Grandma Moses. Wow! What an incredible life this woman must have had, no? Born in 1860 in rural, Upstate New York on a farm and living on a farm most all of her life, she saw and experienced so much over her 101 years on earth. She was alive during the Civil War. She lived and learned to farm without many of the industrial tools we have today, like tractors. She saw the rise of the Industrial Revolution, lived through two World Wars, as well as the Roaring 20s and the Great Depression.
Grandma Moses is a self-taught artist who did not begin painting until age 78, around 1938. Though life on the farm must have been tough, her paintings all come from the joys of her childhood in rural life. You can see the inspiration of Upstate NY in the rolling hills in the backgrounds of her works. She started out painting using whatever supplies she had around the house - including house paints, old canvas and even firewood.
Grandma Moses is proof you can create amazing pieces of art work no matter your age, experience level or what supplies you use. So you and your kiddos cannot use that excuse anymore - haha! Use what supplies you have around the house, whether it is paint on canvas or panels; or crayons, markers or colored pencils on paper, you can create something amazing. If you need to buy supplies, you do NOT have to break the bank in order to do that. Use what you have or whatever you can afford.
I create this painting here in the videos that follow using craft paint I had at my house and a leftover 8x10 inch canvas panel. I promise you I spent zero dollars on these supplies. And I did it in a Folk Art style, which does not require any formal art training. In fact, the lack of perspective and proportions actually makes folk art even better! What is even better is pulling up fun, childhood memories and creating a piece of artwork from your heart that you are intimately attached to.
The scene I created was a winter scene from my neighborhood I lived in the suburbs of Chicago. We would get TONS of snow every winter there and the people that plowed the roads must have known just how to plow it for us kids, 'cause they would make 2 HUGE piles of snow on each side of the road on our cul-de-sac, perfect for snow forts and snow ball fights. I tried to capture that memory in this painting here - again, made from an old canvas panel & craft paint.
You can find the YouTube link here for the video:
If you would like to watch a real-time video of me painting this painting, with step-by-step, how-to instructions, you are welcome to watch that here:
As always, please let me know if you need any help or if you have any questions. I cannot wait to see your pictures of your beautiful creations. Feel free to post them on our Facebook page or using the #dontforgettheart . Have fun, all, and happy arting!