We look down across a stylized landscape of rolling green fields divided into quarters by two sand-colored roads in this square painting. The scene is lit from the upper left, and the horizon almost brushes the top of the composition. Closest to us, in the lower left corner, one road curves into view from behind a green hill and drops steeply down into the valley below. An area of peach and tan in the lower right corner could be the base of a sawed-off tree trunk. There are two wooden posts just beyond it, and a sign affixed to one reads, “SOLON 5 MI.” The road stretches almost straight into the distance, where it is intersected by a second road, running nearly horizontally across the painting. The land rises and falls in gently swelling hills to either side of the roads and deep into the distance. Fields covering those hills are crosshatched with clay-orange brushstrokes over a blend of celery and pea green. To our left, in the valley, the edge of a white farmhouse with a clay-red roof nestles among pine and dark green trees. Another cluster of round trees, like a bunch of pompoms, sits in a field along the road, to our right. Across the bisecting road, also to our right, is a brick-red barn and white windmill standing before more trees. Touches and a few swipes of white suggest a horse and chickens in front of the farmhouse. The road sweeping down past these buildings is dotted with white fence posts. One of the hills rippling into the distance is topped with a tan-colored plot of land. In the top quarter of the composition, the narrow sky is filled with a shimmering blend of short, dense strokes dotted across the canvas, ranging from soft blues on the left to peach and pale pink on the right. The artist signed and dated the work in red paint in the lower left corner, “GRANT WOOD 1939” following a copyright symbol.

Grant Wood, New Road, 1939, oil on canvas on paperboard mounted on hardboard, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Irwin Strasburger, 1982.7.2

Haiku to Haiga: Transforming Poetry into Visual Art

Virtual Studio

Thursday, June 22, 2023
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Workshops
Virtual
Registration Required

Join local educator and artist Sean Felix to get an inside look at his process for transforming poetry into visual art. We will start by writing haiku poetry inspired by the National Gallery’s collection. These poems will then become the inspiration for a contemplative artwork called a haiga which aims to expand our thoughts and emotions in a re-expression of our poetry.

Sean Felix is a Washington D.C.-based educator, a poet, and an artist. He has been writing for 25 years, though his passion for words has existed his entire life. Sean became enamored with haiku and haiga three years ago and finds his daily haiku practice to be one of the most peaceful and enjoyable parts of his day. He hopes by sharing his practice with more people that they will find moments of calm and joy in their lives.

Materials

Paper, pencil, and eraser
Coloring medium like colored pencil, markers, pastels, etc.

Questions?
[email protected]