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Activity

Clown Compositions

Drawings or paintings inspired by Wayne Thiebaud’s clown paintings.

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Inspiration

Over the past five years Wayne Thiebaud has created dozens of paintings, drawings, and etchings of clowns, which are featured in the exhibition Wayne Thiebaud: Clowns. Like much of Thiebaud’s work, this latest series gives viewers a glimpse of memories from the century of his life. (He turned 100 in November of 2020)!

Wayne Thiebaud, Dog Clown, 2019, © 2020 Wayne Thiebaud / Licensed by VAGA at Artist Rights Society, (ARS), NY
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Instructions

Make It Your Own

  • Be inspired by Wayne Thiebaud’s clown paintings to create your own clown composition.
  • Think about the people, pets, and objects in your own life. Who or what can you turn into a clown?
  • Before you start, notice:
    + Thiebaud’s use of color. He often uses unexpected colors to outline his subjects.
    + Thiebaud’s shadows. He usually depicts a strong shadow with his subjects and again tends to outline them using unexpected colors.
    + The texture of the paint applied to paper. He tends to build up thick layers of paint when creating compositions. If you are creating a drawn composition, you can create texture with drawing materials like oil pastel or crayons.
  • Experiment! Have fun! Please share your completed work with us on Instagram using the hashtag #LAMLabAtHome.
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Share

Show Us Your Work

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