These small paintings were done by children in grade 3 attending Calais Elementary School where I was the art teacher in the late 1980’s. This was my first teaching position in Maine. All of these paintings measure 9″ x 6″. The white art paper is beginning to yellow so this is a lovely way both to preserve and share these delicate and tender images. The children used a standard palette of red, blue, yellow, black, and white. All secondary oranges, greens, and purples were mixed by the children along with the neutral grays and browns. I expecially enjoy the juxtaposition of house and flower in Kevin Taylor’s painting. Each of these paintings shows a fresh view–a sense of symbol, space, and form unique to a child’s perspective.
I was teaching “art on a cart” at the time. Carting the painting materials into the classroom was a challenge, but the enthusiasm and cooperation of the children more than made up for the extra effort of filling rinse buckets and carefully carting loaded paint cups into the classrooms.