Activity 4: The Life of a Landscape Artist
Level
· Intermediate / Advanced
Note
· This activity can
stand on its own or act as an introduction to Activity 6: Sketching Outdoors
Purpose
· To familiarize
students with the philosophy behind creating landscape art outdoors and
its significance in Canadian art history.
· To familiarize students
with the joys and challenges of creating landscape art outdoors.
Materials
· Scenario
Sheets
· Pencils
· Paper
Procedure
· Role Play in
Groups
1. Review the philosophy and
mission of the Group of Seven: To create a new style of art that reflects
the ruggedness of the Canadian landscape and character. Artists must
experience the land directly in order to capture its essence. (See article
titled Painting With the Group of Seven for more
information)
2. Tell students that artists
were dedicated to painting outdoors, sometimes camping out for weeks at a
time in remote areas for greatest beauty.
a) Insects have been found
embedded in the paint of some outdoor sketches, evidence of an artist
being totally immersed in nature.
b) Discuss the following quotes
related to painting outdoors: "The first and most important thing in
landscape painting is to find a comfortable place to sit."
-John
William Beatty to A.C Leighton
"It's very hard to finish a careful
sketch in one sitting… for the light changes so rapidly in the mountains."
-Catharine Whyte to her mother, 1941
"You have to keep painting
outdoors; if you paint outdoor scenes in your studio your colour
invariably gets too warm, too hot. Only if you paint outdoors do you see
the cool silvery tones that are the true colours of nature."
- Carl
Rungius c. 1930-40
"Two things have got on my nerves - one the roar
and hissing and pounding all night long of a tremendous waterfall that I
am near, the other the alighting of snowflakes on my bottom when it is
bared once a day. Perhaps this is the poetry of camping out."
- John
Singer Sargent to his cousin, 1916
"Woolen gloves are clumsy but
permit the use of a pencil, but a sock is the best protection of all. It
is pulled over the hand and the pencil point thrust through the toe. The
fingers thus have full play and will keep warm provided the sock is thick
enough. The number of lines drawn depends on the temperature…"
-
Walter J. Phillips
"To paint from nature is to realize one's
sensations, not to copy what is before one."
- J.E. H. MacDonald, 1929
3. Divide students into five
groups.
a) Give each group a Scenario Sheet. There are five different
scenarios, each highlighting different artists and their landscape
experiences.
b) Have each group develop a short play based on the
information on their sheet. The play does not have to reflect all the
information contained, but should get across the main messages.
c)
Each group will present their play for the class.
d) Reinforce the
main messages with a brief discussion following each presentation.
Evaluation
· Quality and
sincerity of dramatic presentations
· Attention to detail
·
Demonstrated understanding of philosophy of outdoor landscape artists
Curriculum Connections
·
Visual Art, Language Learning, Social Studies, Drama
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