Let’s continue our summer fun with some art! It’s a good idea to introduce kids to famous, and perhaps even not-so-famous, artists at an early age so they can begin to lay a foundation for future learning. A great artist to start with is Mondrian because of his use of simple lines and primary colors. Today, we’ll create a simplified version of a Mondrian painting, if the style can be more simplified!

Background

Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter born in 1872. He was part of a group of artists in his country who valued harmony and order. They wanted to reduce visual compositions down to their bare forms and colors. In the 1920s, Mondrian began using a lot of primary colors and simple horizontal and vertical lines. Although Mondrian excelled at painting a large variety of subjects, he is best known for his reduction paintings.

Mondrian Matching Cards

Before you get into making the Mondrian Matching Cards, take some time to discuss the meaning of primary colors, horizontal, vertical, square, and rectangle.

Once you are ready to begin, gather your supplies and have fun!

For your convenience, you can download printable instructions!

Supplies:

• Red, Yellow, Blue, and Black Paint
• Paintbrushes
• Thick White Paper
• String
• Scissors

*Variation: You could also make a paper version using white, red, yellow, and blue paper, with black paper strips.

Instructions:

1. Cut the string a few inches longer than the paper.
   
   
2. Paint the string black. Be sure to completely cover the string.
   
   
3. Lay the painted string across the paper, horizontally then vertically several times, pressing down slightly to make sure there are nice black lines. You may have to reapply paint to the string during the process.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Once the black paint is dry, choose a few squares or rectangles to paint. Look at Mondrian’s painting as an example. Make sure to leave a lot of white!
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. If you would like to make these into a matching game, you will need two of each image. Glue images onto paper or cardstock of your choice, to ensure that the backs all look the same.
   
   
6. Shuffle the cards and lay them out face down. Turn over two at a time and try to make a match!

Conclusion

We hope you have a lot of fun with your creative masterpieces! Maybe there are other artists or styles that inspire you. Whatever you choose, remember to have fun and enjoy this time with your children. We would love to see what you come up with!