Think Piet Mondrian and you think of large paintings with asymmetrical rectangles of primary colors on a grid of strong black lines. It's hard to imagine that he began as a landscape painter and was influenced by Fauvism, Symbolism, and Cubism on his way to his characteristic abstractions.
"In order to survive, Mondrian had been a painter of flowers on porcelain for practically his whole life. Perhaps this explains his hatred of nature. ... [Mondrian] suppressed curves and all greens because they reminded him of trees, which he loathed. ... In 1924 the artist broke away from Theo van Doesburg, who ... maintained that the slanted line at a 45-degree incline better corresponded to the dynamism of modern man." (Art of Our Century, ed Jean-Louis Ferrier, page 429.)
You will need:
• A printout of the template.
• Paint in the following colors: black, white, red, blue.
• A brush. You may find it easier to use a large and a small brush for the large/small areas labeled 1 through 3. Or a separate brush for colors 1 through 3.
What you're going to do:
• Print out the template and paint it directly, or use it as a guide to mark lines on a larger sheet of paper or canvas.
• Decide which colors you are going to use for numbers 1 through 3. Black should be reserved for the areas marked 4.
• Paint in each area in its designated color, taking to care to ensure that your lines are straight and that colors are not put into incorrect areas.
Tips:
• To get perfectly straight lines, use masking tape to ensure that the paint doesn't drift over where it's not wanted.
• Instead of painting in the black stripes, buy some black duct tape and put this down instead. Be sure to buy it in the right width, as it's difficult to cut a length of tape in half evenly.
