Sky Color & Marine
Sky Color by Peter H. Reynolds and Gustave Courbet (French, 1819–1877), Marine, c. 1865–1866, oil on canvas, The Norton Simon Foundation
Featured Book: Sky Color, written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Featured Artwork: Marine (c. 1865–1866) by Gustave Courbet
In Sky Color by Peter H. Reynolds, Marisol is given the chance to paint the sky in her school library’s mural. She can’t wait! But without blue paint, she must dream up a new way of depicting the sky.
Marine by Gustave Courbet (French, 1819-1877) is one of 25 paintings the artist completed of the sea and sky in Normandy. To his father he wrote that each painting in the series is “more free and extraordinary than the last.”
Just like Marisol, close your eyes and dream about all the colors you can see in the sky throughout the day. Then view the luminous sky in Courbet’s Marine and make a sky-filled drawing of all the colors you see.
If you don’t have access to the featured book, select something similar from your child’s book shelf or your local library. Many of the books are also available as read-aloud videos online.