This week's artist of the week that we studied was William Lamb Picknell.   The kids, K-6th grade, had a field day calling him "Mr. Pickle."  Goodness; of course that started a classful of giggles.  Hopefully that will help him remember his name anyway; we have so much fun in art class! 

 When William Lamb Picknell (1853- 1897), who was originally from Vermont, came to visit Florida with his wife Gertrude Powers, he enjoyed the beauty of the tropics here so much he laid his brush to the canvas in such a way it touched us for generations.  What a thrill to bring that joy to others now and for generations to come by capturing those precious moments in time and expresing them with a paintbrush.  To be able to snatch that bit of time in your hand and let it flow through you onto the canvas?  Well, that, my friends, is what it's all about.  Painted memories, to me, are bits of heaven on earth...

William Lamb Picknell was only 14 when his father passed away.  He started working in a frame shop in Vermont to help makes ends meet and then started painting.  He moved to Europe and studyied under George Inness, a very popular and talented landscape artist at that time, and by the age of 26 his "Road to Concarneau," Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., earned him a medal and made him the first American to receive such a high honor in the category of landscape at the Paris Salon.   Unfortunately, he suffered from poor health, and after his only child passed, he passed soon thereafter at the young age of 44.  He left behind his wife Gertrude and many, many paintings which I will share a few of with you.  You will be able to see the influence of the Hudson River Painters, but beyond that, I think you will see a desire to portray an aspect of truth and the beauty of nature that speaks for itself.  Here is "Midwinter Florida,"  by William Lamb Picknell

His colors and composition are soothing and picturesque.  Another piece of his we looked at in class this week was a painting of a fisherman in a boat.

All the K-6 students eagerly dove into boat painting after they saw his beautiful boat painting.  We talked a little bit about linear perspective in some of the older student's classes as we looked at why you can see into the boat since it is located below the horizon.  We pointed out the colors, how soothing they were, and how light the water was and how dark the shadow of the boat was.  We mentioned the show of movement by the way the man is positioned in the boat with the oars.  And of course the little ones wanted to know what he had in his boat.  "What's that in the boat, Ms. Miller?"  It's a barrel.  "What's a barrel?"  It's a container.  "What's in the container?"  and before I can answer "How come he has so much stuff in his boat?"  "Where are the fish?"  "My dad fishes."  "One time we went in a boat and..."  and on and on!   So here are some of the student's boat pictures.  Bear in mind these are elementary school students.  Whenever I come around to check on them, they bubble over with stories about their pictures.  They are amazing!  It makes me want to compile them in a book and call it "Bubbling Boating Tales." 

There are 153 students total so I can only show you you a few, but here are some choice shots as well:

Aren't they precious?  There are many more but I cannot fit them all; it was so hard to choose!  Until next week, happy sailing to all!

Anchors away!

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for all that we learned this week and all the fun we had creating.  It is a blessing to be able to put on paper that which we feel in our heart and on our minds.  Thank you for touching our hearts with your handiwork and the work of Mr. Picknell that speaks of your glory.  Thank you for reminding us to be fishers of men and not be afraid to get out of our "boats" and our comfort zones.  Thank you for inspiring each little artist to learn new things, have fun, and explore their creative natures, thoughts, and ideas.  We are so grateful for these opportunities and the joy that comes in sharing them with others.  In Your Name, Amen.

"Hibiscus Family" 11X 14 watercolor

Have you ever enjoyed hibiscus tea? I enjoyed painting them, but I cannot say I have ever enjoyed drinking them. I am very curious to see how they taste.   Hibiscus tea is supposed to be very high in Vitamin C and have properties that help lower blood pressure.  Not only are they absolutely beautiful and found growing plentifully here in Florida, apparently they are tasty too! 

Today I had the privilege of teaching art to K-6 students at Circle Christian School.  We painted hibiscus in watercolors like our featured artist, Laura Woodward.  Here are Laura's Hibiscus  below:  (not yours truly Laura, but Laura Woodward!)

Laura Woodward (1834-1926) was "Florida's most important nineteenth-centruy woman artist, one of its greatest publicists, and integral to the development of Palm Beach County."  (Debrah Pollack, author, Laura Woodward: The Artist Behind the Innovator who Developed Palm Beach.)  I liked her immediately when I saw her stunning landscapes and flower paintings.  But it was her outfits and hats I envisioned that were even more delightful.  Picture if you will, a 50s-something woman fumbling through the Florida jungles in an very long, to-the-ground dress, a petticoat with laces, boots, and a large, matching, decorative hat, carrying a French easel and paints, looking for "just the right spot" to set up!  It was unheard of to wear pants or shorts in those days.  And I imagine they didn't have the light-weight easels, the Solteks, etc., that we have now.  I bet she couldn't run back to the air conditioning in her car for a little reprieve, or grab a squirt of bug spray while she was there either.  It tickled me to imagine her tromping through the Florida tropics in the late 1800s, early 1900s, living her passion, painting the beauty of God's creation. 

Woodward was born in New York and painted as a woman with the Hudson River School painters for many years, which were mostly men. But it is her work in Palm Beach Florida where she spent approximately the last 33 years of her life, that intrigued me most.  Apparently, Laura's enthusiasm and her paintings of Palm Beach's natural beauty were instrumental in persuading Henry Flagler that the island might be developed as a luxury resort.  She told Flagler she wanted to open a studio then and thre at the Hotel Royal Poinciana, that he agreed to begin construction on.  I wonder what would have happened if their paths had not crossed, or Laura hadn't painted these beautiful paintings of the area for him to enjoy? 

Here are some of the Monday's K-6th grade student's paintings in progress.. didn't they do a great job?

and here is my messy desk and my lovely Monday assistant, HS student Lexi Beckman!  I don't know where I'd be without her!

We had so much fun yesterday and today.  The kids learned about radial symmetry found in the hibiscus and the concept of balance in designing a composition.  The Hibiscus Family painting I did above shows assymetrical balance through the use of color.  It's pretty heavy on the left side, but the fuscia-colored hibiscus at the bottom right balances out the painting.  So even though the hibiscus has radial symmetry, we can use assymetrical symmetry to design a pleasing composition.

Here are some of Tuesday's K-6th grade students paintings:

And here are Tuesday's faithful and truly anointed assistants, Bekah Scoville and Kathy Scoville: 

Hey Bekah, that pizza looks delish!                         Kathy is dishing up the paints... Both of these ladies are sent from heaven!  They are so patient and kind.  Bekah is in my 10th grade class.  She painted a hibiscus for an extra-credit project and included a scripture verse.  It is so excellent; I must show it to you:

I am so blessed to teach art at Circle Christian School  The kids are eager to learn and I love pouring out my passion on them.  I get 50 hugs a day from these little ones and I love each and every one of them in a very special way! 

It is fun to prep for classes.  I love learning about the artists and playing with the different media.  I enjoy oil painting best, but playing with watercolors and letting them run around the paper is amazing in its own way.  I think I like the Hibiscus Family painting the best at the top, but here are two more I did with the class.  They're each a little different.  I really like hibiscus.  I think I shall have to buy some hibiscus tea now.  Anyone out there ever taste it?  I trust when I drink it, I will savor its aroma and imagine its incredible beauty simultaneously; how divine!  

Pink Hibiscus, watercolor 8 X 10                                                           Yellow Hibiscus, watercolor 11 X 14

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you enjoyed learning about Laura Woodward and the hibiscus; stop back again soon!

Prayer:  Lord God, thank you for the amazing creation around us, the beauty of the hibiscus and the joy they bring us as we gaze on their color, symmetry and balance.  Thank  you for all my art students and amazing assitants and all the leadership at Circle Christian that make it possible for me to share my passion for You and this wonderful world we live in.  Bless them and everyone that reads this.  Bring glory to Your name as you reveal Yourself through the work of our hands.  In Your Name, Amen.

There is nothing like the love of two sisters.  This is my mother and aunt.  Mom moved from Ely, MN to Mpls., MN this summer and this was one of her last days spent in the same home town with her sister.  They lived in this same town all their lives and never moved away from each other.  Now, mom lives 4 hours north of her sister in Minneapolis.  Mom was very sad to leave her sister.  I know she misses her terribly so I painted this as a loving memory for mom for Christmas.  It was painted from a photo I snapped in a passing moment this past summer.  It was not planned; in fact, I think I took it with my phone!  It just hit me as a sweet memory I think they will always cherish!  I didn't copy it or project it, as someone asked me; I just drew it on the canvas with vine charcoal and did an underpainting and then finalized it with oils.  I think it is good to practice your drawing skills this way and is the only way to do some portraits because the person is not available or your memory needs to be preserved and was snapped with a camera or phone in a moment, spontaneously.   Perhaps this preserved memory is something my daughter and her children and my aunt and her children and so forth down the line will enjoy one day.  The word "legacy" is befitting of this precious moment preserved in oils.

Today, January 4, 2012, mom is coming for a visit.  She flew from Minneapolis., Minnesota where her new/summer home is to Zephryhills, FL where she has a second/winter home and is then coming to stay with me for a few days here in Orlando, Florida.  I am going to give this painting to her and I know she will be so happy.  I can't wait to see her and I can't wait to give this to her.  I wonder what her reaction will be?

This painting is a memory I, too, have of my visit to Ely, Minnesota.  This is also my home town that I grew up in.  Notice the house in the background.   Everyone has houses similar to this in this small town of 3500 people.  This town is the gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and is on the border of Canada and Minnesota.  This past summer I went up to help mom get settled in her new surroundings.  I got to see my aunt as well and I snapped this photo real quick while we were there briefly because we spent most of our time at mom's new home in Minneapolis where I painted a mural after Thomas Kinkaid that she liked for her in her new abode.   So sweet!

See, here is the photo and the painting side by side.  You can tell I did not copy it because it is perfectly imperfect! 

I think mom and her sister look a tiny bit younger in the painting as well.  I guess you'd say their youth has been renewed like the eagle's!  

This reminds me of Psalm 103:2-5.  Let me digress for a moment and give glory to the ultimate Creator who gives us our gifts and does just that for us!

"Praise the LORD, my soul, 
   and forget not all his benefits— 
³ who forgives all your sins 
   and heals all your diseases, 
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit 
   and crowns you with love and compassion, 
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things 
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  

(emphasis mine)

May all your memories made this new year be happy and filled with JOY!

Love and blessings,

Laura

P.S.  Speaking of mom and Minnesota, I found a picture of the mural I painted for mom's dining area in her new condo in Minneapolis this summer as well.  It was so fun to be able to add a little atmosphere and warmth to her new place during my stay with her. This is after Thomas Kinkaid, the painter of light.  Mom likes his paintings.  Maybe someday I will be as successful as he is.   Woo hoo!  Regardless, I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying the process of growth and the freedom that comes from living your passion.  I think we should take what God gives us and RUN WITH IT!    That, my friends, is what it's all about!  Enjoy!   :)