Sunday, February 8, 2015

The Colours of O'Keeffe

One of the recent Challenges on The Documented Life 2015 was "The Color Wheel". The Journal Prompt that went with it was:  
"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way . . . “ - 
Georgia O’Keeffe, American Painter (1887-1986).  
So I decided to have a closer look at her work.  O'Keeffe was a US based Precisionist painter from the 1920's and beyond.   She was known for her use of brilliant colour - hence the "Color Wheel" Challenge.  Oversized flower studies, animal skeletons, shells, rocks and landscapes were recurring elements in her paintings. You can see more of her work here.  Some of her works that provided inspiration for this specific week's planner pages were these:


Series I no.3 (1918) by Georgia O' Keeffe


Summer Days (1936) by Georgia O' Keeffe.
The current fascination with antlers and faux taxidermy isn't a new trend.  I'm not an art historian but O' Keeffe's series of antler paintings might have highlighted the decorative potential of these organic forms - in the 1930's already.  Incredible - isn't it?

My subsequent planner pages:

Brilliant oranges, blues, pinks. cubist flower shapes, abstract swirls and curly antlers - all elements that O'Keeffe was known for in her wonderful paintings.





O 'Keeffe was a wonderful wordsmith too.  I discovered a long list of inspiring quotes that she is credited for, so I included two of them in my weekly spread.


We are so inundated with visual information these days.  Staying original is becoming a real challenge.  What O' Keeffe  said about originality then, also applies to how I think we should approach this challenge today....


List of materials used:

A5 Week-per-page Moleskine diary 2015
White drawing paper for the flap
Washi tape to adhere the flap
Acrylic paint - turquoise, orange, blue, magenta, yellow, pink
Stencil with flower shapes
Gesso - white
Packing tape - for making a transfer print of the quote
Gel pens - blue, fluorescent pink
Pentel aqua brush with dark blue water soluble ink



2 comments:

  1. I lov how O'keeffe's work translates to your journal pages. You're far much more radical with your colours. It's probably you shining through your work. It's awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, Leon - thank you for your encouraging comment. I think as creatives, all of us are on a quest to find our own authentic style. So your words are much appreciated!

    ReplyDelete