The works must be conceived with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness.
—-Joan Miró

A head does not have to be a head, a leg does not have to be a leg, a thing we cannot speak of can be a thing that we can.
—-Deké McClelland

In this week’s free Deke’s Techniques episode, Deke shows you how he went about making an iPad/Adobe Sketch-enabled homage to 20th century Expressionist artist Joan Miró.

The piece in question is Figure, Star. You can see the original at Fundació Joan Miró Barcelona. They also have some untranslatable Miró-esque symbols in their name:

Speaking of translations, the work’s name in French is a little more specific: Personnage, Etoile. By specific, I mean that the word personage in English refers more specifically to a human being, as one presumes the word personnage does in French. (I don’t know exactly. It’s bad enough I lose untold hours reading English dictionaries.) Whereas, the word figure in English primarily means “a number symbol.” Except in the art milieu, in which it primarily means “the physical figure of a person.” What’s happening to my brain? Expressionism apparently inspires even word-nerds to express.

If you’re a member of LinkedIn Learning, Deke’s got two exclusive movies this week. In the first, he shows you how he made the dreamy blue wash background, and in the second he reveals how he made the Miró-esque version of his own Deké signature.

Deké‘s Techniqués, because I’m left-handed, even though I’m not.