Have you seen any of Romero Britto’s Pop Art owl paintings?
Each is made of brightly colored patterns like polka dots, stripes, and chevrons. And, each is contoured in thick black outlines. It’s his signature style.
He didn’t just start painting this way from the start.
Just like any working artist, he developed his skills and ideas over a period of time.
This is something we strive to teach our students who struggle with the idea that they’re not instantly “good” at something, amiright?
Short Biography of Romero Britto
Romero Britto is an exciting artist to study with students of all ages because kids love Pop Art. He is a Brazilian born, Miami Beach, Florida native.
As a youth, Britto doodled on every notebook, piece of cardboard, or newspaper he could get his hands.
After spending time in Paris studying Picasso’s Cubist works and Matisse’s Fauvist paintings, Britto combined these styles along with graffiti art to create his own neo-Pop Art style.
His art conveys a positive message of love and life using bright colors and bold patterns.
Today, his work can be found in airports, museums, advertisements, hospitals, parks, in stores, and anywhere else art can be found.
Romero Britto believes that art is meant to be “…enjoyed by the masses.”
In the spirit of sharing the love of Pop Art, here’s a fun back to school project to create Romero Britto owl drawing.
Art teachers and general education teachers alike will enjoy this art lesson as it makes an eye-catching bulletin board display.
And, it’s perfect for 2nd – 5th grade kids.
Roll a Britto Game
I’m willing to bet your students are like mine in that they love to play games of any kind. In my art room, I use them as a way to get my students pumped about creating art.
I also like that they’re fun, but manageable and require little effort on my part to run. I get to be the guide on the side while they roll, roll, roll!
So here’s how this roll a Britto game works:
First, the students roll the dice 5 times to collect patterns for the design. Then, decide if you want your students to:
- Use the owl tracer provided and either draw directly on it or transfer it to a thicker sheet of white drawing paper. Thicker white paper is nicer to work on; marker bleed is harder to control on plain white copy paper.
- Or, practice drawing the owl on their own. If choosing this option, they will need to draw a large owl that fills most of a sheet of white drawing paper.
As an art teacher, I want my students practicing by themselves, so that’s my route. Use the tracer if you’re short on time.
Designing the Owl
Next, students draw 6 – 10 diagonal lines through the owl design, including the background.
Looking carefully at Britto’s work, he would sometimes draw two diagonal lines across each other, so encourage them to do that.
The lines don’t all have to crisscross the entire page. In some cases, they can stop in the middle of the design.
Next, students will fill the areas in with their chosen patterns.
Since there are only five patterns, they will need to repeat those 5 patterns, balancing them out throughout their design until most areas are filled.
Encourage them to leave some empty. The blank areas will provide contrast to the patterned areas.
Lastly, they will color in their design. Romero Britto used bright, bold colors in a balanced composition.
When I teach color balance to my students, I instruct them to fill in multiple areas of the design with the same color, but scattered throughout.
Then they can switch colors and repeat the process.
It’s at this stage that it’s wise to conduct informal critiques of student work.
I do this 1 of 3 ways:
- Student and teacher 1:1
- Student to student 1:1
- Small groups
It really depends on your time and intentions.
Romero Britto Pop Art Owl Works in Progress
While these are works in progress, I thought these special needs 3rd graders did a good job of these!
Why this Britto Art Project?
- No prep, fuss-free!
- More than a coloring worksheet
- Interactive and engaging
- Hands-on learning
- Low cost, minimal materials
- Easy to implement
As teachers, we need to free ourselves up from the constant prep work that impedes our ability to focus on our student’s needs. Many things need to get accomplished in a day’s time, from lesson plans to parent communication. One of them shouldn’t be constantly designing classroom resources when someone else has already done it for you.
You can check out this Romero Britto Owl Project in my shop as well as other Britto art projects. It comes with the game board, step-by-step photo directions, and a tracer. It’s perfect for your back to school bulletin board!
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