Learning Abstract Expressionism

Budding artists discovered how to let their emotions guide their paintbrushes Friday night at the . Presented by the Long Island Children's Museum, the Unique Painting Workshop provided children with a hands-on exploration of abstract expressionism based on the work of artist, Willem de Kooning.

"We're a community of artists tonight," said Jeanmarie Walsh of the Long Island Children's Museum, welcoming a room of almost 20 anxious painters. Walsh and her partner, Ashley Hodgson, led the workshop, encouraging kids to look at art in a way they might not have before. 

Walsh called upon the class to describe some of the emotions that came to mind upon hearing certain colors. Anger and embarrassment were mentioned for red, while proud and peppy made the list for yellow. The children then looked at one of Willem de Kooning's paintings. A characteristic mash-up of erratic brushstrokes and random colors, the lesson was in discovering the method behind his apparent madness.

As described by Walsh, Willem de Kooning was "a really prolific painter." Born in Holland, he came to Long Island in his late teens to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. He was very successful in the New York area, producing work throughout his life from the early 1940s until his passing in 1997. De Kooning is most well known for expressing his emotions abstractly through colors, textures and lines while using many different techniques.

The idea of creating a picture using colors and lines to portray one's innermost feelings rather than something physical like a face or an object is a concept that takes some getting used to for a child. Hodgson explains that in school, kids are often told to color within the lines. This workshop "helps them loosen up" and "step away from the structure of a classroom," Hodgson said. "It allows them to use their imagination."

After volunteering emotions felt throughout a typical day such as boredom, excitement, and anger, the children depicted their feelings in black marker with lines of varying thickness and patterns. Using a tactic inspired by de Kooning, they shaded the lines with charcoal, and then laid their imprints onto a canvas as the starting point for their soon-to-be masterpieces.

Echoing the inexact and chaotic sentiments behind the artist's practice, Walsh encouraged the class to "lay out the designs in a way that makes you feel good about your painting."

Once the paint brushes hit the canvases, the creative juices started to flow. The kids employed several methods like using masking tape and palette knives as well as peeling and scratching the paint to create different textures to emulate the work of de Kooning. In the midst of working, one pupil stepped back from her painting and laughed, "It looks so weird!"

"It's hard for kids to step out of their comfort zone," said Walsh, "but once they do, they really enjoy it."

As the class wrapped up, final touches were applied and like a room of fine arts students, the kids began to critique among themselves. Chatter ensued on what the children saw in each other's paintings: confetti, snow, mountains and explosions. "For the most part, kids get it," Walsh said of their understanding on abstract expressionism.     

Dolores Yovino, a library employee who sat in on the workshop, commented on the educational experience saying, "None of [the children] knew who the painter was before," she said, adding, "this is a new technique that they are learning."

The workshop was made possible through a substantial grant from the Willem de Kooning Foundation, provided to the Long Island Children's Museum to develop programming based on the artist's work. According to Walsh, there have been 10 to 12 demonstrations similar to the Unique Painting Workshop held around the Island over the past couple of years.

For more photos of artwork from the Unique Painting Workshop, check out the Long Island Children's Museum Facebook page, Diggin' de Kooning.