By Carleton Varney- Special to the Palm Beach Daily News

Here it is, almost March, and I’m still thinking about the holiday season and one of the gifts I got — a special gift, indeed.

It’s an artwork made by my 4-year-old grandson, Bowie Varney. He and his parents spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with me, and opening gifts was only part of our joyous time together. Bowie presented me with his first piece of art, a collage he created at his day school. And so happy are the colors he used — orange, yellow, aqua, green and purple. I know the opinion of a proud grandfather may be a bit biased, but I really love this piece.

As I am a believer in freedom of color and expression, I love artwork executed by children who have no inhibitions about mixing colors. They choose what they like — and isn’t that terrific? When I watch children doing art projects, including finger-paintings, I enjoy seeing how easily and fluidly a child can dip into the pink and then the orange then the bright yellow. From those first efforts at finger painting, a Picasso may be born. And remember, the works of Picasso were often bright and colorful.