This year, the kids in the Arts & Smarts Program are exploring the work of several different artists. Last fall, they examined the work of Dale Chihuly. This winter, they’re exploring the paintings of Vincent van Gogh.
They learned about van Gogh’s use of color and his painting style that involved a lot of bold lines. They learned that van Gogh wore hats when he painted, so they donned straw hats, observed several of van Gogh’s paintings, and painted their own using watercolors.
Vincent van Gogh said, “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” The Arts & Smarts kids learned that van Gogh loved sunflowers–so much so that he painted them over and over. The kids thought about what they love enough to paint it over and over again if they were van Gogh. They started to incorporate those things into their sunflower paintings.
They learned that van Gogh painted using a technique called impasto in which thickened paint is added to the surface of the canvas, adding dimension to the painting. They tried it themselves while painting skies inspired by van Gogh’s famous “Starry Night” painting.
In the end, all of these experiences exemplify another of van Gogh’s famous quotes, “I am always doing what I cannot do yet in order to learn how to do it.” At Patchwork, we try different things in order to find new things that we love and to practice those things till we do them well.
