pop up on his phone. He often called me just to talk about it.
Last year, Leo was drawing, as he still does now, with a single marker, filling the page with a line design. Here is a sample of a piece from September 27, 2021 when he wasn’t quite 3 yet.
Now that Leo is four, he is able to speak what his imagination tells him he has drawn. Yesterday after his first soccer game of the season where he spent most of the time on the sidelines eating Goldfish, I took the opportunity to interview him as he was drawing. To me, his grandmother, this is priceless. You will hear his younger sister, Stella in the background. She is saying “I want to sit on you, Mamere.”
M: Hey, Leo LeBlanc, you just made a beautiful piece of art. Could you tell me about it?
L: It’s a boat carrying a parachute right here that carries a coconut.
M: Wow! So is the coconut attached to the boat or the parachute?
L: The parachute is connected to both.
M: To both of them?
L: Like, connected to here, here, here, here, here, here…
L: That’s all part of the parachute.
M: Okay. All right.So what is this?
L: The coconut.
M: And what is this right here?
L: The star on the web.
M: The star on the web?
L: I’m about to draw the web. I just showed the web because I’m going to draw it. I’m not building another coconut. It’s just how it lives like this.
M: What did you just draw?
L: Zigzag.
M: That goes on the boat?
L: Zigzag. A motor has to go. It’s tipping over because it’s a motor boat. Does this look like a motor?
M: It sure does.
L: The tip goes in the water, leans back, they pull the handle, and it goes in the water.They start moving on the steering wheel, and it goes. It tips over.
M: Yeah.Very nice.
L: And there’s a web right here. And the parachute has to go under the boat.This space has to go somewhere. I don’t know what’s coming. Okay, I’m not done.
M: You’re not done? Okay.Thank you very much, Leo LeBlanc.
Reflections on the Teche 
It’s amazing how little artists start and how those around them can feed the love of art.
Wow – keep all his work. It will be worth millions, and it is PRICELESS right now! Thank you for taking us on this journey of a young artist. I love that Leo says – he is not done – at the end of the interview. More to come! I cannot wait. Wonderful post! Thanks Margaret!
Oh, this is the best way to start my Sunday morning. What a treat to listen to you and Leo! His art and his imagination are wondrous.
Wonderful. I was reminded of my grandchildren.
I love this slice! It reminds me of a memory of when my oldest daughter was almost three and she was drawing a castle and snakes… I can hear her little voice saying, “Ahh! It’s a snake! A mommy snake!” Thanks for sharing. What a beautiful moment.
Priceless.
You really should keep those drawings. Priceless!
That was the best, most smile-inducing interview of an artist I have ever watched!
I love his creativity children are the best artists.
Just like writing, you don’t know what you have to say until you go through the actual process of completing it. Love the interview!
Perfect. He explains what he is drawing so clearly and confidently. It’s a very confident drawing!