Artist: Georgia O'Keeffe

Flowers in Horizon

Georgia O'Keeffe was born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, in 1887. She enjoyed art as a child and took art classes. Later, she attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was trained in the mimetic tradition and learnt to paint things as they look in real life. You may want view her painting Dead Rabbit with Copper Pot to help you understand the concept of realism. O'Keeffe became increasingly frustrated because she wanted to paint according to how she felt, not just what she saw. As a result, she stopped painting for herself and only worked as a commercial artist. Later she was inspired by teachers to paint how she felt and to communicate her thoughts and ideas through art. 

She began exploring lines, colours, and shading. Shading is when you add shadows or darken areas of pictures to make parts appear closer or further away. You may want to draw a circle and then shade part of the shape to create a sphere. How does the shape change? You may want to explore other examples. How does a picture of a tree change if you add a shadow? Shading brings pictures to life and adds depth to a composition. O'Keeffe was inspired by nature. She is best known for her paintings of flowers. She created large close-ups of small flowers to help people see a common and familiar object in new, refreshing way. She zoomed in on little details, particularly the centers of flowers, to create arresting compositions. In some of her works, the flowers are hardly recognisable and very abstract. Some of O'Keeffe's works depict subjects from different perspectives. For example, in The Lawrence Tree the point-of-view is from the bottom of a tree, looking up and through the branches at the sky. Shading helps draw attention away from the sky and call attention to the shapes and lines of the tree itself. In Sky Above the Clouds, the point-of-view is above the cloud line looking down. Pay attention to the point-of-view when observing different works of art. 

O'Keeffe was also inspired by the places where she lived. After she moved to New York City, she painted several cityscapes. Some of her paintings show the skyline at night, while others show stark angles and shadows. O'Keeffe communicates her feelings about the place through her paintings. After she began spending time in New Mexico, O'Keeffe started painting desert and mountain landscapes, employing unique palettes. Look at a few of her landscapes together and analysing how the colours communicate feelings. 

Some of O'Keeffe's work are more abstract and the subject does not look like it does in real life. The painting From the Lake features wavy lines and shades of blue and gray. While the work may not look like a lake, it hints at water and waves. The artist is also known for her paintings of animal skulls against desert landscapes. Examples include Cow's Skull with Calico Roses and Horse's Skull on Blue. 

What feelings or messages do the paintings share? While skulls might remind us of death, the bright colours or pastels question that notion. The paintings do not seem scary or sad, but rather seem joyous or peaceful. What are some other techniques O'Keeffe uses to accomplish this effect? Try to employ some of O'Keeffe's techniques and ideas in your own work. Experiment with colours to see how they can communicate various moods and explore different perspectives. 


Adapted from: http://www.brainpopjr.com/artsandtechnology/art/georgiaokeeffe/grownups.weml