Willem de Kooning
Abstract Expressionist Painter
Willem de Kooning
From www.artfacts.net
Who Was Willem de Kooning?
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Dutch-American painter
Born in 1904 in the Netherlands
Studied at a famous art school in Rotterdam
Moved to the United States in 1926
First worked as a house painter in New Jersey
Knew much about artists and writers
Died 1997
How did he create art?
Used oil paints, enamel, pencil, pastels, charcoals and even clay
Elegy, 1939
Glazier, 1940
Excavation, 1950
Woman I, 1950-1952
Rosy Fingered Dawn at Louse Point, 1963
What is Abstract Expressionism?
• Artist presents an idea using only color and form
• Actual objects are not represented in the art
• Action painting: painting that emphasizes the physical movements
involved
• Style of painting that developed between 1946 and the 1960s
(during the time your grandparents were kids and teenagers)
• Other famous abstract expressionist painters: Jackson Pollock and
Mark Rothko
Information from http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/abstract-expressionism.html
Game: Did Willem de Kooning
Paint This Picture?
Our Project: How Can We Paint Like
Willem de Kooning?
• We are going to use lots of energy and
emotion when we paint!
• First, draw a fast sketch of a person with a
dark colored oil pastel
- Energetic and messy!
• Then paint your portrait in a loose and
energetic style
• Our pictures don’t really have to look like the
objects we are painting