Monday, February 22, 2016

Winter Landscapes with Grandma Moses

Anna Mary Robertson Moses, known by her nickname Grandma Moses, began painting at the age of 78.  Grandma Moses loved to show her paintings at county fairs in New York state as she sold her famous fruit preserves.  An art dealer from New York City came across her work, and soon she was showing work in NYC galleries.  Grandma Moses spent her whole life on her family farms, which took up most of her free time until her children had grown old enough to help out.  Her paintings mostly depict landscapes, and often the activities of the people in her work tell a story about life on the farm.  Grandma Moses is considered a folk artist, as she had no formal art training.
Children's House students created a background by choosing a color of paper for the sky, then drew a horizon line on white paper.  Next we cut along that horizon line, taking the top portion off, and glued the snowy ground onto their colorful paper.  We focused on creating space in our landscapes by drawing large, close-up objects in the foreground with items becoming smaller as they make their way up the page to the background.  Students also learned to draw people using simple shapes, and were encouraged to let the people in the art tell a fun winter story.  Ask your child how we used a toothbrush to create a snowy sky!












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