The Child Artist, Josh

 
 
 
 

Vocabulary

forgive	seascape	master (2)
reach	show (2)	exceptional
brush	recreate	make/made/made
giant	yard (2)	remarkable
oils	recently	inspiration
realize	entirely	begin/began/begun
gift	preschool	arts and crafts
blank	amazed	masterpiece
lucky	kind of	paint-by-number
bunch	lighthouse	tell/told/told
fellow	cool (2)	brushstroke
senior	prolific	find/found/found
junior	vineyard	think/thought/thought
decide	depiction	know/knew/known
studio	pretend	meet/met/met
apart	tough (3)	further back
decade	figure out	bring/brought/brought
inspire	impressed	unforgiving
fun	landscape	imagination
kind	look like	background
canvas	move (2)	catch up (2)
really	close up	look through
native	path (2)	give/gave/given
talent	good luck	see/saw/seen
carpet	inspire	sing/sang/sung

 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Our next finalist found his gift at an exceptionally young age; he’s just ten years old. Josh Chase doesn’t sing or dance, he paints. And I recently caught up with the young artist at his home studio in Massachusetts.

 

 

A lighthouse may just be a lighthouse to most of us. But to Josh Chase, it’s an inspiring seascape. Paths of color made with a small hand and a big imagination.

Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “Well, one thing about painting is to do like the brushstrokes. You need to pretend you are a giant reaching in.”

The ten-year old Boston native began painting only nine months ago.

Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “I asked if I could paint at home, with my mom. She said I could paint anywhere where there’s carpet. And my house has a lot of carpets so.”

He takes art lessons once a week and works entirely in oils.

Journalist: “So Josh, tell me when you first realized you loved art.”
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “Well, I like arts and crafts. I really don’t know; I think it was when I was little; I think preschool.”

His first masterpiece: a gift to his dad, Philip, for Father’s Day.

Mr. Chase, Josh’s Father: “I was just really amazed.”

Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “My grandpa, when he saw it, he thought it was paint-by-number.”
Journalist: “It was a paint-by-number?”
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “Yeah.”
Journalist: “And what did you tell him?”
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “I told him it’s not; it’ was just a blank canvas.”

From Van Gogh to Monet, Josh has been moved by all the masters. But his true inspiration? A fellow New England artist, eighty (80) years his senior.

Journalist: “So did you find that picture somewhere else, and decided that you wanted to recreate it?”
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “In the book of Ray Ellis paintings, and I thought it was really cool.”
Journalist: “If you could meet any artist in the world, who would you want to meet?”
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “Ray Ellis.”

Ray Ellis is a prolific American artist, known around the world for his beautiful depictions of nature. Ninety-one (91) years young, he still paints from his home in Martha’s Vineyard.

Ray and Josh met this week for the first time at Ray’s studio.

Ray Ellis, Painter: “I think it’s remarkable what he’s done with oil painting, but ten years old.”

Two painters, decades apart, brought together by their love of art.

 

 

Journalist: “And I was lucky enough to get a short lesson from Josh, and I’ll just tell you that oil painting is very unforgiving. It’s tough.”
TV Host: “It is, and Josh Chase is here. Josh, we are so impressed. Why did you decide to start painting, and did you figure out you’re pretty good at it?”

Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “Yeah, I decided on painting, because I like a lot of different kinds of arts. So I though painting would be fun and I found oil paints. And I started doing them, and I really like them.

Host: “We have a bunch here that you want to show us.”
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “Um. Yeah, I like this one, my brother.”
Host: “It looks just like your brother, I have to say.”
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “Yeah, it’s not as good close up, but farther back it’s good.”
Host: “It looks good to us. Was it pretty cool to meet your hero, Ray Ellis?”
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “Yeah. It was really fun. His studio was really cool. His paintings are awesome.”

Journalist: “And this one over here, you were kind of inspired by Ray Ellis, right? Tell us about this painting.”
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “This was my first one. So looking through books, I didn’t really know a lot of the painters. And then I saw this one, and I thought it would the trees in the background were cool, and the house, and the little person in the yard.”

Journalist: “This one you gave to your dad, right?
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “Yeah.”
Journalist: “And what did he say when he got it?”
Josh Chase, 10-Year-Old Painter: “He was amazed. And then my grandpa saw it and though it was paint-by-numbers.”
Host: “No, it’s all talent. Josh Chase, thank you so much. We’re so impressed. Good luck to you.”

 

 

Questions

1. Josh Chase built and constructed a lighthouse. True or false?

2. Has he been painting since he was six years old?

3. Did Josh learn to paint by himself, or does an artist teach him?

4. He sold his first painting. Is this right or wrong?

5. Does his grandfather believe Josh has artistic talent?

6. Josh’s greatest role-model or hero is Leonardo da Vinci. Is this correct or incorrect? Did he meet his role-model?

7. Was there a small exhibition or samples of his works (paintings) in the TV studio?

 

A. I paint pictures, or I used to paint pictures in school. Yes or no?

B. Do you know anyone who paints? Is she or he an amateur or professional?

C. Art classes are good for pupils. Do you agree?

D. Anyone can learn to become a great painter (or footballer, swimmer, writer, acrobat, singer, computer expert, scientist, engineer). What do you think?

E. What should (young) people do?

F. What might happen in the future?