Spotlight on Georgia O'Keeffe

Sun Prairie,Wisconsin can be proud to claim this week's Master Artist as their daughter by birthright. We are talking of course about the talented American artist Georgia O'Keeffe, who was born there on November 15th, 1887. Daughter of a dairy farmer, she decided that the artist's life was the one for her. Art training she received from a local watercolour artist when she was ten only fueled that dream and after graduating from high school, she enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which she attended from 1905-1905. She continued her studies in New York City, as a member of the Art Students League in 1907, but by 1908 gave up on the idea of a career as an artist.

Drawing XIII - 1915

For the next four years O'Keeffe worked as a commercial artist in Chicago, never once touching a paint brush. It wasn't until 1912, when she took a summer art class where she was introduced to the stylings of Arthur Wesley Dow, that her interest in painting returned. This was followed by a move to Amarillo, Texas to work as an art teacher. She taught in Texas for two years, then relocated to New York City to attend Columbia Teacher's College. When she completed teacher's college, she moved to south Carolina to work at Columbia College and during that time period worked on some charcoal sketches. The choice to mail them to a friend in New York was to alter the course of her life forever more.

Green Lines and Pink 1919

When O'Keeffe's drawings left her hands, with the help of her friend, they found their way into Alfred Stieglitz's famous "291" gallery. While O'Keeffe was very much aware of Stieglitz's gallery and reputation, she was not made aware that her drawings were on display prior to their showing. Originally upset, she spoke to Stieglitz herself and then agreed to let the pictures remain. This was to mark the beginning of a relationship that would see them married by 1924.

Red Canna - 1923

While Stieglitz was a generous fan, regularly displaying O'Keeffe's paintings at his gallery, it was her continuing skill and paintings that merited all the attention that she begot. She experimented in abstracts with charcoal and watercolours, developing an eye that captured New York's landscapes in a vivid way. She also painted many of her now famous large flower pieces that took the art scene by storm.

Horse's Skull with White Rose - 1931

Needing to find a new backdrop to draw inspiration from, O'Keeffe travelled to New Mexico in 1929. She was immediately enchanted with the wide open spaces, bright sun and bleached bones that seemed to be scattered everywhere. Her artistic muse came alive once again, this time set off by the rugged surrounding mountains that she returned to every year for upwards of six months at a time to escape to solitude and her paintbrush. Her canvases bear witness to her love of the New Mexican landscape, as bones, rocks, trees and the sky dominated her work throughout this time.

Pelvis I (Pelvis with Blue) - 1944

With the death of Stieglitz in 1946, O'Keeffe permanently made New Mexico her home. Known for her solitary ways, she continued to paint, with a series on pelvic pictures during the 40s.  Another transformation to her work came when she began her world travels from the 50s-70s. She became fascinated with the view outside her airplane window and captured it in several large series, both proportionally and in number of works. As she neared her 80s, O'Keeffe's eyesight began to fail her, which in turn affected her artistic output. With the encouragement  of Juan Hamilton, she re-entered the art scene briefly creating pottery and a few more paintings with assistance. On March 6th, 1986, O'Keeffe died at the age of 98.

On Saturday March 3rd, Budding Artists will take an indepth look at Georgia O'Keeffe and the legacy that she left behind in her over 900 paintings that she created. The children's art workshop will feature games, art history and an opportunity to create an O'Keeffe-inspired masterpiece of your child's own. Workshops are held at 10am and 1pm at the Western Fair District in the London Farmer's Market. Sign your child up today, so they don't miss out on the fun!

Spotlight on Paul Klee

Who was Paul Klee? A man, an artist, an independent legend in his own time. He was born December 18th, 1879 in Münchenbuchsee near Bern, Switzerland. Well versed in musical training from both of his musically inclined parents, Klee was an accomplished violinist, but during his teen years his interest veered towards the visual arts. In 1898, he enrolled at The Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany and spent three years studying art there. During this early period, Klee created mostly etchings, pen-and-ink drawings as well as a number of caricatures. He was the first to admit though that the use of colour was something that he struggled with.

Woman & Animal - 1904

In 1906, Klee married and settled into the Munich suburbs where an avant-garde community thrived. While his pianist wife earned an income for them, Klee tended house and took care of their son, while working on his art on the side. He continued to create etchings and had his first exhibition in Bern in 1910. A turning point in his artistic career came when he met Kandinsky in 1911. This meeting was to begin a lifelong friendship for Klee and an important source of encouragement and support for his artistry. He also met Robert Delaunay in 1912, who introduced Klee to a different take on colour with his vibrant usage of it.

Hammamet with Its Mosque - 1914 

It wasn't until Klee ventured to Tunisia in 1914 that he finally had an awakening in his exploration of colour. The light of the African nation helped him to embrace hues and tones in a way that he had never been able to grasp before. It also marked a break with his previous landscapes, as from this point forward, Klee explored the world of abstract art in a way that was all his own. He painted with an eye to the fantastic, in subjects that often had whims of fancy, personal interpretations and more often than not, a nod to his musical upbringing.

Ad Parnassum - 1932

While World War I reduced the output of Klee's artwork, it by no means ended his career. When he wasn't painting aircraft, he managed to create lithographs and his paintings sold well enough to make quite a name for himself. It was no surprise then, when he began teaching at the Bauhaus (a school dedicated to architecture, industrial design and arts & crafts) in 1920. He taught bookbinding, metal art, weaving, and wrote essays regarding colour theory during his ten years at this new-age school. He further taught at the Dusseldorf Academy from 1931-33, but the rise of the Nazi regime put an end to his time in Germany. He returned to Switzerland, but 1933 also marked the beginning of his battle with scleroderma, the disease that would eventually take his life.

Red Waistcoat -1938

Over his lifetime, Klee was influenced by Cubism, Expressionism, Surrealism and of course Abstract artwork. What he accomplished surpassed all of these movements in a style all his own. His dry sense of humour and childlike perspective were evident in the more than 10,000 paintings that he created before his death on June 29th, 1940. The political climates that he lived through shaped not only his world, but also his canvases. The music that filled his soul could likewise be seen in his creations, as well as the influence of poetry, dreams and more. As far as mediums went, he explored oils, pastels, watercolours, ink, etchings and used materials such as burlap, muslin, gauze, fabric, wallpaper, cardboard, metal foil and even canvas. You could often see a mixture of these mediums, styles or materials encompassed in a single piece of artwork.

Click here for a one line drawing art idea inspired by Paul Klee.

Spotlight on Piet Mondrian

Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan was born on March 7th, 1872 in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. The son of a Headmaster of a primary school, as well as an acclaimed drawing teacher, it was no wonder that little Piet became interested in the arts at an early age. The first exhibition of his work was in 1890 and by 1892 he was enrolled at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam. While his artwork at this point was indicative of the times, representing impressionistic landscapes, mostly of windmills, rivers and fields, there was an inkling of some of the changes to come.

Windmill in Sunlight - 1908

These changes would become a regular occurrence throughout Mondriaan's lifetime. The naturalistic style that he originally developed while at school, soon morphed into a brighter palette more akin to Fauvism, with definite nods to pointillism. In 1908, Mondriaan embraced the Theosophical movement, led by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, which in turn saw his paintings begin to lean more towards Cubism. By 1911, he moved to Paris, dropped an "a" from Mondriaan to become Mondrian and embraced the new Cubist artists Picasso and Georges Braque full-heartedly.

Grey Tree - 1912

Mondrian spent the next four years in Paris actively exploring Cubism in his art. While the process was a gradual one, geometric shapes and patterns emerged in his artwork and his colour palette became increasingly simple and abstract. In 1914, he returned to Amsterdam to visit his ailing father, but the outbreak of World War I forced him to remain in country for the remainder of the war. Paris's influence stayed with him though and his paintings became even more abstract, with the focus on lines and blocks of colours. Gone were any traces of the impressionism that he started with.

Composition A: 
Composition with Black, Red, Gray, Yellow & Blue - 1920

While Mondrian returned to Paris as soon as the war was over, an important milestone was marked during his stay in The Netherlands; that of founding De Stijl (The Style) with Theo van Doesburg. It was through the essays that he wrote for De Stijl that he shared his vision of a new style of art called neoplasticism. This new non-representational style that Mondrian developed is nowadays seen as the beginning of abstract art. Ultimately what it looked like was a white background with a dark grid set upon it and the addition of primary colour blocks to represent the beauty and awareness of nature from the artist's eye.

New York City II - 1942

When World War II broke out Mondrian left Paris for England. He spent two years there, before leaving for the United States, where another change in his artistic style took place. Where his grid lines had originally been gray and thin, gradually getting thicker and darker, with fewer colour blocks apparent, now the grid itself became the colour. While still exploring this vibrant turn in his neoplasticism, Mondrian fell ill and died on February 1st, 1944. The art and fresh look at what it could be left a huge mark on the world though, that is still felt today.

This weekend, Budding Artists will take an in depth look at Piet Mondrian in the Master Series children's art workshop at the London Farmer's Market. Join us on Saturday February 18th at 10am and 1pm for 90 minutes of art history, games, and creation in the style of this abstract painter. Register today!

"Everything Starts From A Dot"

Kandinsky

This coming weekend, Budding Artists featured artist of the week for our Children's Art Workshop is Wassily Kandinsky. Kandindsky was an abstract painter that lived from Dec. 16, 1866 to Dec 13, 1944. He was far more than just a painter though. Kandinsky delved into the world of form and colour and made it his own. He also was an important art theorist in his day, forming several art groups, the most famous of which was "The Blue Rider". Over the course of his artistic career, he worked through a variety of styles including colourful landscapes in his earlier years, to geometric depictions with a focus on point and lines, and finally to a complete embrace of  'abstract art' where emotion and spirituality were born and as he describes,

"Everything starts from a dot."  Kandinsky

Source: flickr.com via steena on Pinterest

So starting with that dot and some inspiration found on Pinterest, I thought we could explore some art work that speaks in Kandinsky's art styles today. Shown here are some "Autumn Trees" that would please any budding artist's sense of colour, and incidentally what Kandinsky was a master at.

The Crafty Crow showcased a great collaborative style mural that would be great for any art class to attempt. Just add lots of paint, encourage a wee bit of colour mixing and see what comes out of this art project. Once individual squares are all attached together, you will have an art project that everyone will appreciate.

Source: riversoftheworld.org via Sarah on Pinterest

And if this doesn't scream Kandinsky, then I don't know what does. This clever display is done via felt making! Hmm, another medium to explore.

Or if you'd rather explore 3-D art, then take a look at this beautiful mural done by some primary aged pupils at a Boston school. That is a masterpiece that would be a proud addition to any school hallway, in my humble opinion.


So how do you start with a dot? What does your circle represent? Share some of your favourite Kandinsky inspired artwork with us!