30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 29: Paintings I Love

My kids have been blessed with a fantastic art teacher. The pictures on this post are of paintings he has helped middle school students create over the past three years. Each picture has two requirements--he assigns them a famous artist. They must study that artist and use his style in the picture. But the picture must also depict something about the small town we live in.

Making these pictures has become one of the most popular things to do at our school. I feel very attached to this project, even though very few people know I had anything to do with it. One day, three years ago, my amazing friend Lisa came to me. Even though her kids weren't even in school yet, she was already thinking about the drab, ugly halls at the middle school they would be going to in nine or ten years. The artist in her knew that something had to be done.

She contacted Mr. Tompkins, the art teacher, who recognized a great idea when he heard one. He adjusted it to fit his curriculum, and ran with it. Where do I come in? Well, three years ago I was the president of the PTO here. This art project is the thing I am most proud of accomplishing during my two years as president, so I stayed as involved as I could.

My favorite picture is based on the work of Mark Rothko, a Latvian born American painter. Although I like his work, I think the three students who worked on this one surpassed him in excellence. I could stare at it all day. Through the lens of my camera, it seemed like the water was rippling. (I should take this opportunity to point out the obvious--I am not a great photographer, and my camera is as bad as I am.)

In the style of Mark Rothko

My daughter worked on a painting using Giacomo Balla's style. He was an Italian painter who died in 1958. His Futurist style depicted light, movement and speed. Again, I like this painting better than anything he did. He was a strange duck. (He named his daughters Propeller and Light. Enough said.)

In the style of Giacomo Balla.

These paintings remind me so much of my Aunt Donna. I always wanted a picture like this in my house when I grew up.
In the style of Pier Mondrian

I don't know the artist who inspired this one. More research!*

*Andy Warhol--duh, duh, duh! Feeling embarassed now.

In the style of Jackson Pollock

In the style of Andre Derain

In the style of Picasso

I ought to know this one...I'll let you know after I pick up the kids today!*

*Victor Vasarely

In the style of Louise Nevelson

In the style of Joan Miro

In the style of Rene Magritte

Another one in the style of Rene Magritte

One more to research...*

 *Gustav Klimt

This isn't all of the pictures, but it's most of them. At a later date, I'll probably add the rest, including some from the primary school, just because they are all fabulous.

I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the names of all the wonderful artists who painted these works. They deserve recognition, but they also deserve anonymity, unless they choose to divulge their names.