Maud Lewis Inspired Flower Painting

Maud Lewis (1903-1970) was a Canadian folk artist known for her vibrant, naive paintings of Nova Scotia landscapes and everyday life, despite facing significant physical challenges due to juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Maud Lewis was born with a condition that resulted in physical deformities and later developed into juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which caused her significant pain and limited mobility, especially in her hands. Maud's mother introduced her to painting by teaching her to make and sell Christmas cards. She married Everett Lewis, a fish peddler, and they lived in a small, one-room house in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia, where Maud continued to paint and sell her art. 

Maud was uniquely creative, self-taught, specialized in painting everyday rural life, loved animals and appreciated the beauty of nature. I've seen her work when I visited Halifax- you can also visit her original house which is now housed within the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. It's so adorable and charming with almost every surface painted in flowers!

Grade 4-6 students started off by looking at her flower still life paintings and discussing the colours and composition.

Flowers in Red Pot, 1967

I started by doing a demonstration. Students then sketched out their bouquet on 

brown kraft paper.

Then they practiced using tempera paint sticks on scrap paper- it was our first time using them. The kids enjoyed them but realized pretty quickly that they aren't ideal for colouring small details.

I love the wide variety of artworks created- we are holding onto these for Mother's Day!

 

Maud Lewis Style Cat Paintings

Maud Lewis (1903-1970) was a Canadian folk artist known for her vibrant, naive paintings of Nova Scotia landscapes and everyday life, despite facing significant physical challenges due to juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Maud Lewis was born with a condition that resulted in physical deformities and later developed into juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which caused her significant pain and limited mobility, especially in her hands. Maud's mother introduced her to painting by teaching her to make and sell Christmas cards. She married Everett Lewis, a fish peddler, and they lived in a small, one-room house in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia, where Maud continued to paint and sell her art. 

Maud was uniquely creative, self-taught, specialized in painting everyday rural life, loved animals and appreciated the beauty of nature. I've seen her work when I visited Halifax- you can also visit her original house which is now housed within the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. It's so adorable and charming with almost every surface painted in flowers!

Maud's art gained recognition in the 1960s, with her paintings capturing the attention of a journalist and leading to a radio documentary and newspaper article. Maud Lewis's work continues to be celebrated in Canada and internationally, and she is considered one of Canada's most beloved folk artists. 

Grade 4-6 student started off by looking at Maud's cat and landscape paintings on her official website.

We discussed her style of painting and use of colour. 

Then we watched THIS video about her life and art. 

I based my project on a lesson plan from Crayola Canada HERE.

My students learned SO many techniques during this project- so many painting techniques. I would say the Grade 4 students struggled a bit and the Grade 6 students felt the most confident with all the steps. 

Day one, students painted their background paper with a blue sky and mixed yellow and blue to make a custom green colour. Then they drew their cat and added cherry blossom branches. 

Next class the cat and blossoms were painted.

The last class was for all the final details, the face and tulips.

I love how cute and happy they all are!

 

Folk Art Oil Pastel Landscapes

This is a folk art landscape project using oil pastels and black ink. I have a soft spot for folk art landscapes; I find they are so charming and sweet and full of happiness and joy. Many 'folk' or 'naïve' artists were/are untrained and completely free in how they paint. Having gone to art school for four years, I was trained to do extensive rough sketches, thumbnails, practice, practice- get the perspective right, mix colours, blend, etc, etc, etc. So may rules and techniques- so now when I go to do my own art, I have all that 'information' in the back of my mind and it feels like I can't be completely free and uninhibited....

Anyway.... before this project, show students images from any folk artist you like- I chose the Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis. She's one of my favourite artists and I only chanced upon her work when I visited the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, in Halifax. I was in love. The gallery houses not only some of her paintings, but her famous tiny (one room) little painted house she lived in. Maud was crippled by childhood arthritis and lived in poverty most of her life, selling her paintings, at most, for between $5 - $15. Like many folk artists, she had never taken an art class and was self-taught.

"A View of Sandy Cove" by Maud Lewis (mid-1950's)           Source

Maud Lewis

Here's a short video from 1976, about Maud Lewis, from the National Film Board of Canada:

                  Maud Lewis: A World Without Shadows by Diane Beaudry, National Film Board of Canada

                          Here's another video, from 1964, showing Maud working
and discussing her art. Watch as a woman buys her famous 3 black cats painting for $5!!!!

 So for this project, students first drew a simple landscape onto white construction paper (9 x 12"). 

They were encouraged to include a background, middle ground and foreground. 

The landscapes could be fanciful and imaginative- stylized tree, plants, buildings, etc. or more 'realistic'. Whatever worked for the students. I had on hand lots of illustrated children's books with landscape pictures and calendar landscape photos for students to refer to as well.

Then, pass over all the pencil lines with a thick line of chalk. Use a light colour, like an off-white if possible. We only had yellow, and it tended to stain some of the white colours later on...

The, colour the picture with a thick layer of oil pastels. Don't colour over the chalk lines.
I encouraged students to colour in one direction and mix shades together.

Then, using a damp sponge, wipe off all the chalk lines. 

The paper will probably warp a bit but no worries.

Finally, using black watercolours or black ink (or even tempera watered down to an ink-like consistency), pass over all the black white lines with a soft round brush. 

If the pictures curl or warp, just flatten them overnight with a stack of heavy books.

Grade 3/4 artwork- ta da!!

Teacher sample below....

Detail