Painting Suns

We received a picture from Troy's daycare today, showing him painting a sun on a paper plate with bright yellow paint.  They were learning about circles today in class, so I can only assume that the finished product was supposed to look sort of roundish.  It does not.  It's sort of an abstract blob with lines coming off of it. 

But then I got to thinking.  Maybe Troy is actually performing at a higher level than we're capable of comprehending.  Maybe he's trying to recreate not the sun that we see in amateurish paintings, but the actual orb in the sky complete with solar flares and sunbeams.  Maybe he's trying to illustrate the phenomenon of light in a constantly varying and changing context on a 2D surface.  Maybe he's sitting there, silently screaming out, "I am doing the best I can here to create a complex thing in the sky, that gives off light and warmth, that changes color as it filters through the atmospheric gases, that is hidden by floating water particles, that pulses and flares, that is a loosely held together ball of gases and fire.  And I'm trying to compose all of this with a single color.  To create depth and subtle changes.  To have you look at this paper plate and understand all that the sun is with...one...single...color!  So, save your commentary and criticism, and just be happy that I'm not eating this paint right now!"