1. Georgia O’Keefe

2. Born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin November 15, 1887
Georgia’s family lived on a farm in Sun Prairie Wisconsin, which is only about 2 1/2 hours from here. Her parents were dairy farmers, but if you traced her family tree back farther, you’d find Georgia was a descendant (on her mother’s side) of Edward Fuller, a passenger on the Mayflower. And, her grandfather, George Victor Totto was a hungarian count - that means he was part of a royal family. Georgia was after named after her grandfather, and her middle name was Totto.
She was the second of 7 kids, and her mom knew by the time Georgia was 6 that she was a talented artist, so she got her some art lessons.
Born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin November 15, 1887

3. By the time Georgia was 12, she was taking private drawing and painting lessons. She traveled 7 miles by horse and buggy every Saturday to get to her lesson. That’s when she learned to paint with watercolors. One day when she was 12, she told her friend she was going to be an artist. Anyone here ever dream of being an artist?
(This isn’t her, but this is the type of buggy she would have ridden in.)

4. After she graduated from high school at 18, she left Wisconsin to go to chicago to study at the Art Institute. Do you recognize this green lion from outside the Art Institute? Anyone ever been there? Well, at that time there were not many girls in art school - it was mostly boys that were allowed to study art. She studied art at colleges and schools all over the country.

5. O’Keefe’s Hallmarks
Nature
Bright Colors
Light and Shadow

6. O’Keefe Loved Nature
Georgia liked to paint things she saw in nature, and that’s where she got her ideas. She saw beauty in plants….

7. …. Seashells ……

8. … water ….

9. …. Animal bones …

10. … sky …

11. She Painted Light and Shadow
… rocks …

12. … sand …

13. She Favored Bright Colors
After she finished school, Georgia decided to teach art for a while. She moved to Texas to take a teaching job there. She loved Texas. There were dust storms and heat lightning at night, and Georgia found it all very exciting. She started to show her excitement in her paintings, and soon her work looked different from every other artist.

14. … and her favorite, flowers
… and her favorite, flowers. She was fascinated by the shapes and colors of flowers. Poppies (the orange flowers at the bottom) were her favorite. She felt flowers were so small that nobody really saw them, so she painted them to “explode” off the canvas with lots of color and energy. Critics said her flower paintings made humans feel like butterflies because she often painted them so close up, it felt like you had landed on that flower to take a close look.

15. She began painting bold shapes and designs, covering her canvases with bright color. Soon her work changed, and she began painting the beautiful flowers that helped to make her famous. She was painting them much closer up now, and with warm colors like red, orange and yellow. Her paintings got bigger too - some were 3 feet tall by 2 1/2 feet wide. She made them so big and bright because she wanted people to feel the same wonderful way she felt when she looked at real flowers. She hoped her big flowers would get people to stop and notice her paintings. They did, and soon she started to become famous.

16. The West Was Her Inspiration
A few years later, Georgia went to New Mexico to visit some friends. New Mexico looks a lot different from where we live, or from where Georgia grew up. There are deserts, mountains, and old houses made out of clay called adobe houses.She loved the desert and clear blue skies she saw there, and loved painting the new and exciting scenery. She began spending summers there painting, and eventually moved there after her husband died.

17. These are a few of the paintings she did while she lived in New Mexico
These are a few of the paintings she did while she lived in New Mexico. Notice how bright and clear the colors are? This is because Georgia paid special attention to her painting materials. She always bought the best brushes and paint she could find, no matter how much they cost.

18. Georgia O’Keeffe died in 1986 (about 25 years ago)
Georgia O’Keeffe died in 1986 (about 25 years ago). She lived to be 98 years old. She had painted for 70 years of her life, completed over 900 paintings, and became one of the most important American artists at a time when lots of people thought women should only teach art, not paint it. She is famous for her unique views of objects and places, painting huge paintings of details most people would not notice.

19. Our Project

20. Our Project Step 1: Choose your MAIN color
Step 2: Choose a BACKGROUND color
Step 3: Choose an ACCENT color
Step 4: Create your shadows
Step 5: Create your highlights
Step 6: Add final details

21. Step 1: Choose your MAIN color
Step 2: Choose a BACKGROUND color
Step 3: Choose an ACCENT color
Step 4: Create your shadows
Step 5: Create your highlights
Step 6: Add final details