<Picture on the top left: Blue Morning Glories, in 1938.>
<Picture on the top right: Hibiscus With Plumeria, in 1939.>
<Picture on the top right: Hibiscus With Plumeria, in 1939.>
What are the Key Elements and Styles of Her Art Work?
First off, one can easily notice that Georgia O'Keeffe drew in her paintings in bold colours and enlargement, just like the paintings above. The colours in the paintings do stand out a lot, especially the bluish purple on the left. Also, the flowers are zoomed in very closely. In fact, most of her flower paintings are completely filled with flowers. In one painting, she created a huge canvas of a single flower. Her reasons to why she drew them so big was said in one of her quotes:
"I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty."
She also believed that since the flowers were so small, nobody would even bother to take a look at them. She wanted to reveal its importance and beauty to her audience...
"Nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small. We haven't time - and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time.
If I could paint the flower exactly as I see it no one would see what I see because I would paint it small like the flower is small. So I said to myself - I'll paint what I see - what the flower is to me but I'll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it - I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.
...Well, I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your own associations with flowers on my flower and you write about my flower as if I think and see what you think and see of the flower - and I don't."
Going on, one can also notice that most of her paintings are smooth. <To see closely, click on "Examples of Art Work on the very top.> Take a thorough look at the pictures on the top; the petals of the flowers seem as smooth as paper. Georgia O'Keeffe always drew what she felt, not what she saw.
"I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty."
She also believed that since the flowers were so small, nobody would even bother to take a look at them. She wanted to reveal its importance and beauty to her audience...
"Nobody sees a flower, really, it is so small. We haven't time - and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time.
If I could paint the flower exactly as I see it no one would see what I see because I would paint it small like the flower is small. So I said to myself - I'll paint what I see - what the flower is to me but I'll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it - I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.
...Well, I made you take time to look at what I saw and when you took time to really notice my flower you hung all your own associations with flowers on my flower and you write about my flower as if I think and see what you think and see of the flower - and I don't."
Going on, one can also notice that most of her paintings are smooth. <To see closely, click on "Examples of Art Work on the very top.> Take a thorough look at the pictures on the top; the petals of the flowers seem as smooth as paper. Georgia O'Keeffe always drew what she felt, not what she saw.
What types of art styles did Georgia O'Keeffe use?
Looking at a wider view, Georgia O'Keeffe worked several different art styles. In fact, she worked in such variety of styles that no one can really put her into a category. Two of her most common art styles were "representational" and "abstract". In many parts of her paintings, she had several representations of a woman, especially her body. Now these representations come from the abstract paintings of the Nature, such as flowers, bones (especially the pelvis ones), and landscape.
Now, some say that she drew in a surrealistic way, such as the ones with the horse skull floating in air. And since she made her paintings smooth, most of her paintings were somewhat similar to Precisionism. Not only that, since she was an American Modernist, she drew in a style of "American" Modernism. Some paintings did include some taste of reshaping and improving their modern environment.
Now, some say that she drew in a surrealistic way, such as the ones with the horse skull floating in air. And since she made her paintings smooth, most of her paintings were somewhat similar to Precisionism. Not only that, since she was an American Modernist, she drew in a style of "American" Modernism. Some paintings did include some taste of reshaping and improving their modern environment.