Emily Carr 1871 – 1945 Canadian Painter

Emily Carr is considered to be one of Canadaʼs most renowned artists Emily Carr is considered to be one of Canadaʼs most renowned artists. She was significant as a landscape painter and as a modernist, and was the most important British Columbia artist of her generation.

Cedar Caninʼs House, Ucluelet 1899, watercolor on paper, 7” x 10.5”, Provincial Archives of British Columbia, Royal B.C. Museum, Victoria, B.C.

Totem Walk at Sitka Would you like to walk down this path? 1907, watercolor on paper 17.5” x 17.5” Collection of the Art Gallery of greater Victoria, Victoria, B.C.

Autumn in France 1911, oil on cardboard, 19” x 26” National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

Totem Poles, Kitseukla How many eyes can you find in this painting? 1912, oil on canvas, 50” x 38.5” Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

Where do you see the greatest contrast of dark and light colors? Heina, Q.C.I. 1928, oil on canvas, 51” x 36” National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

Totem Mother, Kitwancool 1928, oil on canvas, 43” x 27” Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

Big Raven 1931, oil on canvas, 34” x 45” Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

Does the darkness and density of the forest make the church seem large or small? Indian Church 1929, oil on canvas, 43” x 27” Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

Red Cedar 1931, oil on canvas, 43.5” x 27” Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

Tree (spiraling upward) How does your eye move around this painting? Tree (spiraling upward) 1932-33, oil on paper, 34.5” x 23” Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

Wood Interior 1932-35, oil on canvas, 51” x 34” Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

Sombreness Sunlit • Where is the emphasis in this painting • How is this achieved • What colors are repeated • What lines and shapes are repeated • What is the mood of this painting Sombreness Sunlit 1938-40, oil on canvas, 44” x 27” British Columbia Archives, Royal B.C. Museum, Victoria, B.C.

Skidegate Pole 1942, oil on canvas, 34” x 30” Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky Can you see the stumps? Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky 1935, oil on canvas, 44” x 27”, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.

Emily Carr Hands On Projects

Autumn Trees inspired by Carr’s Forest (Tree Trunks) Project Autumn Trees inspired by Carr’s Forest (Tree Trunks) For 5th grade, this took 15 mins of explanation and discussion. then 45 mins for most kids to be done. A few took an hour. For ½: we did the entire thing in 45 mins. We did it step by step as a group with the teacher demoing each step at front of room. emar Forest (Tree Trunks) 1938-9 oil on wove paper, mounted on masonite 91.5 x 61 cm National Gallery of Canada

Supplies Canvas – 8x10 Guide Paper – Use to create warm, cool and lighter tint Brushes – 1 per student, flat, stiff bristles, ½” wide Paint – Tempera, Brown, White, Orange, Yellow, Violet (See image) Paper Plates – 1 per student for palette Paper Towels – 1 per student. Needn’t be doing a lot of wiping Carr Images – laminated, 1 visible to each student. No Water!

Preparation Preload the palettes Good starting point: 2 Tbsp brown 1 Tbsp orange 1.5 Tbsp White 1 tsp yellow 1 Tbsp green .5 Tbsp violet

Paint Handling You have 6 colors of paint More can be created (use white space on palette) Not all combos are appropriate (e.g. mint green at LR!) Note: choice of exact colors is up to the student Study Carr’s distribution and contrast for inspiration

Paint Handling – cont. - Drag e.g. a bit of green and a bit of yellow together between the two - don’t pollute your source colors! You have no water. Brush needn't be cleaned in between colors. Just apply most of it to your paper, if making a large color change (e.g. green to white), then blot brush on your paper towel. Try to keep most of the paint on your paper, not your towel! Note: choice of exact colors is up to the student Study Carr’s distribution and contrast for inspiration

Paint Handling (cont.) Mix paint only lightly, want striation: (aim for the middle result) Use brush both wide and skinny direction and twist as drag to taper your trunks:

Forest (Tree Trunks) beginner What do we need to know about this painting to help us copy it? 1. the trees don’t cover the entire space triangle-shaped clearing in foreground 2. space behind the trees isn’t blank; Emily first painted in a background with squiggly lines 3. what do we notice about the trees? - Ones at the sides are wide; - those in the center are narrow - Tapered at the top - She used a variety of colors - Wide ones have patterns on them; curved horizontal lines Forest (Tree Trunks) 1938-9 oil on wove paper, mounted on masonite 91.5 x 61 cm National Gallery of Canada

Paint background 1. Using many repeated vertical brushstrokes (practice your skill with different widths) Paint the entire background of the painting with a tint of any color you feel would be in the distant background of your forest. Keep the background light to contrast with the forest you will paint later. 2. Use your fingers to add other “distant” marks in this background in tinted colors like squiggled lines like the backgrounds in Carr’s forests.

Paint a small triangular, rounded hill in the foreground. 1. Paint a line with your brush and then cover with small brush strokes to create grass or shrubs. 2. Experiment with a variety of cool and warm colors and tints in your hillside.

Paint the tree trunks (color mixtures of brown): 1. Starting at the base of each trunk, paint long trunks from the hill to the top of the paper. The trunks should be wider at the bottom than at the top. (tapered brushstrokes) A variety of wide and thin trees gives your forest visual interest. Leaving a larger gap between some trunks also adds interest. 2. Finger marks on tree trunks (tints): Remember the Emily Carr painting we touched with our fingers? Using your fingers, paint repeating, curved, horizontal marks on wider trunks using mixtures that have been tinted with white. You only need to add these curved finger marks to a few of the larger tree trunks.

You did it!