Pastel Power
By Monique Martin

Bernard Buffet and his use of Line

Line is a very important part of art and Bernard Buffet uses line very well.  I used his art and the way in which he outlines most of his images with black lines was the focus o the lesson.  The use of thin and thick lines in his work is excellent.

Introduce the art of Bernard Buffet

Biography

For his admirers, Bernard Buffet is the "pure genius". He was admitted in "Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts" at the age of 15, then introduced among collectors by the painter "Aujame" and rewarded "Prix de la critique" (Critics Award) at 20 years old. Bernard Buffet is recognised as a master in his art, and his paintings are collected in the most famous museums around the world. The Surugadaira Museum (Japan) is specially dedicated to his works and displays around 1,000 of his works.

Bernard Buffet represents a typical demonstration of the divorce between the French and Contemporary Art. Popular artist by excellence, Bernard Buffet loved by the public is however detested by elitists whom hold against him his prolixity : 8,000 paintings, water colors,drawings, lithographs and engravings.

Because paint was expensive, he saved money by using little on his canvas.

So few material and very little colour, only greys, black, "bistres" and greens. His paintings are strong and breathtakingly unforgettable. Bernard Buffet's style can be recognised among others by a network of "dry" straight lines grey faces, wrinkled foreheads, scarce straight hair, tensed hands. His characters seemed crucified. This new artistic personality is recognised; B. Buffet's style is born.

Materials:

• White glue (be sure that it is quite thick or it does not work well)
• Colored construction paper
• Images of fish, insects or landscapes
• Chalk pastels or coloured chalk

Procedure:

1. The children draw an image on coloured construction paper.  The image needs to be drawn quite large because when the glue is added the detail becomes one big blob. I found that fish and insects worked really well as did simple landscapes.

2. Using white glue drag the glue along the lines using equal pressure unless a wider line is wanted.  Do not push the glue bottle or make the lines really thick because they connect together when the glue is drying.  (the glue dries clear and the lines are then the color of the paper).

3. Leave the glue to dry overnight.

4. Using chalk pastels fill in the spaces between the glue. The construction paper grabs the pastels well and then the glue resists it.  This is great for young children because it keeps the colours contained. 

5. I encouraged the children to mix colours within a given area and lay colors on top of one another with very little blending.

A really great colour of paper is red and yellow. Blue paper is less effective. Black paper is also great with really bright colours of chalk however the children do need to push with some force to get the colour on.

An opposite approach is to make the lines on colored paper and then fill the areas in with black  charcoal only.  The effect of the colored paper glowing through the glue is amazing. The project can also be done on white paper.

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