Stop and Smell the Flowers!
A bit about Georgia O’Keeffe.
I asked my girl if she knew who Georgia O’Keeffe was. The answer I got was, “Nope!” Let’s fix that. Georgia O’Keeffe is a 20th century artist, born in 1887 and died in 1986. She was best known for her work as a modern artist. By the mid-1920s (100 years ago. I know. It’s still called Modern Art) Georgia was one of the most successful artist from America at that time.
Georgia painted everything from flowers of the American deserts to mountains on the other side of the world in Peru, Japan, and so on. She traveled near and far from her home in America.
At age 10 Georgia had already decided to become an artist and so she went to art lessons, accompanied by two of her sisters, with a local painter. She was in the top of her class at the School of Art Institute of Chicago in 1905. Later she also became an art teacher and head of an art school.
Her personal life had many ups and downs. Much of her life would cause more emotional stress than she could handle on her own. Yet through out her trials and troubles Georgia enjoyed going for walks. She loved seeing sunrises and sunsets, along with other beautiful sights. She used painting to express her feelings. Her choice of media included watercolors, pastels, and oil paints. Often Georgia would not even sketch out a draft of what she intended to paint and just jumped straight to work putting colors into her creations.
There are a lot of other sources were you can find out more about the history of Georgia O’Keeffe. Look her up if you like. Most of all, I would like to say that what I learned from studying her life is to remember to take some walks outside. Stop and look at the flowers. Go and show yourself in your art. Put your heart and emotions into what you make. Be creative and keep shining!
