Art that depicts everyday life and its surroundings. Its
purpose is simple – record daily life, please the eye, make us
smile and record important occasions.
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Souvenirs
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Photographs
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Diary
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Video
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Stories , oral history
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Letters, books
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The first practical
camera wasn’t
invented until 1888
Painters would
capture moments for
families or record
historical events
Madame Roulin and Her Baby
Vincent van Gogh
Oil on canvas, 1888
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Washington Crossing the Delaware
Emanuel Leutze (American, Schwäbisch Gmünd 1816–1868 Washington, D.C.)
Oil on canvas, 1851. 149 x 255 in. (378.5 x 647.7 cm)
MATTIE LOU O’KELLEY
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1908-1997
Started painting at age 60 as
a hobby
Celebrated folk artist
Painted Georgia countryside
she knew in her childhood in
the early part of the 20th
century: barns, farmers,
animals and gardens filled
with flowers and vegetables
Wrote two storybooks with
her own paintings as images
CARMEN LOMAS GARZA
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1948At age 13 decided to become
an artist
Celebrated Hispanic artist
Painted Chicano culture by
portraying the family life of a
typical Mexican American
family – their traditions,
celebrations, ceremonies,
everyday life, and religion.
Wrote three books including
her images as illustrations
O’Kelley’s whimsical
landscapes employ
flattened images and
fantastic colors. The
flattened perspective of
My Parent’s Farm turns
the agricultural vista into a
richly colored quilt of
productive fields.
Mattie Lou O'Kelley
My Parent's Farm, 1980
Oil on canvas, 58 x 42 inches
Georgia Farm
Oil on Canvas, 1991
23 3/8 x 31 3/8 inches
Simple joys fill Georgia Farm, an image of abundance on a prosperous farm.
O’Kelley personalized scenes such as this with her use of particular colors
applied in small dabs. The resulting texture is like needlework, especially in
areas of repetitive patterning such as the lines of turquoise crops. She distorted
perspective so that space is flattened, creating remarkable planar arrangements
of color and design.
Carmen Lomas Garza
Empanadas (turnovers)
1991, gouache on cotton paper
20 x 28 inches.
Carmen Lomas Garza
Sandia / Watermelon
1986, gouache on cotton paper
20 x 28 inches.
“A little piece of my heart” is how Garza
describes her work. She reflects her Chicano
culture by portraying the family life of a typical
Mexican American family – their traditions,
celebrations, ceremonies, everyday life, and
religion.
Cumpleaños de Lala y Tudi (Lala and Tudi's birthday party)
1989, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches.
O’KELLEY
GARZA
O’KELLEY
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Oil on canvas
Lines
Repetition
Texture
Colors
Children are happily
swinging and playing
with balls and dolls.
GARZA
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Oil on canvas
Balance
Emphasis
Unity
Colors
Happy scene at a
birthday party