Post on 19-Apr-2022
LINES, SHAPES & COLOR
Painted Miro Figure
TIME REQUIRED: One @ 60-minute session
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !2
Joan Miró was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1893.
He started drawing at age 8 and went on to
become one of the world’s most famous abstract
artists. He loved using primary colors plus green
and black. You can see these colors in many of his
pieces.
His artwork contributed to a very important
movement in art history known as Surrealism.
Surrealism artworks showed exploration of the
imagination and dream-like images. His whimsical
abstract paintings combine line, shape and color in
very interesting ways. Many of these paintings use
shapes and pictures as symbols that tell stories.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
• 12” x 18” white sulphite paper
• Black oil pastel or crayon
• Cake tempera paint or liquid
tempera paint
• Medium paint brush
• Black liquid tempera paint
• Small round paintbrush for
outlining
Painted Miró Figure
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !3
ABOUT JOAN MIRÓ
ABOUT the artist
Joan Miró was a Spanish painter and sculptor who was born in 1893 in Barcelona. When he
was eight years old, he started taking drawing classes. He continued to pursue art as well as
business as he got older. He ended up leaving business behind to fully devote himself to
creating art. His early works were greatly influenced by Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cézanne.
He moved to Paris and contributed to a very important movement in art history known as
Surrealism. Surrealism artworks showed exploration of the imagination and dream-like images.
His whimsical abstract paintings combine line, shape and color in very interesting ways. Many
of these paintings use shapes and pictures as symbols that tell stories.
In 1931, an art gallery opened in New York
City that showed important works in the
Modern art movement. This gallery was
called The Pierre Matisse Gallery (ran by
artist Henri Matisse’s son) and introduced
Miró’s art to the United States.
The World Trade Center Tapestry (pictured above) created by Joan Miró and Josep Royo was
destroyed in the September 11th attacks in 2001.
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !4
DRAWING THE MIRó FIGURESSTEP ONE: Observe the lines and shapes Miró used
in his paintings by studying a collection
of Miró paintings. You can find a
selection of his art at wikiart.org
STEP TWO: On a sheet of 12″ x 18″ white paper, use
a black oil pastel to draw a Miró-inspired
figure.
To keep the drawing simple, select a
simple shape like a triangle, oblong or
peanut shape to create a “head”. Then
draw another large shape for the body.
Add legs, arms, hair and eyes. Decorate
the body with shapes or lines if desired.
STEP THREE: Draw lines and shapes behind the figure
to break up the background space.
TIP: Miró played with intersection of lines
and shapes and also scale. Encourage
students not to be afraid of create a
large head and small body or any other
unusual perspective.
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !5
PAINTING THE MIRó FIGURES Use a tray of dry tempera cakes (regular
tempera is fine, but cake trays are easier to
prep) and paint inside all the shapes.
Discuss how Miró often used color blocking
in his art. He also used white space
effectively. Encourage children to consider
whether or not to paint a background or use
a color saturated color palette.
TIP: When using cake tempera paints, often
the paint dries to a streaky finish. To help
create a smooth application of color, brush
two coats of paint in large shapes. Allow the
first coat to dry until tacky (about 5-7
minutes) then paint again.
It also helps to swirl the brush in the well until
the paint is visible on the brush.
To make the painting pop, dip a small paint
brush into watered down black liquid
tempera paint and trace over all oil pastel
lines. This is a great time to add all the small
line details that Miró is known for: the stars,
swirls, hashmarks, etc.
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !6
Miró Drawing Guide
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !7
Miró Coloring Sheet
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !8
Grade FIVE Gallery
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !9
CREATING Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work — combine ideas to generate an
innovative idea—demonstrate diverse methods to approaching art making
Organize and develop artistic ideas and work — experiment and develop skills in multiple
techniques through practice—show craftsmanship through care—document objects of
personal significance
Refine and complete artistic work—create artists statements using art vocabulary to
describe personal choices in art-making
Presenting/producing Analyze, interpret and select artistic work for presentation— define roles and
responsibilities of a curator—explaining the skills/knowledge needed to preform curation
Develop and refine artistic work for presentation — develop a logical argument for safe
and effective use of materials and techniques for preparing and presenting artwork
Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work —cite evidence of how an
exhibition in a museum presents ideas and provides information about specific concepts
Responding Perceive and analyze artistic work- compare interpretation of art to another’s interpretation
—analyze cultural associations suggested by visual imagery Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work — interpret art by analyzing form, structure,
context information, subject, visual elements, and use of media to identify mood and ideas
conveyed
Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work— recognize differences in criteria used to evaluate
works of art depending on styles
Connecting Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art- apply formal and
conceptual vocabularies of art and design to view surroundings in new ways through art-
making
Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding
NATIONAL CORE ARTS STANDARDS-fifth grade
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !10
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.2 Summarize a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats,
including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
After introducing the students to the artwork of Joan Miró via posters, PowerPoint, etc., students
can be asked to answer questions orally to summarize what they have learned about his style, use of
the elements of art, and principles of design in the form of a discussion.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.5 Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when
appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
By having students create a work of art inspired by Miró, they are visually developing the main ideas
they learned from his style of art making by painting an abstract figure using blocks of color, simple
lines, organic and geometric shapes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
As students complete an artist statement (located in Resources), they are supporting claims about
what their artwork means. This requires them to build their answer based on how they created the
work as evidence pointing toward the composition’s meaning.
COMMON CORE STANDARDS FOR PAINTED MIRO FIGURES
I CAN STATEMENTS FOR PAINTED MIRO FIGURES
• Today I will learn about artist JOAN MIRÓ, so that I CAN identify his artwork and DESCRIBE his
style.
• Today I will learn about LINE and SHAPE, so that I CAN draw an ABSTRACT composition using
GEOMETRIC and ORGANIC shapes.
• Today I will learn about COLOR and CONTRAST, so that I CAN paint my shapes with colors that
stand out against each other. I’ll know I have it when my figure pops from the background.
D E E P S P A C E S P A R K L E & T H E S P A R K L E R S C L U B !11
ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST
Student Name:
Can the student accurately describe Miró’s style?
Did the student use organic and geometric shapes?
Did the student achieve strong contrast with their color choices?
Main Ideas from:
PAINTED MIRÓ FIGURES