Young artists learn about the masters

It's Van Gogh day at Trinity Lutheran Preschool and paintings of brightly colored flowers hang around an outside patio. The most diligent artists of the group stand over their creations, concentrating on where to place the next brush stroke.

"It's a crazy daisy flower," said 5-year-old Kylie Hopkins, holding up her painting of a yellow flower. "It's a crazy sunflower."

She runs to a clothes line where her classmates' paintings are hanging in the sun to hang up her own, then runs back and starts another.

Van Gogh is just one of the many artists students at Trinity Lutheran have been learning about this summer.

"I always have a theme every summer and this year it's art appreciation," said preschool director Linda Schultz.

Preschool students will display their work for their parents and the community in an art show Aug. 15.

Preschool teacher Sharon Davey said the students have not only covered different periods of art history, but also learned how to make art supplies from scratch during a lesson on frescoes of the Renaissance.

"In the old days they didn't have their own canvases, they didn't have their own paint brushes, so they had to make their own materials," she said.

Davey said the children made their own fresco and made dyes for the fresco using different foods - strawberries for pink, artichokes for green and lemons for yellow.

Art appreciation at the preschool stretches beyond the artists of Western civilization.

"We're studying all seven continents but we're also covering different eras of art," Davey said, as she picked up examples of African art and aboriginal art created by the students.

Davey said the children have loved most of the art lessons.

"I really want to learn how to be an artist," said 6-year-old Riana Testa. "I like to swim too."

The student art show is 5-6 p.m. Aug. 15 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1480 Douglas Ave., Gardnerville.