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Mondrian Art Project for Kids with Dab and Dot Markers

Mondrian-style artwork featuring yellow, blue, and red Dab and Dot Markers on a patterned background.

I had the opportunity to try out Dab and Dot Dauber Markers and write a blog post for their website DoodleHog.  These are similar to other paint dotters, but one difference I noticed is that the colors seem richer and better than other brands I have tried.  The colors mix together very well.

Piet Mondrian Dab and Dot Art Project

Piet Mondrian was one of the most important and well known abstract painters.  But did you know his early work was mostly realistic paintings, often of trees and flowers?

Avond (Evening): The Red Tree - Piet Mondrian

He developed his abstract style over the years and his artwork became increasingly simplified until there were no recognizable objects in his art, only shapes and colors. His art was influenced by the Cubists. After seeing an art exhibition by Picasso and Braque, he started making his own geometric abstract paintings.

In his later art, he began using only the primary colors (red, yellow and blue), black and white.  He wanted to use only pure colors.  His artwork often had bold black lines forming the simple basic shapes of rectangles and squares.

Composition A - Piet Mondrian

You can create an artwork using the primary colors and black lines in a similar style.
A set of three Dab and Dot markers in red, blue, and yellow, inspired by Piet Mondrian's artwork, next to the markers' packaging on a black-and-white grid.

Materials:

  1. Black Tape
  2. Scissors
  3. White Construction Paper
  4. Dab and Dot Dauber Markers

Steps:

1. Place black tape lines on to white construction paper.  Use the scissors to trim the edges neatly.  Create rectangles and squares with the tape.  You can use thick and thin pieces of tape.  I also used old black vinyl adhesive letters and cut them into thin strips.

A hand placing black tape on a surface, creating a cross pattern reminiscent of Piet Mondrian's artwork.
Hand placing black tape on white paper with intersecting black lines, creating an artwork inspired by Piet Mondrian.

Abstract image characterized by intersecting black rectangles and lines on a white background, showcasing a style akin to Piet Mondrian Artwork.

Abstract geometric pattern of black lines creating various rectangular shapes on a white background, resembling the artistic style of Piet Mondrian.

2.  Use the primary color Dab and Dot Dauber Markers to add colors to your paper.

Markers labeled yellow, red, and blue lie on an abstract art background with bold lines and colored squares, reminiscent of Piet Mondrian artwork.

Press down on the sponge tip several times to activate the ink and get it flowing.

Hand using blue dot marker on paper with black lines, featuring yellow and red Dab Markers in the background, evoking a Piet Mondrian Artwork.

Continue to fill in the rectangles with colors of your choice.

A geometric design featuring black lines forming rectangles, with blue and yellow rectangles inside on a white background, inspired by Piet Mondrian's artwork.

Abstract geometric painting with red, yellow, blue rectangles and black lines forming a grid pattern, inspired by Piet Mondrian artwork.

3.  Another option is to experiment with color mixing by layering primary colors to create secondary colors. What happens when you paint blue on top of yellow?

A hand using a blue Dab and Dot Marker colors a yellow rectangle on a white surface with black borders, creating an artwork inspired by Piet Mondrian.
You can make a nice green color!
A black square grid features a green rectangle and an orange rectangle inside two of the squares, resembling a modern Piet Mondrian artwork.

Red on top of yellow will make orange.  Blue on top of red makes a deep purple color.

A rectangular artwork with a gradient from yellow to orange to red, featuring black lines creating geometric divisions. This artwork features a black grid dividing colorful squares: red, green, blue, and one gradient. Inspired by Piet Mondrian’s style, it captures a modern essence.

Abstract painting with geometric shapes in blue, yellow, orange, and green, separated by thick black lines. The style echoes Piet Mondrian’s Artwork approach but introduces a playful element using Dab and Dot Markers.

Once you are finished, compare your artwork to Piet Mondrian’s paintings.  How are they alike?  How are they different?  What did you like most about this project?


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About Marcia Beckett

Marcia is an elementary art teacher and loves painting, drawing, sculpture, art journaling and clay. Her blog, Art is Basic, features many exciting art projects for kids.

3 Responses to Mondrian Art Project for Kids with Dab and Dot Markers

  1. Gorgeous. Love this project.

  2. Jesse says:

    Great idea:) Looks like a fun project that we will have to try! We have tried Dab and Dot at our house with our 3 and 5 year old, and about 10 mins into our art project one of the paints fell on the wood floor, shot across the room, and exploded on our rug:( The paint was also very runny out of the bottles and it seemed to just puddle up on the paper. Unless you use thick paper it just bleeds through. We were at Lakeshore the other day and my 5 year old found Do A Dots. She loves them because her kindergarten class uses them for just about every art project. We bought a set of the Rainbow Do A Dots, and two of the Do A Dot coloring books, and they are much better. The consistency of the paint seems much better and the quality overall is much greater than the Dab and Dot. Plus they are made in America! Didn’t mean to write a product review, but just thought people should know about other great products as well. Thanks for all of the great ideas you continue to share!

    • Wow, I’m surprised you had problems. I haven’t had any problems and I actually thought they went on smoother than the other paint dotters I’ve tried. I never had problems with puddling. I wonder what the difference was. I’m sorry that happened to you! Thanks for commenting on my blog.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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  • Banner with colorful artwork promoting an art shop featuring kindness coloring pages, artist activities, and resources for teachers.