O'KEEFFE INSPIRED PASTELS

The Elementary Art Students created O'Keeffe inspired pastel paintings.

This week we learned about value while re-creating Georgia O'Keeffe's painting, My Shanty.

Value: Value is the amount of light reflected from the surface. Value creates depth in a picture making the object look 3 D.

• Highlight: Brightest spot where the direct light hits the object.
• Light: As the surface curves, it gets less light and thus becomes darker.
• Shadow: The side away from the light source that does not receive direct light. It is not entirely black because it does receive light from its surroundings.
• Reflected light: The light that bounces off the surface the object is sitting on.
• Cast Shadow: Darkest dark that gets lighter as it moves away from the object.

We drew circles and practiced making them look like round balls.


We then practiced our value skills and worked with chalk pastels to re-create Georgia O'Keeffe's painting, My Shanty.


Georgia O'Keeffe painted My Shanty in 1922 - the painting is of her studio at Lake George.


The shanty is a physical representation of O'Keeffe's soul, for it is where she can retreat from her surroundings and be only for her art. This shanty—her private studio—has been infused with O'Keeffe's soul.


Here is the Process:

1. Draw the image with Vine Charcoal.
2. Once the drawing is complete, trace it with oil pastel. Trace the window with white oil pastel.
3. Paint our drawing with chalk pastels.
4. Go from darks to lights:

• Mountains - purple with some blue
• Tree Trunk and land behind the tree
• The roof of the Barn
• Barn Walls - practice shading from top to bottom and from sides to front.
• Tree leaves and bush.
• Ground
• Sky
• Lastly, the clouds. 

Trace the Barn and tree trunk with oil pastel

Enjoy our work!

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