Matisse: His Final Joyful Chapter (Special Studies)

Take a deep dive into the creative process and life of Henri Matisse for making intriguing abstract art.

In the 1940s, Henri Matisse deployed two simple materials and one tool – white paper, gouache and scissors – to create works of wide-ranging size and complexity.

He described this new technique as “cutting directly into color” and “painting with scissors.” The significant body of works came to be known as cut-outs and is often his most recognizable to this day.

In this class, we will explore:

• a brief overview of Henri Matisse’s life, especially the last decade
• Matisse’s cut-outs and groundbreaking book, Jazz
• the possibilities of composition, line, form, and color
• positive & negative space and shapes
• simplifying forms into blocks of color
• juxtaposition of organic, geometric and female forms
• creating collages & paintings with the above forms

Supply List:

• small and large scissors (make sure they’re sharp!)
• various sized brushes
• gouache and/or acrylics (assortment of favorite colors)
• pad of thick mixed media paper (Strathmore brand is great) or any hot pressed watercolor paper
• (if you have any available; look in recycling!) solid colored wrapping paper, packaging or any type of paper without a recognizable pattern
• double-sided tape or adhesive mounting squares (or a glue stick if you don’t have those)
• 2 medium or 1 large canvas (we will use this on Week 4, no need to bring before then)
• cotton rags or paper towels