Tuesday, March 20, 2012

OP ART using Complementary Colors

Op art, or Optical Art, became popular in the 1960's. It is a style of abstract art that gives the impression of movement, swelling or vibration when lines, shapes and/or colors are grouped together in patterns. Below are some examples of Op Art that the kindergarten artists studied while learning about this style of art.

 Do the images in this picture appear to be moving or pulsating?

Or shifting?

Or swirling?
Do they make your eyes "jump"?
The students thought so and this delighted them!!
In fact, they liked it so much they each tried their hand at creating their own piece of Op Art.

Each student was given a large cardboard circle.
They created a grid in pencil using VERTICAL and HORIZONTAL LINES.

Next, they lightly marked out a pattern by putting a small 'x' in every other shape.
(Look hard at the circle above and see if you can find them!)

The fun really began when the paint and brushes came out!
Each student chose one color to paint over the marks on their grid.

They worked hard to stay within the lines of these small shapes.
This was no easy task, but they were very focused!

When it was time for the second color, the students chose the
COMPLEMENTARY COLOR
to the color they started with.
You can find out more about Complementary Colors in our previous post.


They painted and painted until every last bit of white was covered.
Phew!

Here is a sampling of their fiinished Op Art paintings.
Stop by the Kindergarten Wing to see more!