Third graders spent some time learning observational drawing from Georgia O’Keeffe. We learned that she was born right here in (Sun Prairie) Wisconsin and she became very, very famous for her very large nature paintings.
O’Keeffe said,” I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty.”
“Sun-bleached bones were most wonderful against the blue – that blue that will always be there as it is now after all man’s destruction is finished.” -O’Keeffe
Thanks to donations from George’s Flowers on South Park and J Kinney Florist on Monroe St, we had fresh flowers to draw in addition to nature found in our very own garden.
3rd graders learned observational drawing is about looking for shapes, not just drawing the object in front of you. While this can be a difficult art concept to ‘get,’ students were really successful in their observational drawings.
We also learned that our compositions look more interesting if we drew large and drew all the way to the edge of the page (into La La Land).
“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.” -O’Keeffe
“Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven’t time, and to see takes time – like to have a friend takes time.” -O’Keeffe
