Thursday, March 29, 2012

Abstract Lettering a la Robert Curry

I discovered this artist's work on Pinterest one day while browsing the Art pins.  I thought the 6th graders would appreciate his use of bright, bold colors and his technique of overlapping. 

Untitled painting by Robert Curry

I explained that he probably used digital media to create this effect, while we would be using the ever-popular (and cheap) tempera paint.  I wish I had access to large-scale color printers at my school to create digital prints, but we have to settle sometimes, don't we?

I told the students that they could use words such as their name, their school, their sports team, etc.  I tried to emphasize overlapping the letters, altering the size of the letters and making some go off the page so the audience cannot read the actual words they used. 

Here are a few finished paintings:

Sophia's Painting

Untitled Painting

 Jada's Painting

Teshekia's Painting

2 comments :

  1. These really look amazing. You've got very talented students there. I think that it is really important to encourage them to do the things they excel at. Nice one! This is really good stuff.

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  2. Hello. This post was passed onto me from Robert Curry. That's my photograph of his work that was used as inspiration for this awesome project. I took this picture when we interviewed Robert for a documentary called Sign Painters.

    I'm glad it sparked something for the students. Just wanted to let you know since you mentioned it above that there is actually NO digital media used in this piece. Robert is a journeyman sign painter and this art piece was all done with a trusty steady hand and brush. Your students may find that interesting after working on their own pieces that people really can get a crisp clean line if they practice practice practice.

    Thanks for all you do.

    Warmly,
    Faythe Levine
    co-director, Sign Painters
    www.signpaintermovie.com

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