History Romare Bearden was born on September 2, 1911, in North Carolina, into a middle-class, African-American family. When he was three, his family moved to Harlem, New York Citys center of black culture. Bearden called New York his home, but for most of his youth continued to visit relatives in North Carolina and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beardenís memories of past events and favorite places all became inspiration for his artwork.
His Influences He was influenced by the art of the Cubists, such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Juan Gris and by the work of his friends and fellow jazz lovers, Stuart Davis and Jacob Lawrence.
His Contributions Bearden enjoyed working in many media, including oil painting, collage, watercolor, public murals, cover art for writers and publishers, poetry, music, and even childrens books. His works are in major collections and museums around the world.
What You Will Need 11x17 Paper for your Composition Magazine Cut Outs Colored Paper Scissors Glue Colored Pencils
Develop Your Plan Before beginning your composition, picture your house, and neighborhood. What do the buildings look like? What colors are they? Does the neighborhood have streets? Sidewalks? What do your neighbors look like? Do they have pets? Do other animals live there? Pick a time of day, morning or evening.
Before you begin! On top of your paper, block out the page with colored paper building shapes, the size of your hand or slightly larger. Keep layering cut-out paper to make windows, streets, shades, streetlights, bridges and building details.
Next… Glue all the paper down. You can also use paint or markers to create blocks of color or details like bricks, stones, flowers and details on trees.
Details Add cut outs from magazines of animals, birds, cars, and people. Glue them on top of what you have laid out with the colored paper.