Chalk Pastel Landscapes inspired by Wolf Kahn

"The horizon, though in actuality a dividing line, must become, in a painting, a place where sky and land meet and mesh and become seamless." 

It's stick season in Vermont.  It's cold and dark and gray.  However, the work of artist Wolf Kahn reminds me that there is beauty and color in the forest all year long.   

Wolf Kahn's artwork makes me feel calm and centered.  If I can't go out for a walk in the woods, looking at his paintings and pastels of forest and mountain landscapes is the next best thing.  Although Kahn primarily lives and works in New York City, when looking at his work it is obvious that he also spends time in Vermont.  Kahn has a part-time residence in Brattleboro!

Wolf Kahn is a German-born artist who combines realism with an art style called "color field."  Color field painting is when the color is the main subject of the piece of artwork. 

First and second graders looked at examples of Wolf Kahn's trees and landscapes.  We used chalk pastels to create color field backgrounds, then add trees and other landscape elements.  

Here are some examples of first and second grade art inspired by Wolf Kahn.  In addition to the peaceful subject matter of these landscapes, many students noticed the effect that blending the chalk pastels had on them. Don't you feel calmer already?

A colorful take on #stickseasoninvermont inspired by  #wolfkahn #chalkpastel #landscapes.  #waitsfieldschool #gradesoneandtwo

A post shared by Nora (@artclass_allday) on Nov 7, 2017 at 10:51am PST

#wolfKahn #chalkpastel #landscapes.  #timelapse of students collecting their work.

A post shared by Nora (@artclass_allday) on Nov 7, 2017 at 10:53am PST

Chalk Pastel Landscapes inspired by Wolf Kahn

"The horizon, though in actuality a dividing line, must become, in a painting, a place where sky and land meet and mesh and become seamless." 

Wolf Kahn's artwork makes me feel calm and centered.  If I can't go out for a walk in the woods, looking at his paintings and pastels of forest and mountain landscapes is the next best thing.  Although Kahn primarily lives and works in New York City, when looking at his work it is obvious that he also spends time in Vermont.  Kahn has a part-time residence in Brattleboro!

Wolf Kahn is a German-born artist who combines realism with an art style called "color field."  Color field painting is when the color is the main subject of the piece of artwork. 

First and second graders looked at examples of Wolf Kahn's trees and landscapes.  We used chalk pastels to create color field backgrounds, then add trees and other landscape elements.  

Here are some examples of first and second grade art inspired by Wolf Kahn.  In addition to the peaceful subject matter of these landscapes, many students noticed the effect that blending the chalk pastels had on them. Don't you feel calmer already?

#waitsfieldschool #grades1and2 get messy with #chalk pastels while learning about #wolfkahn

A photo posted by Nora (@artclass_allday) on Sep 29, 2015 at 9:04am PDT

Wolf Kahn Landscapes

FIrst and second graders learned about artist Wolf Kahn.  Wolf Kahn is well known for his paintings and pastels of landscapes and trees.  He spends summers and falls on his farm in Vermont, so many of these landscapes seem quite familiar.

First and second grade artists learned about the parts of a landscape: foreground, middle ground and background.  We divided our paper into three sections and used blended chalk pastels to create the layers of the background, then drew trees over the top. 

Here are some examples of Wolf Kahn's landscapes. 

Here are the chalk pastel landscapes created by first and second grade artists. 

Watercolor Resist Trees inspired by Wolf Kahn

First and second grade artists looked at Wolf Kahn's paintings of trees.  Kahn is known for his work that combines Realism and Color Field (using large areas of color to create mood).  He primarily uses pastel and oil paints.  Wolf Kahn's trees demonstrate this union.  Wolf Kahn is a part time Vermont resident, so Waitsfield students can identify with his peaceful landscapes.  Thank you to The Clever Feather blog for the inspiration for this project.  

Students used single colors of oil pastel to draw the silhouettes of trees in a forest.  Next each student chose two analogous colors to paint their background.  They used the watercolor wash technique by painting their papers with water first, then observed the resist created by the oil pastels.  

Here are some of Wolf Kahn's tree paintings:

Here are the students' Wolf Kahn tree watercolor resist paintings: