On Tuesday students at Oxford Middle School got the chance of a lifetime to meet world renouned artist Vincent VanGogh’or at least a guy acting like him.
Scott Shepherd, an award-winning, 20-year veteran drama and art teacher from Illinois, brought the Dutch painter to life.
Shepherd used VanGogh’s art, written letters and his biography to relay the artist’s struggle in finding his niche as a painter.
Various art students were selected to reenact some of VanGogh’s paintings, like ‘The Potato Eaters’and ‘Cypress Trees.?
Shepherd showed how VanGogh’s paintings became full of life and color after learning from other Impressionist painters.
OMS art teacher Linda Robinson had seen Shepherd perform as VanGogh before and wanted her students to learn that there’s so much more to him than ‘the ear incident.?
‘I wanted them to see what can happen when we are passionate about our dreams, and willing to give our all for those dreams,? Robinson said. ‘VanGogh sought love and acceptance his whole life and was largely denied that.?