Otis's Art

"I'm not sure. I'm not actually sure. I know that's a person. I don't know the rest."

"It's level six. Maybe those are buttons? Restart? Or next?"

(This was one level of a game that Otis made in his sketchbook. We can't remember how the game worked, but I remember that when you successfully completed the level, Otis would say "Level seven!")

"Do you know how I made that? There was a pattern on my picture that I was making and I colored it in like a shadow. That's an ant. Yeah, I think that's it."

"A building. With a smile. That's all."

"It's a fountain. That's just all the water going through the pipes."

How come I can see some water in some spots?

"Because it's going so fast that they don't need the pipes."

"I'm not really sure about this. That kind of looks like a person... That's a block with a sad face... I'm not really sure [about the dotted lines]. Maybe it's electricity and that's why that green guy's scared? That's it."

"I think that's an animal that's not a cow but it's saying 'moo.' It looks like a snake."

"That one's mostly just one thing: A castle! Do you like it? Remember? I used to make a lot of them."

"Wah! Oh, wait. I remember that. Remember? That was a movie that I made. I think it's a skull and a shark. Also, a rocket ship and a guy falling. Oh, wait. It looks like it says 'OM MOS.'"

"[giggles] That guy is saying 'hello' to the shark. It's a giant and a giant shark. And those are buildings. Worms. I think that [the ring on the shark] is a mirror."

"I think that guy's crying because of a wave. I think maybe that's part of the castle. I remember I made one that has water at the end. I think that's a pipe with water coming through."

"All those green dots are flies. Because there's some flies around. I think it's pretty cool. She has snakes for arms. Did you know she actually lived like that? She has a heart for her neck. And that's it."

"This is the same thing. Look, that one already has a fly to eat. I think that's a spring with the sun on top. I'm not sure about the rest."

"Oh, remember this? It's that guy making a Valentine's thing. I think I just drew it weird. I think it's a monster."

"What's this? I think maybe he had a paper or something and it went down that pipe."

"Look what's over there! A shark!! I think that guy is sad because there's a shark over there. I did that when I was a little smaller. I think that's just a machine."

"I don't even know [what it says]. I think maybe that guy's sad because he can't get to that other guy."

"Oh, wait. Those are Cs."

I remember you looking at this picture many times and cracking up.

"These are all animals!"

"That's a bridge with people going over it. Maybe those [the lines on the right] are birds!"

"That's you! Remember that? Do you remember any of it? I think that should be a spiral."

"A train... This one's a train. Look how many wheels it has. There's a baby in the back of it. Probably a baby chick. And there's the nest with a light. And that's a building. And that's a little door."

"Remember that big person. The big triangles are the teeth. I don't know why she wants to eat a sea anemone. Eeewww. See, and that's the eye [the little red dot]."

"Just looking at a track. And that's a stick. There's a house underground. And that's a kite."

"Oh, I remember this one. That guy's sad because the snowman is melting."

It looks like a hot sun.

"Yeah, write that down. That's the ground. There's another underground house and there's some grass."

"Ooh! Remember this?"

Yeah, it's the Yellow Submarine, right?

"Yeah. I don't know what that says."

Cres?

"Yeah."

"It's a striped dinosaur. And those are steps."

What's that dinosaur doing?

"Sticking it's long tongue out like a snake! Do you like that eye? And that's some water in case it's thirsty."

"I can't even stand this! Look, this one's catching a fly. And that's a flower... What? Poop? That's not very nice. And a building!"

What's up with those arrows?

"I think they're pointing from the flower to the water because flowers need water."

"That's a slide."

"That guy's jumping off the big jumping... What's that called?"

A diving board?

"Yeah! The jumping board! 9 + 5 = ..."

I think it says 9 x 2.

"That means it's 18!"

"That train comes and gives the fish friends. Look, there's a spring and a starfish. And that's a fish. Tracks..."

"Oh, I remember this. This is the same picture. Remember the chick? Look. The chick. Uh-oh. That one wants to eat it."

"This one's pretty pretty easy. These are spirals. And that's a house fullllll of windows... with eyes. It looks like maybe that thing's sneezing."

"Wait. What's this? It just says 'NO.' Nooooooooooo. That's a skull. That's a shark. And that's a kid. And that's a TV screen."

"Can you read that to me?"

TOOTH EET CUZ?

"I dunno. Pretty weird."

"Aaah! That's a snaaaaake. Look, that monster. It's just a monster."

He looks surprised.

"No, it's just really happy."

"That guy's going to bed and that's the clock on the lamp. And that's the big, big bed. His dad's saying 'goodbye!'"

"Oh, remember this? 'Hi, I'm the bus driver!' Hey, what are you doing, egg?!"

"I don't know any of this."

"Wait, I remember this! Can you read that?"

I can see that it says 'MOM AND DAD.'

"Mom wasn't feeling well. So I made a biiiiiiig heart for her."

"It's a tunnel. When nobody's coming, the doors close. And those are tracks."

What's that purple thing?

"It's one of the doors. And that's just a gray line."

"Can you read those notes? And those are spirals!"

"This one's a cloud and the sun's not happy because it's raining. It's gonna be a rainy night."

"I don't know. It's just a stream."

"Oh, that's a ball in the water. And that's the big, big, big sun."

"Do you remember this?"

Yes.

"Not me."

I think it was a monster throwing bananas that were turning into birds.

"That shark wants to eat the octopus. It's a whale shark. Wait, that can't be right. Remember? Whale sharks have 2,000, actually 3,000 teeth."

"Do you like this? Look, there's a chick in the water. These are mostly just decorations. It's Mom, Dad, me, and June."

"Ooh. There's not much, really, going on."

"There's some cookie crumbs and there's water shooting around and those are ladders."

"It's all just blue."

"These are lines. The bendy line drawing."

"Here's some square spirals."

"Here's another bendy line drawing."

"This is a pink and green bendy line drawing."

"Aah! And another!"

"Another... The bendy line drawings are making them really short."

"And another..."

I see a hidden word.

"DAD!"

"And here's another bendy line drawing."

I remember where you did this one.

"Where?"

At the Bagelry in Canton.

"Oh."

"Here's another bendy line drawing."

"There's too many that I like."

"I love this one because it has so many colors."

"Here's another bendy line drawing."

"That's a different kind of bendy line drawing. Because it's just one line. See, they're not like a real bendy line drawing because usually that only have the same stripes going in and out but this has only one of each color."

"Ooh. Do you like this? Yeah. Here's another bendy line drawing. This one's just a normal one. Because it's special."

"It's a bendy line drawing."

"Here's a bendy line drawing in real life. Like, there's a flower and there's some birds and the sun and the grass."

"Here's a maze."

"Here's another maze."

"And another maze."

How did you get the idea to start drawing mazes?

"I don't know."

But do you like doing it?

"Yeah."

"Just a normal maze."

"Here's another."

"Wow! This one's really hard. Can you try that?"

I don't think it's possible.

"I guess that means there's a secret door. PFFFFT. Now will you do it with the secret door? It's kind of hard."

"Ooh! Do you like this? What? A tic-tac-toe board colored in? What does that mean?"

"This one's a paint drawing. These are flowers... And that's a little river... And that's a tower with flags... And see that half a circle up there? That's the sun. And that's a tree."

"This one's a bendy line drawing on one side and a normal drawing on the other."

"Hmm. That doesn't seem right. Actually, that can be right because it [yellow and green stripes] will make it darker."

"This one's just a drawing. Oh, look, there's a secret word. That's 'Otis' but it's actually backwards."

"Happy Halloween! Ha ha ha!"

"This one's just a monster and a pumpkin."

"This is a Christmas tree. I don't know what happened to the top. Did the top get wet?"

"This is some flowers. There's some flowers and trees and fall leaves and birds. Dog. Chickmunk. And there's a little pond."

"It's a rainbow fish! This thing didn't get wet, it's just because it's paint."

"Oh, Mom made this."

Mom *holding Juniper behind us*: "Yeah, that shouldn't be in there."

"It's red and blue."

"I was gonna make a puzzle for Mom to cut out."

"Here's some math."

You've been doing a lot of math instead of drawings lately.

"Yeah, because I love math."

"That's a maze. It's orange colored."

"You don't have to make drawings just because you're gonna make a real thing. It's all covered in dots."

What is the Cripty Crab?

"I don't know, I don't remember. Wait, I remember! It goes 'CRIPTY... CRIPTY...' And it lives in the water. It just waits for fish to come. Maybe it shouldn't do that because if it does that then a turtle would come. Because, I don't know."

"This is a volcano with all sorts of colors."

"It's a horse swallowing jelly beans."

"A bat. A monster. [It's sad] because it's lonely."

"Guys on a boat. Me and you. And that's a bridge with cars on it! That's the water and the sun."

"Do you like this? Do you remember this one? It's red, purple, and blue."

"What's this? I don't remember any of it. A bridge?"

"That's the sun, birds, and a flower."

"The end. Is there no more drawings?"