Alma Woodsey Thomas developed her signature style—large, abstract paintings filled with dense, irregular patterns of bright colors—in her 70s. Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia, the oldest of four girls. In 1907, her family moved to Washington, D.C., seeking relief from the racial violence in the South. Though segregated, the nation’s capital still offered more opportunities for African Americans than most cities in those years. Thomas’ early art was realistic, though her Howard professors Loïs Mailou Jones and James V. Herring challenged her to experiment with abstraction. When she retired from teaching and was able to concentrate on art full-time, Thomas finally developed her signature style. She debuted her abstract work in an exhibition at Howard 1966, at the age of 75. Thomas’ abstractions have been compared with Byzantine mosaics, the Pointillist technique of Georges Seurat, and the paintings of the Washington Color School, yet her work is quite distinctive. Thomas became an important role model for women, African Americans, and older artists. She was the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art, and she exhibited her paintings at the White House three times.” Look at some of her artwork below. You can even Google her and see some abstract landscape paintings! Try out some Alma Thomas work on your own! Materials:
Directions:
1. To begin, make your paper a square, then find the center. 2. Trace a small circle lightly with pencil in the center of the page as a guide. 3. Make your first color a circle of paint in the very center. 4. Wipe your brush, get a new color or paint, and begin making square dash marks around the first circle. 5. Continue by changing color for each concentric circle. Use a larger brush if desired. Custom mix your own shades of color. 6. Fill the page with colorful circles.
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