In continuing with our Autumn theme, thanks to the Autumn Series for including this, we went with this lovely piece.

Well, Millstone and Cistern Under Trees, 1892 by Paul Cezanne

 A couple of the kids' recreation ~  taking a break from our usual watercolor median;

one done with markers and the other colored pencils.

By request, we have moved on to Claude Monet. 

He was a french impressionist painter; Nov 14, 1840 –  Dec 5, 1926

Our first painting to discuss.....

Garden in Bordighera, Impression of Morning
1884

Kaden's  recreation.....I think he did a fantastic job!

Sticking with the Sunflower theme, we looked at Georgia O'Keefe's Sunflower painting for our artist appreciation.

We loved how the leaves seem to float and the way she drew the petals or the 'ray flowers.'  We looked at the shadows cast by the petals and the different colors she used for the center or the 'disc flowers.'

Simple colors & idea, but extraordinary talent!

 Jayda's recreation.

Van Gogh's ~ 'Bedroom in Arles' ~ 1888

What a cool room, eh?! This is actually Van Gogh's room from his Yellow House, what he called his own home.

The kids and I immediately noticed the strange view. The room is not a rectangular shape, but more a trapezoid. The kids pointed out the frames, how they are slanted.

The bright and bold colors, we all commented on those. Again, using his signature yellow color.

Seems like a joyous person would have painted this -- all the colors and fun, quirkiness of it, but we know that is not the case.

He actually wrote many letters to his family about this particular painting, you can read one of them to his brother here.  This was one of Van Gogh's favorites.

A couple recreations....

Van Gogh's, 'The Chair & the Pipe' ~ 1881

 Looking at the painting, the kids quickly pointed out the 'oldness' of the tile floor. It was actually painted in a kitchen and it was in fact, a tile floor.

They found this to be much simpler than the other paintings Van Gogh has done -- simple brush strokes, straighter lines.

The main color used is yellow; did you know that yellow became Van Gogh's signature color?

Also, the pipe and bag of tobacco on the chair -- that was Van Gogh's. He actually began smoking b/c Charles Dickens said that it was a cure for melancholy.

Here are our recreations.

Jayda

 Kaden

Taylor

The Vase With Sunflowers, 1888, Vincent Van Gogh

Some of the kids' thoughts:

• very detailed technique with his brush strokes ( difficult to tell in this pic, but if you go to a site you can zoom into it, you can see it )
• drab, mellow colors
• the flowers are dead ~ Van Gogh must have been upset or sad when he painted it
• it doesnt bring a sense of cherriness to the viewer

This time, instead of recreating it from scratch, I found this, a print out coloring page of it -- my son colored his, the girls and I water colored.

Jayda

Kaden

 Mom

So we've moved on to Vincent Van Gogh.

What a sad life, huh? His father was a minister and he tried to live a life according to the Gospel -- VAn Gogh actually gave away all his possesions, just like Christ said to in His Word. That was not well received, however. He then lead a poverished life -- even while creating such masterpieces. In his lifetime, no one 'knew' him -- it was in his death ( from suicide ) that he became known. He did all his paintings in a matter of 10 years......amazing. But oh how we know all that matters none in the end......

'A Starry Night' ~ Van Gogh, 1889

At first the kids were not too thrilled about this new artist. As we began discussing it though, that changed. They noticed the difference between Mary Cassatt and Van Gogh right away. Here are some of the points from the kids:

• lots of lines, curved
• used his imagination ( they thought Cassatt did not )
• dark, dreary, sad -- emotionally
• looks like more fun to paint than Cassatt's

We all enjoyed this one ~ recreations:

Kaden choose to draw his

Jayda's

Mine, I've been holding out on showing my recreations, but I've been having fun too!

We are wrapping up our study on Mary Cassatt this week. We've enjoyed taking a peek at her work -- all the mothers and babies -- a wonderful presentation in each of the paintings.

Today was our last one.

The Child's Bath ~ Mary Cassatt, 1893

The kids' thoughts as we discussed the painting:

• is it the Nanny or the Mother who is washing the child?
• lots of patterns within the painting, walls, floors, the lady's dress
• shapes - circles for the basin and the pitcher is roundish as well; squares in the floor pattern
• the child's face is very round
• very quiet and initmate time, so it seems to us, the viewer

Jayda's recreation

Children Playing on Shore, 1881 ~ Mary Cassatt

We are really enjoying Ms. Cassatt's artwork. I especially love all the children and mothers within her work.

In this one, the kids found the colors to be 'mellow.' Nothing bright or exagerated. Here are a few other ideas that sparked conversation:

• wearing dresses to play in the sand
• why is the girl in the hat not showing her face?
• hot day b/c the one girl's cheeks are red
• the shovel is particularly long, esp. for a young child
• wearing the same outfit, are they twins?

Continuing with Mary Cassatt, last week

Woman and Child Driving ~ 1881

Here are a few points the kids came up with as we discussed this piece:

• the driver, the woman, looks determined to get to her destination or she is not excited about her destination?
• the little girl seems to have no emotion or is she upset? not wanting to go?
• why is the man in the back not named in the title? is he not important
• the scenery is peaceful and pleasant