LINES, SHAPES & COLOR
Miro watercolor resist figures
TIME REQUIRED: One @ 50-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
Miró WATERCOLOR RESIST FIGUREJoan Miró’s shape and line focused paintings
make a perfect inspiration for easy art projects.
This watercolor resist painting takes little time,
especially if you use a smaller piece of watercolor
paper.
Hop over to wikiart.org to download a copy of
The Smile of the Flamboyant Wings, 1953 and
Figures and Dog in Front of the Sun, 1949. These
two paintings are rich with identifiable lines and
shapes that can be used as inspiration for this
project.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
• 12” x 9” watercolor paper
• Black oil pastel or crayon
• White oil pastel or crayon
• Watercolor paints (liquid or tray)
• Medium paint brush
• Black waterproof marker
• Paper towel & water
The Smile of the Flamboyant Wings, 1953
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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 FIGUREObserve 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
On a sheet of 12″ x 9″ watercolor paper, use a white or
black oil pastel to draw Miró-inspired lines and shapes.
Draw only the basic shapes first and leave the smaller
line details for later.
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.
TIP: Miró played with intersection of lines and shapes
and also scale. Encourage students not to be afraid of
creating a large head and small body or any other
unusual perspective.
If using a white oil pastel to draw the figure, it can be a
real challenge to see what you are actually drawing.
Tilting the paper towards the light can help. Make sure
to make the white oil pastel lines thick and dark. This
means tracing or coloring over the lines. The resist will
work better if there is a strong distinction between the
white lines and colored watercolor paints.
Many of Miró’s works of art have strong black lines. If
using a white oil pastel, consider using either a black oil
pastel OR a waterproof black marker to add strong lines
and shapes. This addition of the black lines creates
contrast and draws attention to areas of the painting.
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PAINTING THE MIRÓ FIGUREUse a tray of watercolor paints or liquid
watercolors to 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.
The painting steps are quite simple. Using a
palette typical for Miró (black, blue, red, yellow
and green), paint the shapes with a strong
application. The colors should look bright, not
washed out.
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
Draw a circle for a head, a straight line for the neck and a big triangle for the
body.
Draw aline down the middle of the
triangle. Divide the triangle again.
Fun ways to draw a Miró-inspired face
Miró-inspired legs and arms are lines with shapes attached. How many ways can you draw arms and legs?
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
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CREATING Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work — Brainstorm multiple approaches to
art and design—use of various materials to make art
Organize and develop artistic ideas and work — Explore materials to explore personal
interests in art-making—demonstrate safe use/cleaning—repurpose objects into something
new
Refine and complete artistic work—discuss/reflect with peers about choices when creating
artwork
Presenting/producing Analyze, interpret and select artistic work for presentation— categorize artwork based on
a theme or concept for an exhibition
Develop and refine artistic work for presentation — distinguish between different
materials or artistic techniques for preparing artwork for presentation
Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work — analyze how art exhibited
inside and outside school contributes to communities
Responding Perceive and analyze artistic work- describe aesthetic characteristics of the natural world—
categorize images based on expression Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work — interpret art by identifying the mood
suggested and describing relevant subject matter and identifying the characteristics of
form
Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work— use learned art vocabulary to express preferences
about artwork
Connecting Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art- create works of
art about events in home, school or community life Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding —create works of art about events in home, school or community life
NATIONAL CORE ARTS STANDARDS-second grade
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.1 Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an
opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to
connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
Students address this standard when completing the artist statement worksheet (located in
Resources). They are writing their opinion about the artwork they made based on how it was
created and how they were inspired.
CCSS.Math.Content.2.G.A.1 Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given
number of equal faces.1 Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.
After students have drawn their Miró figure, you could have them identify shapes they created using
straight and angled lines such as triangles, quadrilaterals, etc. to build on their math concepts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.3 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather
additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
Encourage students to ask questions about Miró in the form of a discussion. Model for them how to
elaborate on answers about artwork by pointing out what elements or principles they see and how
the artist used them to create an intended meaning for the works.
Common core standards for miro watercolor resist
I CAN STATEMENTS FOR miro watercolor resist• Today I will learn about artist JOAN MIRÓ, so that I CAN DESCRIBE his art.
• 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 WATERCOLOR RESIST 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 colors look bright, not
washed out.
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ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST
Student Name:
Can the student tell me at least 2 facts about Miró?
Did the student draw organic and geometric shapes?
Did the student paint colors that appear bright, not washed out?
Main Ideas from:
MIRÓ WATERCOLOR RESIST
FIGURES