Mosman also features in many Preston paintings that are not still life works. Two in particular—Japanese Submarine Exhibition (1942) and Children's Corner at the Zoo (1944–46)—are painted in a deliberately naive style, reflecting a then-current interest in children's art. Preston would probably have seen a 1939 Department of Education Gallery exhibition of children's art, and she would have been aware of Roger Fry's theories on creativity and learning in children. Japanese Submarine Exhibition offers a wry look at that paranoia and anti-Japanese sentiments of the war years in Australia.
