In the art classes at The Jasmine at Founders Village, participants started learning about and appreciating art history. The focus was the Impressionist art movement. Art instructor and Program Director Lourdes Torres reports: “We learned about the prominent artists of the time and the techniques they used. In this time, artists were stepping away from traditional art techniques and starting to do things differently. This new way was not well received at first, but Impressionism has come to be the most popular art movement to date. The artists moved outside (“en plein air”) to capture natural settings. They used short brush strokes of overlapping colors, and created depth and light without an obvious light source. They often painted ordinary places or figures, and they used directional lines and brushstrokes that lead the viewer to figure out the surfaces and textures. This lesson was the first step in creating our own Impressionist-inspired paintings in the classes to follow.”
Research demonstrates that participating in arts activities improves the health and quality of life of older people.
~ Lourdes Torres, Program Director
