Georgia O’Keeffe began visiting New Mexico yearly in 1929. In 1949 she made the state her permanent home. Georgia O’Keeffe was inspired by the beauty of the New Mexico desert. From her bedroom window in Abiquiú, she could see the vast sky above, hills and trees below, and a road stretching into the distance. She enjoyed this view so much that she completed many paintings, drawings, and even photographs of the mesa and the road to the east. Familiar places can be great as sources for artistic inspiration! What do you see when you look out your window?

Materials: Drawing paper, drawing utensils

 What do you think it would look like if you were flying above the scene in your drawing?  What would the difference be from this point of view? You could create a drawing from the bird’s eye view perspective.

Georgia O'Keeffe. Mesa and Road East, 1952. Oil on canvas, 26 1/16 x 36 inches. Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Gift of The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation.

A winding road enters the scene from the base of the canvas in the center. It curves to the right before weaving off into the distance to the left. A large, dark-colored mesa rises from the right side of the work, its hills sloping down towards the left. Several trees dot the landscape in the foreground. The sky is largely filled with clouds, with just a sliver of blue visible along the upper edge of the work.

En Español:

Georgia O'Keeffe. Mesa y camino al este, 1952. Óleo sobre lienzo, 26 1/16 x 36 pulgadas. Museo de Georgia O'Keeffe. Donación de la Fundación Georgia O'Keeffe. 

Un camino sinuoso entra en escena desde la base del lienzo en el centro. Se curva hacia la derecha antes de serpentear hacia la distancia hacia la izquierda. Una gran mesa de color oscuro se eleva desde el lado derecho de la obra, sus colinas se inclinan hacia la izquierda. Varios árboles salpican el paisaje en primer plano. El cielo está en gran parte lleno de nubes, con solo una franja de azul visible a lo largo del borde superior de la obra.

Standards for Activity: Outside My Window