Artist Spotlight: Karla Gerard + Art Project: Colorful Villages Part 1 of 2, Build Your Masterpiece Class, Week 8

This Artist Spotlight + Art Project is part of the 8th week of the Build Your Masterpiece Class, an Art & Literature-based curriculum plan, where you and your kids will Read, Paint + Cook Your Way Through Europe. Click here to learn more about Build Your Masterpiece Class which is Scissors & Glue’s Brand New Art & Literature-based curriculum plan for you and your kids in your in homeschool.

 

Artist Spotlight: Karla Gerard

 Karla Gerard is a self-taught Abstract Folk Artist, who lives in Waterville, Maine, USA, and she has been painting and doing art since she was a teenager. She has a passion for art and has been selling it for over ten years now.  She loves to paint with color, patterns, painting trees, houses circles, and landscapes, and she enjoys painting blackbirds, black cats, deer, moose, and raccoons which you can see in her series of beautiful, colorful and intense patterned designs of houses and villages. It is fun to look deeply at her artwork and try to spot all the little birds and cats. 

When asked where she gains her inspiration from, she says, "Inspiration comes from everywhere, nature, magazines, a dream and things I like. I am always looking for ideas and inspiration everywhere I go and  I enjoy painting folk art and abstract because the styles are both simple and uncomplicated."

She recalls that when she was a teenager, she had made up her mind that she would become an artist someday and that she would make it happen, no matter what and she most certainly did. She continued to find ways to learn new techniques, even as a young mother. She took an oil painting class, and after only 4 classes the teacher told her that she could teach the class! What a talent! But she has experienced hardships as well, as the oil paints became a struggle to work with due to the fumes they produce, and she became allergic. But that did not stop her creative journey and she soon found acrylic paint to be more suitable for her to use on a regular basis, and now enjoys painting with acrylic as well as designing her rug hook patterns, and other creative projects.

"My passion is painting and sharing my art with the world." ~ Karla Gerard

Take a look at a few of Karla's Gorgeous Folk Art Villages, Houses, Trees, Ocean and Landscapes with vibrate color, details, and patterns:

[gallery ids="5220,5218,5226,5227,5228,5229"] 

Our Art Project for today is: A Colorful Village, part 1

Supplies Needed for today's part 1:

• Watercolor Paper
• pencil
• black sharpie marker
• tomorrow, for part 2: we will use our oil pastels + watercolor paints

Watch this Lesson overview for our Colorful Village Art Project, for today and tomorrow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnQuadGUOR4

Method for part 1 of our Colorful Village:

1. Let's start by watching the video lesson above, to see what this project is all about, and look at the Gallery of Photo's above, of a Collection of Paintings from Karla Gerard, for you all to gain inspiration today for your project!
2. Grab our Watercolor paper, pencils, erasers and your sharpie markers for whose allowed to use.
3. We are going to be drawing a lot of houses, all over our paper, a village of houses.
4. Draw as many houses as you can handle, because today we are simply working on filling out our page with houses, detail, and anything else you would like to draw, being inspired by Karla's Art.
5. Start with a 2D house, which appears as if you are looking straight at it.
6. Then add in a 3D house, with corners, and windows and doors, and cute details on the roofs.
7. For younger children, simply focus on 2D houses, and only as many as they can. This can vary in levels because even at the simplest of levels, it comes down to what a house or village looks like to the artist.
8. If you want to add little birds, cats, trees, things like that, go right ahead, and make this artwork your very own!
9. When you are done, awesome! set this aside, and wait until tomorrow, for the next part!

Check Out Tomorrow's Art Project: Colorful Village Part 2

I hope you all are enjoying your time with Build Your Masterpiece Class and if you are at this Artist Spotlight + Art Project, it means you are in England and making great progress! Congratulations! I wish you the best of luck with Reading, Painting and Cooking your way through Europe with your kids! Please share your experience by using the hashtag #buildyourmasterpiececlass and you may be featured on my Instagram feed!Till next time,Breathe Deeply and enjoy building your masterpiece with scissors and glue,~Alexandra