These are gorgeous works of happy, positive-thinking pop-art! Romero Britto (Brazil-born in 1963, Miami-bred) was all about conveying the best sides of life in his bold, colorful (sometimes kitschy) work.
My students (ages 6-11) completely (and effortlessly) grasped the intentions, the style and the elements behind Britto's work. It's hard not to. His work really strikes a cord, and my kids were all totally smitten with his style.
Themes like careful patterns, bold colors, clean lines which connect our subject with our background are so very pop-art! Fractured compositions which blend and connect subject and background remind us of Picasso and cubism.
After analyzing Britto's art we got right to work and chose our own Britto subject to draw. We added our own unique patterns and designs. We left a few "key spots" white to accentuate our main subject (emphasis) amid an otherwise busy and colorful composition. We carefully considered balance and variety of color, pattern and shapes. In the coloring process, we recalled the marker techniques we learned last semester: layering dark over light, coloring small areas in short, tight strokes to minimise that streaky look, and using wider markers for large areas, and thinner marker for smaller areas.
We used Canson marker paper for this project. I've learned that using marker paper for marker projects makes such a big different, and is a much better experience for students. Colors glide on easily and smoothly to the smooth surface, making the coloring process more effective and efficient. The paper is thin but the markers do not get soaked into or absorbed deeply into the paper, which makes the paper less prone to tearing, and results in super vibrant, glowing colors. Well worth the investment!
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| Romero Britto |
