Artists are creative people who share how they see  the world with others.
Painters take what they see around them, or in their minds, and put it on paper.

It is a beautiful form of expression and communication.

Before we begin to learn about specific painters, we will be learning about a few different subjects that can be found in paintings.

Morah Katie: What would I expect to see in a painting if it was a Still Life?

Dena: Flowers.

Josiah: Fruit.

Aaron: A rose.

Tori. Fruit and flowers.

Kian: Vegetables.

Morah Katie: Sroli, what did you paint?

Sroli: Flower.

Morah Katie: Tori, what are you painting?

Tori. I"m making a purple plate for the fruit.

Morah Katie: Artists like to give names or titles to their work, like "Green vase with Flowers". Do you have a name for this painting?

Tori: Still Life with fruit on purple plate.

Morah Katie: Noah, what are you painting?

Noah: Well, I am an artist. I am painting a still life of the flowers.

An artist always signs their work.

Noah: I signed it and I named it "Noah".

Artists explore with color and color combinations.

The children discovered something in the entry of the center and made an interesting observation and connection:

Kids: Hey it's a still life/ I see flowers I see a still life/ We have a still life.

Morah Katie: Why do you think it is a still life?

Joshiah: It's flowers.

Kian: It's in a pot.

Morah Katie: That is true, it is a pot with flowers.  Is it a still life?

Tori: When it gets painted.

We looked closely at 2 still life's painted by Odilon Redon.

We noted that they are similar because:

Dena: They are both of flowers.

Noah: They both have vases.

Josiah: They both have red in them.

We noted how they are different:

Kian: That one has a tall blue flower.

Tori: The vases are different.

Josiah: The background is different.

We saw how one artist painted many different yet similar flowers in vases.

Two of our friends played a memory game. 

One at a time they looked at the potted plant in our entryway.

 One at a time each painted the snapshot they took with their memory.

 

 We took note of how the two painting were of the same subject, and how they were different and similar.

We observed that they both had blue and purple flowers with green. We saw that they both had brownish pots.
We noted that they flowers were different, and the shapes of the pots were different.
It was interesting to see how 2 children painted the same potted plant.

Over the next few weeks, we will continue to learn about different subjects of paintings as well as looking closely at some master painters. 

We will use our critical eyes to look for similarities and differences between painters.

We may even try to replicate some classic pieces of art.

Due to the creativity and self expression the Gan children possess, I expect to see the classroom transformed from a preschool into an art Gallery.