My favorite Van Gogh painting is Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries.  It was painted in Arles. He painted this in 1888.  I like this painting because it has boats in it.  I chose this painting because I like boats and sunny bright skies.  This painting reminds me of a beach I used to go to.  I added a bait shop in my painting because I wanted it to look more like the beach I used to go to. 

I used a lot of  curvy lines in my version of Van Gogh's painting. I put a lot of horizontal lines with swirls at the end in the sky by my sun to show the wind blowing. I used a lot of texture in this painting in the sky and water. I used craypas on top of the paint to make more texture.  I wanted my sky and water to move. I also used craypas to show more detail and to give brighter colors.

I'm really pleased with my boats  because I used a lot of bright colors. I used my favorite  colors, green, red, and yellow. I put a lot of detail in my boats, too. I think I worked the hardest on them and I'm proud of them.

If I had the chance, I would put more detail into the bait shop. I think it looks too plain the way it is. I'd also like to work more on the sky. I'd like to lighten up the blue, by adding more white.  I think my boats would stand out better if the sky was lighter. 

I liked learning about Vincent Van Gogh.  He was a good painter.  I learned that he sketched and he painted, just like I do.  I liked seeing his different kinds of paintings.  This unit was fun and I hope we do it in fourth grade. 

By Joseph

Click here to see the original painting online.