Paint Like Van Gogh!

"I dream of painting and then I paint my dream."       ~ Vincent van Gogh

Dutch Post-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh's most famous painting (of many) may be his "Starry Night", which he painted from his asylum room at Saint-Paul-De-Mausole (into which he had committed himself after a nervous breakdown). Most van Gogh art lessons seem to be based on this painting, so we decided to look at some of his other magnificent works for inspiration. (I like to be different.) My personal favorite is "Irises" and since we were ready for another garden painting, that was the one we chose!

We painted this with tempera paint on watercolor paper. First we drew our irises (including leaves and stems) with black oil pastel using How to Draw an Iris in Five Easy Steps. Then, we finger painted!!! We dabbed on the paint with the tip of our index finger using two or three colors and color mixtures at a time. We smeared, we stroked, and we blotted, using our finger like a paintbrush. We found that finger painting made the flower petals super easy to paint!

After the paint was completely dry, we outlined everything again with black pastel (or black crayon) and added a few more details.

Sadly, van Gogh was never famous as a painter during his lifetime, and he constantly struggled with poverty and depression. He only sold one painting while he was alive, but because of his obsession with painting he seldom ate and neglected his health. Van Gogh died at the age of 37. 

"Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul."  ~ Vincent van Gogh

Paint Like Matisse!

"Creativity takes courage." ~ Henri Matisse

Henri Matisse was a French artist who worked in many different types of media, including printing, sculpting, painting, and collage. He is best known for his colorful, expressive paintings - as well as his whimsical "painting with scissors" techniques that he used in his later years while confined to a wheelchair.

I love each of the individual interpretations of this painting, including the varied shapes of the bowl, the furnishings, the patterns, the backgrounds, and most of all, the students' wonderful use of color! 

 

Paint like Joan Miro!

Three Children in the Park

"The simplest things give me ideas." ~ Joan Miro

Painting like Joan Miro, a Spanish abstract artist, is just plain fun!

We took a look at his interesting, playful style and observed all of the weird shapes and humorous symbolic forms used in his work. It was so interesting to think about "playing" while working. What a great job that would be!

We drew Miro-style shapes on coffee filters that had been ironed flat. We used black Sharpies to do this, which are permanent. Then we filled in the shapes with lots of liquid watercolor, which spread into the soft filters.

We then cut a square out of the most colorful portion and glued it to a black mat (with a piece of white paper behind the filter to better show off the color)

"When I stand in front of a canvas, I never know what I'm going to do - and nobody is more surprised than I am at what comes out."  ~ Joan Miro

Paint like Modigliani!

"Woman with Red Hair"  1917

"It is your duty in life to save your dream." ~ Amedeo Modigliani

We wanted to paint portraits, but not in the usual way. We wanted to try something different - something that didn't involve capturing a perfect likeness. So we learned how to create our portraits Modigliani-style!

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian Jewish painter and sculptor who was known for his unusual elongated faces and figures. Tp aint in his style, we divided a 12" x 18" paper into 1/4 sections for our proportions. Then we used black oil pastels to draw the main shapes, and soft pastels for the skin tones, hair, clothing, and other details. The best thing about this medium is that we could blend the flesh tones to include many different shades, tints, and colors, as well as in the hair and the fabric of the subject's clothing. I think you will agree, the results were stunning!

Modigliani became ill and died in 1920 at the early age of 35. Had he lived longer, he would likely have made many more wonderful contributions to the art world! 

"When I know your soul, I will paint your eyes." ~ Amedeo Modigliani

Paint Like Paul Cezanne!

Fruit and a Jug on a Table  -  about 1890

"If you see a red tree, paint it bright red." 
~ Paul Cezanne

Paul Cezanne was one of the most influential artists of the 19th century. This French Post-Impressionist artist painted still life subjects that almost always included fruit.


So, in our efforts to paint like Cezanne, we painted fruit!







The children were given very brief instructions on how to draw a bowl and how to draw fruit that is partially hidden inside the bowl. They also learned how to create fruit behind fruit (overlapping) and had plenty of fruit "subjects"  such as apples, pears, and peaches to look at. Then they went to town!


The resulting colors and patterns are amazing... and as a bonus, maybe now they will eat more fruit!

Paint Like Monet!

The Japanese Bridge, 1899

"I would like to paint the way a bird sings." ~ Claude Monet

This week we painted like Claude Monet. First we learned about this French Impressionist and how he saw the world differently that other painters before him. His desire was to paint his impression of a place or a setting - using light and its effects on color to create more than just a reproduction of a place. He wasn't concerned with accurately depicting details. He wanted to portray his overall impression or the atmosphere or the mood surrounding his subject. 




The Japanese footbridge over the waterlily pond was probably one of Monet's favorite subjects. He painted this scene many, many times. Different seasons, different times of the day, different lighting and shadows. 


We decided to paint it too.


Our morning class painted the bridge using oil pastel resist and watercolor. 


Our afternoon class created acrylic paintings on canvas. This was challenging, but the results were lovely as students captured light peeking through trees, dark shadows, glimmering water, and colorful waterlilies.


They painting their bridges whatever color they wanted - artistic license allows you to do that! 

More Paul Klee!

Red Balloon    1922

"A line is a dot that went for a walk." ~ Paul Klee

Here's another example of Paul Klee's work.

Geometric shapes, brilliant colors that are smudged or smeared on, and interesting images that resemble buildings and rooftops.

We used thick oil pastel on white paper, which we covered with thinned black tempera paint for the pastels to 'resist' and pop right through!

Here is our artwork in this geometric Paul Klee style:

Paint Like Paul Klee!

Cottage Garden in Person     1933

"Art does not reproduce what we see."  ~ Paul Klee

This week we "painted like the masters!" We looked at and studied each master artist's paintings while learning about where and when the artist lived, and how their life events affected their paintings. We learned about art movements and styles, such impressionism, abstract art, portraiture, and still life art. We painted with temperas, watercolors, oil pastel (resist), and acrylics on canvas. Best of all, we had a great time!

On Monday we painted like Paul Klee (1879-1940), a Swiss/German Expressionist. His work looked abstract to us as well. He was always trying new, playful images; especially bold lines and strong geometric forms. You can always see 'something' in his images, but different people see different things. This is Expressionism.

What can you see in these paintings?

"A painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen."
~ Paul Klee