{"id":294,"date":"2007-12-03T18:16:00","date_gmt":"2007-12-03T18:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/?p=294"},"modified":"2023-02-01T17:30:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T17:30:26","slug":"1970s-john-okeefe-jr-preschool-and-elementary-school-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/2007\/12\/03\/1970s-john-okeefe-jr-preschool-and-elementary-school-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Preschool and Elementary School Art (1970’s)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


Preschool Art – A Love of Drawing Birds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Preschool and elementary school art pieces that exist are in small numbers these days. The oldest is a painting of our parakeet Henry. My mother purchased him when I was 4 years old. Henry was a good bird, and he lived with us for many years. I’m sure it was because of Henry that my art initially centered around birds. I loved to draw birds.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Preschool
“Henry”<\/em><\/strong>
Acrylic on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1976 (6 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"Preschool
[Crayon]<\/strong>
Crayon on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1978 (7 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"Preschool
“Swallow”<\/em><\/strong>
Crayon on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1978 (7 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I can still remember drawing this cardinal. It was winter, and I saw this little fellow while looking through our dining room window. He was walking on the roof of a birdhouse that was hanging in the backyard and then he flew away. I went and got my colored pencils and paper and drew this picture.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Preschool
“The Cardinal”<\/em><\/strong>
Colored Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1978 (7 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Visiting Museums in New York City<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Memorable were the summer vacations to our grandparents home in Astoria in Queens, New York. My mother would send us there for about 4 to 6 weeks during our school summer vacations, and they continued until my brother, and I became teenagers. Looking back, those summers in New York City were a beautiful and peaceful time in my life. Today, when the stress of life starts creeping up on me, I sit back and remember those visits.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"John
Outside the Museum of Natural History.<\/strong>
(Pictures taken by my Aunt Annie)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

It was during those visits that my grandparents or my Aunt Annie would take my brother and me into Manhattan to visit the American Museum of Natural History<\/a> and the Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a>. These next drawings are from one of the trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Aunt Annie. I remember on this occasion how we took our time going through the bird exhibits so that I would have time to draw these pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Preschool
[Colored Pencil]<\/strong>
Colored Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1977 (7 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"Preschool
“Owl”<\/em><\/strong>
Colored Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1977 (7 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"Preschool
“Ducks”<\/em><\/strong>
Colored Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1977 (7 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"Preschool
“Duck”<\/em><\/strong>
Colored Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1977 (7 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"John
“Owl”<\/em><\/strong>
Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1977 (7 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Elementary School Art – Drawing People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although I loved to draw birds, I created other things too. Below are some portraits. The first portrait is of my grandfather, the second is a family friend named Teddy, and the third is a picture of Vincent Price that I copied from the cover of a TV Guide.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Preschool
“Grandpa”<\/em><\/strong>
Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1977 (7 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"Preschool
“Teddy”<\/em><\/strong>
Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1977-78 (7-8 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I can remember my dad’s reaction when he saw this portrait of Vincent Price. He could not believe that I drew it. He made copies so that he could show them to his friends. It felt good inside seeing how proud he was of me.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Preschool
“Vincent Price”<\/em><\/strong>
Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1977-78 (7-8 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Elementary School Art – My Love of Drawing Birds Continues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are some more birds from my preschool and elementary school art years. I was getting better at drawing in the details, which can be seen in the feathers of these next images.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"John
“Finch”<\/em><\/strong>
Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1978 (8 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"John
“Finch”<\/em><\/strong>
Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1978 (8 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"John
“Woodpeckers”<\/em><\/strong>
Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1978-79 (8-9 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"John
“Parakeet”<\/strong><\/em>
Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1978-79 (8-9 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"John
“Parrot”<\/em><\/strong>
Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1979 (9 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"John
“Blue Jay”<\/em><\/strong>
Pencil on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1979 (9 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Elementary School Art – Private Art Lessons with Kathy Singer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My parents soon realized that I had a natural artistic ability. They signed me up for private art lessons with a local artist named Kathy Singer. Kathy introduced me to landscapes, watercolors, and hand-made crafts using paper-mache. We usually met at her home for the lessons, but she also took us on field trips. I remember one such trip to a farm that had an old barn. I have several drawings from that trip but they are badly faded, and I could not produce quality scans for this webpage. Kathy Singer was a good art teacher, and I enjoyed her lessons. (See Kathy Singers watercolors and acrylics<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"John
“Apple”<\/em><\/strong>
Watercolor on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1979-80 (9-10 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"John
“Lighthouse”<\/em><\/strong>
Watercolor on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1979-80 (9-10 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"John
“Pheasant”<\/em><\/strong>
Watercolor on Paper,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1979-80 (9-10 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Elementary School Art – Painting Lessons in Queens, New York<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My Aunt Annie loved to watch me draw. Here is a painting that I did at her apartment in Queens, New York. This was my first landscape painting using acrylics. It was around this time in my life that I also began to take an interest in sailing ships.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"John
“1st Acrylic Landscape”<\/em><\/strong>
Acrylic on Board,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1980 (10 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

My Aunt Annie and her husband (Uncle Joe) used to paint together, and they painted maritime and landscape scenes. Uncle Joe, who died when I was very young, loved to paint and build model ships. I remember sitting in their living room and staring at a model ship of the ‘Cutty Sark’ that Uncle Joe made. It was awesome! I eventually inherited that model, but it was severely damaged during the journey from New York to to my home in Connecticut. I could not fix it and sadly it one day went into the garbage. However, my mother and I have all of the original paintings they created together. Aunt Annie and Uncle Joe were definitely an inspiration to me. (See Aunt Annie’s paintings<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elementary School Art – Art Classes at Paier College of Art<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One day a week I was allowed to leave school early and attend special art classes at the Paier College of Art<\/a> in New Haven, Connecticut. This was great because none of the other kids got to do that! I don’t have any of those art projects, but they were all hands on. There was a lot of sculpting and building using different materials and mediums. The skills I learned opened up new ways for me to express myself through art. Creating images on paper was no longer my limit. Below is a castle that I starting building out of cardboard shortly after my experiences at Paier.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"John
“The Castle – View 1”<\/em><\/strong>
Cardboard,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1980-81 (10-11 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"John
“The Castle – View 2”<\/em><\/strong>
Cardboard,
John O’Keefe Jr.,
1980-81 (10-11 years old)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Preschool Art – A Love of Drawing Birds Preschool and elementary school art pieces that exist are in small numbers these days. The oldest is a painting of our parakeet Henry. My mother purchased him when I was 4 years … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[33,42,31,52,45,43,44],"yoast_head":"\nPreschool and Elementary School Art (1970's)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"John O'Keefe Jr. Preschool and Elementary School Art from early childhood through elementary school with exposure to art teachers and schools.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/2007\/12\/03\/1970s-john-okeefe-jr-preschool-and-elementary-school-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Preschool and Elementary School Art (1970's)\" 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Jr.\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"description\":\"Hello, My name is John O'Keefe Jr. I was born and raised in Wallingford, Connecticut, USA, where I raised my family with my wife, Jennifer. While I am comfortable working in most mediums, I specialize in landscape oil painting, similar to the famous Hudson River School and Victorian-era artists. ART IN MY EARLY LIFE Like every other artist, I have loved viewing and creating art for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I always drew with pencils, colored pencils, watercolors, and just about every medium I could get my hands on. I received formal art training during my primary school years. When attending elementary school, I received specialized training at the Paier College of Art in New Haven, Connecticut. The first formal recognition of my artistic ability happened in elementary school when I won an award, placing me in the top five of a statewide student art competition. During my middle school years, I was invited to attend college-level art classes one day a week at the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Also, during this time, I studied watercolor painting with Connecticut artist Kathy Singer. However, my most beloved art teacher was my Aunt Ann Fucich, who instilled in me a love of art when I was a small child. John O'Keefe posing with a drawing outside of the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York, when he was seven years old Outside the Museum of Natural History (NYC) at 7 Years Old. (My Aunt Ann Fucich took pictures) My love for art led me to seek a career in mechanical drafting. As new technologies emerged, I advanced to more sophisticated 3D CAD modeling systems, new product development, and, eventually, project management. Throughout the years, I completed many university courses and job-specific training to advance my mechanical design\/engineering career. Even though my work was very technical, an artistic element was involved in designing new products and the associated documentation processes. My love for creating art did not stop at drawing and painting. As a teenager, I started pursuing musical skills. My first love is the guitar, and I ran a small recording studio out of my home for a time while also playing guitar in a few bands. The computer soon became another outlet for creating art. With my computer skills and 3D modeling experience, I began to develop a sophisticated DC-9-41 add-on cockpit package for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The project focused on the Scandinavian Airline Service (SAS) DC-9 airplane OY-KGR. There was extensive programming and many computer-generated renderings and image files assembled in real-time when the game was running, giving the person playing the experience of sitting in a real DC-9 cockpit. A RENEWED LOVE OF ART In 2007 my wife, Jennifer, rekindled my zeal for drawing and painting. Her encouragement and support motivated me to create O'Keefe Arts and take up oil painting as a professional artist. Jennifer also enjoys creating art, and we are working together to promote the business and my paintings because of our shared love of art. I sell original works, accept commission work to create custom landscape paintings, and offer a variety of high-quality pigment prints, i.e., Giclee, reproductions of my artwork. (Websites: www.okeefe-arts.com and www.johnokeefe.net) John and Jennifer O'Keefe outside of the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York, when he was thirty-seven years old Outside the Museum of Natural History (NYC) at 37 Years Old. My paintings have been well received in the art community, allowing my works to be displayed in prestigious exhibitions and art shows. In my home state of Connecticut, the Lyme Art Gallery, Mystic Arts Center, Cate Charles Gallery, and the Mill House Gallery have exhibited my artwork. My paintings have won awards, and I have been a featured artist in a group exhibition at the Lyme Art Association's \\\"17th Annual Associate Artists Exhibit\\\". In April of 2009, I was elected onto the board of directors of the Cheshire Art League in Cheshire, Connecticut, and I created and managed the league's website until the fall of 2011. Organizations that I belong to are Oil Painters of America, Lyme Art Association, The Salmagundi Club of New York City, Mystic Arts Association, Cheshire Art League (until 2011), and Landscape Artists International. In 2012, Jennifer and I created Painting Frames Plus, where people can purchase high-quality reproduction painting frames. 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Blog","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4defcdd45ac170fecd56c18a777d2ec9"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4defcdd45ac170fecd56c18a777d2ec9","name":"John O'Keefe Jr.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/john-okeefe-jr-index-header-graphic-2x.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/john-okeefe-jr-index-header-graphic-2x.jpg","width":350,"height":428,"caption":"John O'Keefe Jr."},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnokeefe.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"description":"Hello, My name is John O'Keefe Jr. I was born and raised in Wallingford, Connecticut, USA, where I raised my family with my wife, Jennifer. While I am comfortable working in most mediums, I specialize in landscape oil painting, similar to the famous Hudson River School and Victorian-era artists. ART IN MY EARLY LIFE Like every other artist, I have loved viewing and creating art for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I always drew with pencils, colored pencils, watercolors, and just about every medium I could get my hands on. I received formal art training during my primary school years. When attending elementary school, I received specialized training at the Paier College of Art in New Haven, Connecticut. The first formal recognition of my artistic ability happened in elementary school when I won an award, placing me in the top five of a statewide student art competition. During my middle school years, I was invited to attend college-level art classes one day a week at the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Also, during this time, I studied watercolor painting with Connecticut artist Kathy Singer. However, my most beloved art teacher was my Aunt Ann Fucich, who instilled in me a love of art when I was a small child. John O'Keefe posing with a drawing outside of the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York, when he was seven years old Outside the Museum of Natural History (NYC) at 7 Years Old. (My Aunt Ann Fucich took pictures) My love for art led me to seek a career in mechanical drafting. As new technologies emerged, I advanced to more sophisticated 3D CAD modeling systems, new product development, and, eventually, project management. Throughout the years, I completed many university courses and job-specific training to advance my mechanical design\/engineering career. Even though my work was very technical, an artistic element was involved in designing new products and the associated documentation processes. My love for creating art did not stop at drawing and painting. As a teenager, I started pursuing musical skills. My first love is the guitar, and I ran a small recording studio out of my home for a time while also playing guitar in a few bands. The computer soon became another outlet for creating art. With my computer skills and 3D modeling experience, I began to develop a sophisticated DC-9-41 add-on cockpit package for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The project focused on the Scandinavian Airline Service (SAS) DC-9 airplane OY-KGR. There was extensive programming and many computer-generated renderings and image files assembled in real-time when the game was running, giving the person playing the experience of sitting in a real DC-9 cockpit. A RENEWED LOVE OF ART In 2007 my wife, Jennifer, rekindled my zeal for drawing and painting. Her encouragement and support motivated me to create O'Keefe Arts and take up oil painting as a professional artist. Jennifer also enjoys creating art, and we are working together to promote the business and my paintings because of our shared love of art. I sell original works, accept commission work to create custom landscape paintings, and offer a variety of high-quality pigment prints, i.e., Giclee, reproductions of my artwork. (Websites: www.okeefe-arts.com and www.johnokeefe.net) John and Jennifer O'Keefe outside of the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York, when he was thirty-seven years old Outside the Museum of Natural History (NYC) at 37 Years Old. My paintings have been well received in the art community, allowing my works to be displayed in prestigious exhibitions and art shows. In my home state of Connecticut, the Lyme Art Gallery, Mystic Arts Center, Cate Charles Gallery, and the Mill House Gallery have exhibited my artwork. My paintings have won awards, and I have been a featured artist in a group exhibition at the Lyme Art Association's \"17th Annual Associate Artists Exhibit\". In April of 2009, I was elected onto the board of directors of the Cheshire Art League in Cheshire, Connecticut, and I created and managed the league's website until the fall of 2011. Organizations that I belong to are Oil Painters of America, Lyme Art Association, The Salmagundi Club of New York City, Mystic Arts Association, Cheshire Art League (until 2011), and Landscape Artists International. In 2012, Jennifer and I created Painting Frames Plus, where people can purchase high-quality reproduction painting frames. 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