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!
