Designs Inspired by Romero Britto

Student work inspired by Romero Britto

I first discovered the colorful art of artist Romero Britto at a San Francisco airport gift shop/gallery.  Britto is a young (well, he seems young to me anyway!) self-taught artist from Brazil who has been fortunate to enjoy great success in his lifetime.  I knew my students would be as inspired by his art as I was, so I created a fun project that would use the bold design elements he is known for.

Britto's lively designs are bold, colorful, and full of pattern... easy to be inspired by!

Materials:

• 9x12 white construction paper
• pencil & eraser
• black chisel tip marker
• assorted colorful markers (we use Crayola)

Directions:

1. Sketch a simple design, cropping elements off the edges and focusing on a balanced composition.  Large shapes work best so avoid creating small spaces where your lines intersect.  
2. Use your black chisel tip marker to trace bold outlines, dividing your design into interesting shapes.  
3. Then, fill in these shapes with bold colors and patterns.  It's okay to leave some areas white if that's part of your overall design, but in general, go for lots of color!

The trickiest part of this project is to keep your design "readable" .... try not to get so carried away with your patterns and colors that it becomes too "busy"!