The Primary Colors

• Piet Mondrian liked painting with the primary colors, red, yellow and blue. His accent colors were often black and white. (Take a look at some of his paintings in the references.) The primary colors help us create other colors such as the secondary colors, orange, purple, and green. To get a feel for Mondrian's use of color, try mixing the primary colors together to create the secondary colors. Then, mix the secondary colors together to create the tertiary colors. Make a color chart of all the colors created and label them along with colors used to create them.
  
  

Painting with Mondrian

• Mondrian used shapes, mostly squares, along with sharp edges and lines to create his paintings . To create a painting in the style of Mondrian, use a 10-inch by 10-inch square of white paper. Using pieces of masking tape, make lines and intersecting squares. Try not to press the tape too securely to the paper, as the strips will be removed when the painting is finished. Using the primary colors, red, yellow and blue, paint inside the squares. Leave some squares empty with white showing. When you are finished painting colors, use black paint and a wide brush to add black lines along tapelines. Allow the paint to dry, and then remove tape. Sign the bottom of your painting and give it a title.
  
  

Cutting and Pasting

• With a ruler or straightedge to guide you, use a pencil to draw squares and rectangles on red, white, yellow and blue paper and cut them out. Think about how Mondrian used white to create negative space and colors as a way to guide the eye around his paintings. Using an 8 inch by 8 inch black piece of paper, arrange squares leaving black as outside lines to the shapes. When you are satisfied with the design, use glue to secure shapes in place. Sign the bottom of the project and write the title. Compare the cutting and pasting project with the painting influenced by Piet Mondrian and display them together.