In Sycamore class we are learning about space this term and investigated the bright and brilliant work of the abstract artist Peter Thorpe.

How did Peter Thorpe start creating these images?

“I started the rocket paintings in the 1980s as a way to use paint that I would have otherwise thrown away. After each commercial job I did, there would be a pallet half full of paint left over and it pained me to toss it, but the next painting required a new pallet. It finally occurred to me that I could easily paint an abstract background on a blank board or canvas with the left over paint.”

“I started to do figures, landscapes, and, as a long time space fan, rockets and planets on top of the backgrounds. Some of the figures and landscapes got noticed, but everyone loved the rockets.”

We discussed the colours and shapes we could see and used chalk pastels as our medium, revisiting the skills and techniques learnt previously.

Inzata – ‘I can see lots of colours; yellow, red and purple.’

MIa – ‘I like the art it is colourful!’

Margaret – ‘I like this rocket because it is orange and green.’

Just look at our amazing artwork!