Hannah cutting out the three shapes for the grid and pattern painting. Click for larger image

Hannah just turned ten years old and will be going into the 5th grade in the fall. Her paintings are beautifully painted, with care and much attention to the detail and color mixing. Everything about her work is joyful! She loves to paint and mix colors, she loves pattern and design, and enjoys working with a variety of subjects. We have incorporated Art History lessons as part of her session time, and she grasps and retains information like she has known it her whole life! Part of this stems from her intense interest and participation in art, she loves art and loves to make art, and this feeling is apparent in her work.

Hannah’s first three paintings are similar, in that they are non-objective; we chose those primarily so that we could cover basic composition and color mixing. Having mastered both of those, Hannah’s next project will involve a more realistic subject, that of the family cat, Sam.

The reference and subject for Hannah’s first painting was "The Wizard" which is a three dimensional puppet that Hannah had made. Hannah carefully observed the lines and shapes of the Wizard and transformed them into an abstraction of the original subject. She then chose a limited palate for painting by choosing the color blue and painting the composition with different values of blue. The painting was done on canvas board.

Hannah applying gesso to the 25" x 15" canvas which she constructed. Click for larger image

For her next project, Hannah choose to do a grid, repeating design on canvas. Her first step was to determine the size for each grid block, which she chose to be a 5" square. She planned five, 5" squares across and three, 5" squares down, for an overall canvas size of 25" x 15". She chose again a limited palette by choosing two colors, this time red and violet; the composition would be painted with different values of these two colors. For this project, we kept track of all the colors that were mixed (using red, violet, and their compliments, green and yellow, and white.) We mixed up a whole bunch, at least 15-20 different values, that were repeated throughout the composition.

The next step was creating three shapes that would be used within each 5" block and repeated throughout the composition in varying combinations. In each block then there would be three positive shapes and interesting negative spaces created by the positive shapes. All of the positive and negative spaces would be painted.

Hannah transferring the shapes into the fifteen, 5" squares for the pattern and grid painting. Click for larger image

After determining the overall size, color scheme, and the three shapes, Hannah constructed the canvas using stretcher bars and ungessoed canvas; she applied two coats of gesso, the second coat being tinted with some red. She next drew the three designs into all 15 grid squares, and then painted the composition. This entire project took about ten to twelve hours.

Hannah’s third painting titled "Fish" involved establishing line and rhythm with black oil paint on Bristol paper. (We used two sheets, each 19" x 24" so that the overall size was 38" x 24"). Again using a limited palate (purple and yellow) she painted in the shapes created with the black lines. While this seems like a very simple project, the decisions Hannah made about where to apply high key, intermediate and low key colors I think gives this painting a high level of sophistication for an artist her age.

Hannah has so many accomplishments, as described below in the interview that I had with her. It has been so much fun to have Hannah at the Greenleaf Way Studio!

"INTERVIEW WITH HANNAH"

Hannah, what is the art experience like for you?

Making art... gives me a happy feeling. It means expressing myself, it means having fun. It is... getting a feeling inside that makes me happy. It is a chance to think about things that you might not have thought about. It is about YOU (the artist) and what you are doing.

What are some of the things that you like about art?

If I "mess up" I know that I can still do it. I can change it; I can mix colors, use different tools, like a palate knife, different brushes, etc.

Hannah painting the grid and pattern project; palette is limited to values of red and violet. Click for larger image

Who is your favorite artist?

I like Henri Matisse and Vincent Van Gogh. I also like Picasso because he uses his imagination and doesn’t draw or paint things as we usually see them.

What kinds of things do you like to draw and paint?

I like colors and shapes; abstractions and design work, and I like portraits. I plan on doing a painting of my cat, Sam.

What are some of your other favorites (hobbies, etc.)

My favorite color is yellow because it is cheerful. My favorite subject in school is English. I play the piano, soccer, and take dance (jazz and ballet). I collect rocks. We have one family dog and two family cats. My favorite food is macaroni and cheese!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I would like to be a school teacher; I like to teach and help people. Or, maybe a doctor.

What have you learned from your art, about yourself, about art techniques, etc.?

Learning how to color mix and paint is my favorite. And I have learned that I can do it (art)! I have a positive attitude then towards many different things!

You can view artwork created by Hannah by clicking here now!