William H Johnson was African American artist from South Carolina who lived from 1910-1970.  After graduating from the National Academy of Design in New York, he traveled to Paris to paint for several years.  His work gradually transitioned from expressionism to primitivism.   Our lesson focused on his later works which depicted his rural southern upbringing.

Students had the choice of either following me doing a directed drawing based on Johnson’s painting “The Three Friends” or draw on their own from an outline of one of his paintings.  We drew with black oil pastel and painted with puck tempera.  I love all the different personalities and expressions students were able to capture.