FOURTH GRADE . . . Painting nature

Painting by Bianca

If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for a moment." - Georgia O'Keeffe

Fourth graders paused in their busy schedules at school to admire the beautiful work of Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), an American artist, best known for her studies of nature. She often zoomed in on her subjects, getting us all to slow down and notice the beauty she captured in the world around her. She did not paint an entire field of flowers, but instead focused on the shapes and colors of just one blossom.

As well as inspiring us to admire the details in a single flower, a sea shell, or even an animal skull, Georgia O'Keeffe was also a master of color and blending. To follow her example, we each chose a photograph of something from nature and drew the image very large on our canvases. Then, we selected our color palette, considering carefully how to create the best blends.

To make two colors blend together, we referred to the color wheel. Colors that are close to each other on the wheel will make the most natural blends. Adding white will create a tint of the color and adding darker hues will create a shade of the color. Any of these color choices would work well. To blend the colors directly on the canvas, we worked in one area at a time, letting our paintbrushes do the blending. For a flower with many petals, that meant applying wet colors and blending them together before they dry, one petal at a time. In Bianca's painting above, not only does the flower show a blend from light pink to darker pink, but her background also shows a blend of different shades of blue. The blending of green to yellow on her leaf really pops and gets us to take notice of the shape and color.

These fourth grade nature paintings are a highlight of our art show in Panther Hall Gallery and I am just as proud for them to grace the screen of my art blog. Bravo to all my artists! To see everyone's paintings, follow this link to our home page on artsonia.com.   http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Painting by Elle

Painting by Gabriel

Painting by Courtney

Painting by Anthony

Painting by Sabrina