During our winter break, a new set of watercolors and brushes were ordered. Cindy met with a small group and introduced them. Carefully, brush strokes were tested and color blending was explored.
They were set out on the studio table and Bryce, Sadie, and Cookie approached.
“I want to use them.” Bryce
“Me too.” Sadie and Cookie said.
“What do you want to paint?” Cindy asked to focus the work and create an intention.
“A tree, but I don’t know how.” Bryce
“We have a tree out there.” Cookie points out the studio window to the front yard tree.
“Can I go look?” Bryce asks.
Bryce and Cookie go outside to take a closer look at the tree while Sadie takes the opportunity to have snack. Cookie and Bryce return to the classroom. Bryce begins to draw a rounded and full tree shape.
“That tree is very different from the tree in our front yard.” Cindy observes after Bryce’s first attempt.
“Our tree is naked!” Cookie recalls.
“Let’s look again.” Bryce refers to her subject through the studio window with Cookie. They ask to take a picture to bring inside for a closer inspection. They make many observations comparing the photo and the view from the window.
Sadie re-enters the studio: “I’m going to paint hearts and stuff.” She announces.
“Cookie and Bryce are painting the tree in the front yard.” Cindy brings Sadie into the work.
“Yeah, all of the leaves are gone. They blew over the fence and left during the break.” Cookie explains to Sadie, confirming her entrance into the work.
Sadie goes to the window: “I want to draw a tree too.”
“I drew all the branches, cause the leaves blew away.” Cookie
“I like how the tree looks cause you can see the wind chimes. The leaves blew over the fence. I can see the sky through the branches, it’s blue.” Bryce
“I see the tree with jewels and gems. I think I never noticed them before. The leaves fell to the ground, I remember that.” Sadie
Taking a closer look, referencing sources, and using multi media: photography, watercolor, and pencil to express new observations have become instinctual to these East Wingers. This deeper view of the front yard tree informed the girls of it’s seasonal changes and encouraged them to rationalize where the leaves went. It also engaged them in analyzing the non-tree items: windchimes and jewels, the sky beyond the branches. This familiarity with the subject and the ‘story’ of it’s existence lends influence to the styling of the painting. All this information brings a reality to the representation that replaces the internal formula for objects seen many times. It is a gift to see things as they truly are: the tree is naked, exposed from under lollipop assumptions and leafy summertime dreams that dominate imaginitive drawings.
-Kris