Piet Mondrian

Literature/Images:
Print: Piet Mondrian, Composition in Red, Yellow & Blue (shown above)

Materials:
12x18 construction paper, white
Brushes (if using tempra)
Red, Yellow, Blue tempra paint, markers, or crayons
Black tape - 1/2 " wide

Scissors



Introduction:
We are going to create a work of art like Piet Mondrian. To get his straight lines on the canvas he used a roll of tape and would move it around working out a design then he would paint in a black line with his brush. Sometimes he would leave the tape on his canvas.

Steps:
1) Write name on back.
2) Start with your paper vertically. Just like Mondrian move your black tape around deciding where to stick it down. Make sure tape goes all the way from one end of paper to the other and cut off any overlapping ends. Add about four to five tape lines.

3) Turn paper horizontally. Use three-four more tape lines. Tape tines should end into another line. What shapes do you see? Squares, rectangles.

5) Now you are ready for paint (or markers or crayons). Use red, blue, yellow – do not mix. Try to keep the paint within the tape lines, we want a clean look just like Mondrian.

6) Leave at least one square white.

Additional:
If you have time do more than one picture be sure to hang them all together to create one large Mondrian. It is a great effect, and it is more realistic to the size of Mondrian's actual paintings. Mondrian also turned his studio into a giant painting of sorts. His walls were all white and he had large canvases painted in just blue, red and yellow. He would move these from place to place on his walls, creating an ever changing studio space.