The Arts
Elements & Principles
ELEMENTS:
Colour
Colour depends on light because it is made of light. There must be light for us to see colour. A red shirt will not look red in the dark, where there is no light. The whiter the light the more true the colours will be. A yellow light on a full colour painting will change the appearance of all the colours.
Value
Neutral red shapes go back in space
Dark purple forms are used to develop strong value contrasts
Highlights on fruit are white. White is pure light colour.
Shadows are cool colours
Warm red shapes seem to come forward
Blue and purple shadows create form
White is intense and comes forward in the painting
Cool colours contrast with warm fruit to make them seem warmer
Cool green has warm reds and oranges in it to neutralize the background,
Colour has three properties. The first is hue, which are the names of the colours. Hues can be arranged in a colour wheel. The wheel consists of primary (yellow, blue, red), the secondary (purple, orange, green) and all intermediate colours made from mixing primaries with adjacent colours.
Value refers to the dark and light. Value contrasts help us to see and understand a two dimensional work of art. This type can be read because of the contrast of dark letters and light paper. Value contrast is also evident in colours, which enables us to read shapes in a painting.
Strong value contrast in the focal area
Middle values
Dark values
Dark middle values
Light values
Graded values
A value scale (shown here in grey and red) shows ten values from light to dark. The farther apart the values are on the scale, the more value contrast can be noted. Values next to each other on the scale have the least contrast.
Line
Line is marked by a pointed tool- brush, pencil, stick, pen, etc.- and is often defined as a moving dot. It has length and width. A line is created by the movement of a tool and pigment, and often suggests movement in a drawing or painting.
Variety in the thickness of lines creates surface interest. Some lines are thick; some are thin; and many are both thick and thin (organic or calligraphic)
Value contrasts in the lines from very dark to white let us see the layering of line upon line. Because of the layering of lines over lines, a shallow depth is sensed.
The length of lines varies in from dots to short jabs, to long fluid strokes. Some are geometric, others are organic.
Texture
Texture refers to the surface quality, both simulated and actual, of artwork. Techniques used in painting serve to show texture, i.e. the dry brush technique produces a rough simulated quality and heavy application of pigment with brush or other implement produces a rough actual texture.
Focal area has strongest value contrasts
Broken lines and edges help to emphasize actual textures
Contrast of smooth and textured areas emphasize heavy textures
Painting with a dry brush produces visual textures
Colour and value contrasts help you "feel" the texture with your eyes
Actual Texture (also known as tactile texture) describes the surface quality we can feel with our fingers. This example work, has such actual textures.
Shape
Shape is an area that is contained within an implied line, or is seen and identified because of colour or value changes. Shapes have two dimensions, length and width, and can be geometric or free-form. Design in painting is basically the planned arrangement of shapes in a work of art.
All shapes can be described with two basic terms:
1) geometric shapes (angular, with straight edges, also called rectilinear shapes; and
2) organic shapes (free-form, biomorphic, also called curvilinear shapes).
Form
Form describes volume and mass, or the three dimensional aspects of objects that take up space. Forms can and should be viewed from many angles. When you hold a baseball, shoe or small sculpture, you are aware of their curves, angles, indentations, extensions, and edges- their forms.
Form refers to the three-dimensional quality of objects.
This is a drawing of a two-dimensional shape
This is a drawing of a three-dimensional form
Space can be felt between the forms in this grouping. The space between and around objects helps us recognize and identify three-dimensional forms
Space
Actual space is a three-dimensional volume that can be empty or filled with objects. It has width, height and depth. Space that appears three-dimensional in a painting is an illusion that creates a feeling of actual depth. Various techniques can be used to show such visual depth.
PRINCIPLES:
Light values and soft edges in the distance; dark values in the foreground.
Extreme contrast of edges in lamp post and distant buldings enhances the feeling of space
One-point perspective lines lead to the focal areas and not an exact vanishing point
Buildings overlap each other and graded values recede
Different sizes of coaches emphasize recession of space
Sizes of people diminish as they go back in space
If objects or people overlap in a painting, we sense space between them. If overlapping is combined with size differences, the sense of space is greatly increased.
Balance
Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight in a work of art. In painting, it is the visual equilibrium of the elements that causes the total image to appear balanced. Balance can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical in a work of art.
When elements on both sides of the plane appear to be equal in shape, weight, value and colour, the design is symmetrical balance.
Asymmetrical balance involves two sides that are different, but yet are in visual balance.
A small shape will balance a larger more active shape because the small shape add interest and therefore has more weight
Emphasis
Emphasis is used by artists to create dominance and focus in their artwork. Artists can emphasize colour, value, shapes or other art elements to achieve dominance. Various kinds of contrast can be used to emphasize a center of interest.
Large, dark shapes lead your eye toward the focal area that is bright in colour and contrasting values
An artist often uses focal areas (centre of interest) to place emphasis on the most important aspect of the work. The best placement is near one of the crossings in the diagram. This is also known as using the rule of thirds.
Pattern
Pattern uses the art elements in planned or random repetitions to enhance surfaces of paintings or sculptures. Patterns often occur in nature, and artists use similar repeated motifs to create pattern in their work. Pattern increases visual excitement by enriching surface interest.
Patterns in nature surround us. Repeated leaves, flowers, grass... The radial pattern in many fruits and vegetables can be noticed by cutting them in half.
The surface painting doesn't stand still for our eyes because simultaneous contrast is used (when two complementary colours are placed next to each other each will appear brighter).
Contrast
Contrast refers to differences in values, colours, textures, shapes and other elements. Contrasts create visual excitement and add interest to the work. If all the art elements- value, for example- are the same, the result is monotonous and unexciting.
PATTERN CONTRAST
Intricate Pattern
No Pattern
EDGE CONTRAST
Hard Edges
Soft Edges
TEMPERATURE CONTRAST
Cool Colours
Warm Colours
TEXTURE CONTRAST
Textured Surface
Smooth Surface
VALUE CONTRAST
Dark Values
Middle Values
LIght Values
INTENSITY CONTRAST
Pure Colours
Muted Colours
SIZE CONTRAST
large Shapes
Small Shapes
SHAPE CONTRAST
Organic Shapes
Geometric Shapes
Contrast in colour intensity occurs when a pure, fully intense colour is next to a muted grayed colour mixture. The pure colour's strength and intensity seem to cause it glow.
Movement
Visual movement is used by artists to direct viewers through their work, often to focal areas. Such movement can be directed along lines, edges, shapes, and colours within the works, but moves the eye most easily on paths of equal value.
Light, medium, and dark valued design shapes lead to the focal area. Some shapes are elongated and produce easy movements to follow. Other movements are created by linkage of similarly valued shapes.
Elongated Shapes cause our eyes to move along them. If there is a strong center of interest, our eyes will be drawn to it.
Linear Movement can be both direct (straight) or irregular (curvilinear). Our eyes follow lines and edges in sculptures, architecture and paintings.
Rhythm
Rhythm is the repetition of visual movement- colours, shapes, or lines. Variety is essential to keep rhythms exciting and active, and to avoid monotony. Movement and rhythm work together to create the visual equivalent of a musical beat.
Regular rhythm is the repetition of elements that are the same or nearly the same in regular sequence. Repeated leg movements dictate the rhythm of the figure descending stairs.
Irregular rhythms might repeat throughout a painting without any exact duplication.
Progressive rhythms are those in which the elements change sizes as they progress or move across space. This is seen in looking at a building or a fence in perspective. The windows and architectural elements are the same size but diminish as they progress into space.
Staccato rhythms are repetitions that are abrupt and that change frequently. They often seem to be short bursts of energy in a painting.
Unity
Visual unity is one of the most important aspects of well-designed art and is planned by the artist. Unity provides the cohesive quality that makes an art work feel complete and finished. When all the elements in a work look as though they belong together, the artist has achieved unity.
The artist's brush strokes are all visible; none are softened or smeared together. His use of value contrasts to allow brush strokes of similar sizes to show, creates an overall textural visual unity.
The colours of blues, purples and blacks unify the painting with colour dominance.
Variety is essential to keep art from being monotonous. The horizontal layers in this work create unity. The difference in each layer provides variety.
Visual unity in a painting can be developed by clustering or placing elements in close proximity together.
Overall intense colours, repeated shapes, consistently hard edges and clustering create a very strong sense of unity. Everything works together.
A similar overall surface treatment creates a very strong sense of unity in a painting, drawing or sculpture.