The Mondrian Assignments

Use Adobe Photo CS3 to create Mondrian style artworks.

1. Read the short Artist Description on the next page. Taking notes on the Artist Description is recommended because you can use your notes when you take the quiz.

2. Guided Practice – Follow the instructions below, step by step, to create the guided practice artwork. 2.1. Make sure you save your file as a PSD and as a JPG, in your folder.

3. Your Own – Take a digital photo or scan a photograph brought from home. The picture should be a different than the guided practice image. Go through the same process to make it a Mondrian style artwork. 3.1. Make sure you save your file as a PSD and as a JPG, in your folder.

Artist Description

The work of the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) is among the most difficult examples of modern art for the casual viewer to understand.

One of the foremost members of the De Stijl movement, Mondrian’s stark non-representational paintings - he called them merely “compositions” - take abstract painting to a level rarely seen before or since. Thick black lines separate sparse rectangles of color, as paintings are reduced to the pure play of shape and color: modernism taken to extremes.

Although Mondrian’s work has been reproduced everywhere from coffee mugs to wall cabinets, it’s a mistake to assume that he was striving for perfect flat lines and shapes. The brush strokes are an integral part of the work, and it’s that quality of surface texture that we’ll aim for in this version of a painting he created in 1921.

Mondrian – Guided Practice

Before

After

Step 1: Run Photoshop CS3•Start > All Programs > Adobe Photoshop CS3 Step 2: Open a new file•File > New > Width: 300 pixels Height: 300 pixels Resolution: 72 and Background Contents: Transparent > OK•Click View > Fit on Screen

Step 3: Draw lines•Click the bottom right corner (tiny black triangle) of the Brush Tool to open that menu.•Select the Pencil Tool.•Set the line thickness size to 4 px•Using the Pencil Tool, draw straight lines as shown above•To make sure the lines are drawn straight, press the Shift key just after you left-click the mouse, when drawing each of the lines

Step 4: Create a background layer•Click the “Create a new layer” button in the Layers Palette•Drag Layer 2 below Layer 1 in the Layers Palette•Click the Default Foreground and Background Colors button•Set the foreground color to a light tan color•Then, Filter > Render > Clouds•Next, Filter > Noise > Add Noise… Amount: 3% Gaussian Monochromatic OK

Step 5: Change Layer Mode•For Layer 1, Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options > Blend Mode > Multiply

Step 6: Add Color

•Change the foreground color to yellow. Use Paint Bucket Tool to fill-in as shown above

•Change the foreground color to blue. Use Paint Bucket Tool to fill-in as shown above

•Change the foreground color to dark gray. Use Paint Bucket Tool to fill-in as shown above

•Change the foreground color to red. Use Paint Bucket Tool to fill-in as shown above

Step 7: Save finished image twice. Save as a PSD and as a JPG•You will use this image for your assignment package and then again in your portfolio.•File > Save As… > •Save in your folder. File Name: Mondrian(your 1st name)•Format: PSD•File > Save As… > •Save in your folder. File Name: Mondrian(your 1st name)•Format: JPG Quality: 12