There are two different stories to tell about Bowl of Oats. The first is that even though I may not paint as many paintings of boys as I do girls, most of my paintings of children come about in the same fashion. In this case, I put a cup of milk and a bowl of oatmeal out in front of a little boy who is about a year and half old. As a parent myself, I have a pretty good idea of what is going to happen. How that comes about is entirely up to the child. For me, what they do is simply a matter of nature.

Second, one of the things that I have become highly aware of as an artist is how completely natural these children are about their hands and what great poses you end up with as a result. Adults can be downright weird about them. If I asked you to pose for me right now, where your hands ended up and how you positioned them would be a very self-conscious and unnatural process. Kid’s hands end up exactly where they should be, even when they are not covered in oatmeal. – MW