Time Capsule Diary

Focus on a Decade

Way Way Back !

Home

Dear Friend:

I finally got a little time to write. I've been so busy travelling in the 50ís. I took your advice and I travelled even further back in time to the 1930`s.

I was reading the daily Gazette and I noticed an art gallery full of Emily Carr's paintings. I decided that I should go because I have nothing else to do. While I was walking around looking at her paintings, I saw a lot of people sitting in a little room listening to Emily Carr on stage. It was like a press conference because they asked her questions and she replied with the answers. I listened for about half an hour to forty-five minutes. I thought that you would probably have an interest in her so I took some notes down while she was talking to the crowd. Here is her biography:

Emily Carr is a Canadian artist who is very popular for the artwork she paints. She painted pictures of wilderness scenes and pictures of Indian tribes. Emily brought Canadian art to a new level of what was even called "new" art.

Emily was born on December 13th, 1871 in Victoria, British Columbia. She had a passion for nature and animals. When she was young she studied art in England and France, at the age of 16 she started her career as a young artist. Emily started to paint assorted shapes like circles and squares but she was laughed at.
The paintings began to look more interesting and original and that is when she became famous. In the 1800ís she sketched pictures in Canada's West Coast. Her paintings reflect impressionist and cubist traditions. Emily was noted for her scenes of forests in B.C. and Indian Villages. Her new art became popular also after she worked on it for a couple of years. She wrote numerous books including Klee Wyck and Book of Small.

She influenced many Canadians in the Vancouver area and a large amount in the U.S. She influenced the children she taught in Victoria also.

Emily got ideas of a lot of her paintings from fauvism, which is vivid colors and a vibrant and decorative effect. Emily likes to draw a dark sky in almost all of her pictures. The trees are very significant because they are sometimes very tall even almost touching the sky. The paintings are very simple and full of color. Including "above the gravel pit (1936-37)."

Goodbye,

Kirk

P.S. don't forget to write back