Doodle Hog Blog — Art Masters Series
Vassily Kandinsky and Abstract Art
Posted by Gary Wong on
Composition IV by Kandinsky, 1911 Vassily Kandinsky was one of the first pioneers of abstract art. Abstract art is art that does not attempt to show things realistically, but uses lines, shapes, colors and textures to show emotions and meaning. Kandinsky was from Russia and initially went to law school. He was always fascinated by color and in his thirties, he decided to go to art school. Kandinsky thought showing the inner beauty was most important. He believed that color could express feelings like music does. He even thought that colors and shapes could represent sound. Look at some of...
Paul Klee Castle Collage
Posted by Gary Wong on
Red Balloon, 1922 by Paul Klee Paul Klee was an important painter in the history of modern art. I have always been drawn to his colorful, abstract pictures. Children can relate to the simple geometric shapes and bold colors. His art has been related to Expressionism, Cubism and Surrealism. Castle and Sun, 1928 by Paul Klee[/caption] Swiss artist Paul Klee painted the Castle and Sun with simplified shapes, but viewers can easily see the way the shapes form a castle or city-like scene. For this lesson, we are going to paint colorful swatches of color and cut them into...
Spirals, Flowers and Patterns: Learning about Hundertwasser
Posted by Gary Wong on
"A good picture is when the picture is full of magic, when you can feel the happiness in it, when it makes you laugh or cry, or when it makes something happen. It should be like a flower or a tree. It should be like Nature. It should be that we miss it when it isn't there." Hundertwasser Friedensreich Hundertwasser believed that nature and beauty was the key to happiness. He was born Fritz Stowasser but created his "artist name" to be Friedensreich (the German words for peace and kingdom) Hundertwasser ("wasser" means water in German). He loved nature and...
Piet Mondrian Dab and Dot Art Project
Posted by Austin Anderson on
Piet Mondrian was an important and influential abstract painter. But did you know his early work was mostly realistic paintings, often of trees and flowers? He developed his abstract style over the years and his artwork became increasingly simplified until there were no recognizable objects in his art, only shapes and colors. His art was influenced by the Cubists. After seeing an art exhibition by Picasso and Braque, he started making his own geometric abstract paintings. In his later art, he began using only the primary colors (red, yellow and blue), black and white. He wanted to use only pure...