Paul Klee project

Project description:

Chalk pastel geometric grid paintings in the style of Paul Klee.

Supplies needed:

• Soft chalk pastels                 
• Good quality pastel paper or Bristol with a textured surface (9x12 or 11x14 would be a good size)
• Masking tape
• Spray fixative

Project guide:

• Explain that they are going to be doing abstract geometric grid paintings such as those done by Paul Klee.
• Tell the kids to think about what feeling they want to convey in their painting:  Happiness? Sadness?  Calm?  They could also convey the feeling of being somewhere, such as out in the rain,  at the beach sitting in the bright sun, an early morning sunrise, swimming under the ocean, a desert landscape, etc.
• Choosing colors:
• They should first decide what feeling or place they want to convey, and then pick out colors that convey that feeling to them. 
• Choose a palette of 5-8 colors, including different shades of the same color.
• Taping down the paper
• Before they get started, they should use masking tape to tape the paper to the desk so it doesn’t move around as they are working.
• The tape will also create a nice border for the artwork, which will make it look more finished.
• About 1” border would work well.
• The kids will probably need help with this.
• If there is any way for this step to be done before the program begins so as not to waste too much time, that would be great.
• Drawing their grid designs
• Using pencil, the kids should make grids of rectangles and squares that fill up the page. 
• They do not need to use a ruler or worry about making the lines perfectly straight, but they should aim for squares and rectangles (point to Klee’s paintings as examples).
• They can add some triangles inside of their squares and rectangles if they want.
• They should sketch these grid designs quickly so that they have plenty of time to color.
• Adding color:
• Encourage them to think about balancing the colors throughout their paintings and moving the colors around.
• For example, if they use red in the upper right corner, red should also appear on the left and bottom of the composition.  Show how Klee did this in his paintings.
• When they are done, the “paintings” will need to be sprayed with fixative outside and allowed to dry.
• They should write their names and the titles of their paintings in the bottom white border space with pencil.