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Little Artist: Georgia O'Keeffe Watercolor Flowers
This is a fun little lesson to teach the kids about the art of Georgia O’Keeffe. Below is a brief history about the artist, followed by an art project. Let the kids paint with watercolors to create an O’Keeffe inspired flower.
About Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O’Keeffe was born on November 15, 1887 in Wisconsin. She studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago. O’Keeffe began experimenting with abstract charcoal drawings and by the mid-1920’s, she was recognized as one of America’s most important and successful artists. O’Keeffe ended up spending the majority of her life in New Mexico. This influence can be seen in some of her paintings of landscapes and skulls. Towards the end of her life, Georgia O’Keeffe began to lose her eye-sight and was forced to create art from her memory.
O’Keeffe loved painting things from nature. She is famous for her close-up images of flowers. She favored strong and vibrant colors and focused on shape and color. O’Keeffe created pencil and charcoal drawings and worked with pastels and used watercolors in her paintings. She is classified as an American Modern Artist.
The Art Lesson
The goal of this lesson is to teach the kids about O’Keeffe’s most recognized style – upclose paintings of flowers. The key is to make sure the kids understand the close-up aspect. Emphasize that it is not a bunch of flowers, but one flower. The picture should be a part of the flower and ideally take up the entire page.
You will need ...
- Watercolor Paper
- Watercolor Paints
- Pencil
Step One
Use the pencil to lightly draw the image onto the paper. Refrain from using too many tiny details and focus more on shapes. Remind the kids not to draw too dark as the lines will show up under the watercolors.
Step Three
Finish painting the flower. If necessary, add a background color. Just make sure not to detract from the flower.
NOTE:
To help the kids understand the close-up idea, I showed them a random picture on my smartphone. I then zoomed in on it and explained that the zoomed in image on the screen is the image that we want to create on the paper. They seemed to understand that more.