Paul Klee
Highway and Byways, 1929
Paul Klee
Paul Klee was one of the most famous painters of the 20th century. He was most famous for Red Balloon, Senecio, Cat and Bird and Castle and Sun. He was known for his abstract art.
Klee was born on December 18, 1879, in Switzerland.
Many of Klee’s paintings were based on his dreams.
Klee studied colour intensely. He developed his own colour theory. If you want to learn more about this, visit paul-klee.org.
When he was very young, Klee trained to be a violinist and later trained to become an artist.
Klee made over 10,000 paintings, drawings, and etchings in his lifetime. He painted over 900 paintings in the space of just 10 years.
His work was influenced by Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism.
Klee's stylistic approach was inspired by children.
Red Balloon, 1922
Suggested Activities:
Senecio Portraits
Create your own Senecio portrait. Using shapes (circles, rectangles, squares and triangles), draw your person. Use a ruler to create more shapes within. Try to recreate the facial features as closely as possible. Focus on 2-3 colour choices and use watercolours to finish your creation.
Via Artsonia
Halloween Twist
Make a jack-o-lantern portrait using Klee’s signature style!
Via Pinterest
Castle and Sun – Oil Pastel and Watercolour Cityscapes
Using various geometric shapes, draw your cityscape on thick paper (watercolour paper works best). Colour in your buildings using lots of brightly coloured oil pastels. Be sure to leave a blank/white space between each shape (see below). Colour in your sky and sun. Once your colours are done, use a white oil pastel to go over the white spaces you left between your shapes and buildings. Paint over the entire picture with watercolour paint. A dark blue is nice to give it a nighttime feel. The watercolours and oil pastels will interact nicely with one another (you will see the water bead up). Allow lots of time to dry!
Via YouTube
Halloween Twist
Add some Halloween characters (e.g., ghosts, witches and bats) to your nighttime sky. Choose darker colours for your buildings.
Castle and Sun – Cut and Paste
Use recycled paper to cut and paste various geometric shapes into a colourful cityscape.
Via Artsy Craftsy Mom.
Using Colour, Shape and Form
Using Klee’s “Ancient Harmony” as inspiration, try your hand at creating a repeating pattern and shape. Use dark colours around your edges and lighter colours in your center to make the work appear to grow and move.
Fun idea – Klee employed stamping to many of his works. If available, use a hollow shape stamp to create your repeating pattern.
Ancient Harmony, 1925
Guided Drawing – Cat and Bird
Using paper and pencil, try your hand at a step-by-step drawing of Klee’s “Cat and Bird.” You choose the colours and medium to complete your work!
