In order to understand and appreciate art, you must understand it’s

language

So, if Art is a language, what is its grammar or structure?

We’ll find the answer in the

Elements and Principles of Design

The Elements and Principles of Design

The Elements of Design are:Line, Shape, Form, Space, Value,Texture and Color

These are considered to be the “grammar” of art

The Principles of Design are:Unity, Variety, Balance, Contrast, Emphasis,

Pattern, Proportion, Movement and RhythmThese are like the “rules of grammar”; they form the

guidelines that artists follow when they combine the various elements of design

As you study visual art, and the world around you, you will notice that these Elements and Principles

never appear by themselves.

Part I.:*What are the five major kinds of LINES ?*What are the two basic categories of SHAPE ?FORM?*How do SHAPE and FORM differ?*What are COLOR FAMILIES or GROUPS?*What are the three properties of COLOR?*What are the two kinds of TEXTURE?*What is VALUE?*How do artists show SPACE in their artworks?

Everywhere you look, you see lines.

In nature you cansee lines in tree branches:

In a curving river:

Or in a spiders web

Line

Lines formed by wires: Edges of buildings:

And winding roads

The manufactured world provides examples too

Line is a point set into motion….a dot moving through space.

There are five basic kinds of lines.These include:

Horizontal=

Vertical =

Diagonal =

Zigzag =

Curved =

As you have seen, lines can have many qualities:

They can be: curved or straight

Vertical horizontal diagonal

Thick or thin smooth or rough

Light or dark and continuous or broken

In artworks, straight lines generally suggest directness or clarity while curving lines

imply gentleness or movement. Vertical lines can give an artwork strength while horizontal lines convey calmness and tranquility. Diagonal lines convey action and energy—think of a lightening bolt or a falling tree. Very thick lines appear strong while a thin line appears weak or delicate. Fuzzy lines imply softness while smooth lines imply harder surfaces. Repeated lines can create patterns, textures and even rhythms.

Lines can also be implied or real.

A real line is one you can actually see (Ex. A) while an implied line is the suggestion of a line (Ex. B) An implied line may also be suggested by a string of objects (Ex. C)

(A) (B) (C)

Shape is the area set off by one or more of the art elements.

Shapes can be classified into two classes:

*Geometric shapes = precise shapes such as the circle ,triangle

, rectangle, oval, and square.

*Organic shapes = these shapes are not regular or even…and are Often found in nature.

More fact on ….Shape• Shape is a 2-dimensional object (it is flat) • It has height and width but no depth

• Geometric shapes --are regular meaning can be measured.

Organic shapes are irregular---seashells, leaves,

flowers, etc.

In Georgia O’Keeffe’s and Piet Mondrian’s works we canSee the two basic kinds of shapes.

Form is an object with three dimensions.In drawing, it is creating the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface.

Three-dimensionalTwo-dimensional

FormA form is 3-Dimensional. It has height, width AND depth. As with shapes,

Forms can be regular and precise or irregular and organic.

3-D art, such as sculptures, architecture and crafts, is composed of forms. In 2-D art, artists can only create the illusion of form.

We can see in the following works how the artists relate FORM:

Michelangelo

CassattDali

DalivanGogh

Color Color is everywhere. In our clothes, the sky,

trees, flowers, billboards designed to attract our attention, on the web and on television.

There are literally thousands of colors; from bright to dull (intensity) and light to dark (value). Colors are powerful; they can make objects seem to glow, to come forward and recede, or to appear bigger or smaller.

Colors can also be symbolic, with meanings that change from culture to culture. A color can symbolize an object or thing such as blue for water and green for grass and the leaves of trees or it may symbolize an emotion or idea, such as red for love, yellow for fear and blue for sadness. A trained artist is familiar with all of these options and can select and combine colors to create a desired impression or to evoke a certain mood.

Color

Color Color is a property of light. When we say

an object is red, we mean that its surface absorbs certain wavelengths of light that we call red, we identify the object as red in color. If all wavelengths of light are absorbed, we identify the color as black, if all wavelengths of color are reflected, we see white.

Color has 3 characteristics: hue, value and intensity. Hue is actually the color we see—such as red. Value refers to the lightness and darkness of a hue. For example, maroon is a dark value (shade) of red and pink is a light value (tint) of red. Intensity is the brightness or dullness of a color.

Color Red, Yellow and Blue are

called Primary colors (P)and are used to create the rest of the colors on the color wheel.

When you mix two primary colors together, you get a Secondary color (S). These

colors are Orange (yellow and red), Green (blue and yellow) and violet (red and blue)

And when you mix a primary and a secondary color together you get an Intermediate color (I). These are yellow-green, yellow-orange, red-orange, red-violet, blue-violet and blue-green

P

I SS

SP P

I

II

I

I

Artists’ Use of Primary Color

Piet Mondrian

Edward Hopper Auguste Renoir

Secondary Colors

Secondary Colors are colors created by mixing equal amounts primary of two colors. P+P=S

For example:

Red + Yellow = Orange

Yellow + Blue = Green

Blue + Red = Violet

Artists Use of Secondary Color

Auguste Renoir

Vincent van Gogh

Color Schemes When two colors are located directly across from each other on the wheel, they are

referred to as complementary colors.

Artists often pair complementary colors together because the area where they meet seems to vibrate. You can also lessen the intensity of a color by adding a small amount of its complementary color.

What pair of complimentary colors did this artist use in this picture?

Color SchemesAn analogous color scheme is made up

of three or four colors that are adjacent

on the color wheel.

What set of analogous colors are

used in this example?

Color TemperaturesHave you ever noticed that colors seem to have different temperatures?

Reds, Oranges and Yellows are warm colors. They

remind us of the sun or fire and can add a feeling of excitement,

boldness or happiness to a work of art. Warm colors make objects

seem larger and appear to advance in an artwork.

Greens, Blues, and Violets are cool colors. They remind us of lakes, distant mountains, sky and foliage. Cool colors tend to be calm and restful. They recede into the distance and make objects seem smaller.

Warm Colors

Warm Colors are in one of the two groups of which colors are often divided. The three main warm colors are:

Red Orange Yellow

Warm colors suggest energy, action, and normally optically advance!

Artists Use of Warm Colors

Rothko

Munch

Cezanne

Van Gogh

Cool ColorsCool Colors are in one of the two groups of which colors are often divided. The three main cool colors are:

Blue Green Violet

Cool colors suggest calmness and peacefulness.

Optically, they tend to recede.

Artists Use of Cool Colors

Mary Cassatt

Vincent van Gogh

Henri Matisse

Vincent van Gogh

Claude Monet

Georges Seurat

Analogous Colors

Analogous Colors are colors neighboring on the color wheel having a common “hue”. Examples would be:

Red

Red Violet

Violet Red

Violet

Violet Blue

Blue Violet

Blue

Blue Green

Green Blue

Green

Green yellow

Yellow Green

Yellow

Yellow Orange

Orange Yellow

Orange

Orange Red

Red Orange

Color ShadesThe SHADE of a color is changed by adding Black.

Color Tints

Color Tints are changed by adding white. The exception to this would be by watercolorists -who add water!

Color Schemes A monochromatic color scheme makes use of only one

hue and its tints and shades. This scheme can produce appealing pictures as you can see below.

Neutrals - brown, black, white, gray. Lacks the feeling of warm or cool as seen in other color schemes.

Color Schemes Neutrals - brown, black, white, gray. Lacks the feeling of

warm or cool as seen in other color schemes.

Can you tell the color schemes used by Vincent Van Gogh?

Self portrait

Sunflowers

Cypresses

Texture is how something feels or looks like it feels.We experience texture thru our senses of sight and touch

There are2 basic kinds of Textures. These are:REAL:*Natural or actual…Is what you experience when you actually touch an object.Porcupines would be sharp..feathers could be soft.

IMPLIED :*Simulated = Man made to look like it has a texture.

ValueValue refers to the lightness and darkness of a color.

Value is commonly known as “shading” of an object. Monochromatic = Value

A value scale, such as this one, can show the full range of a color. This is accomplished by adding black to a color to make shades or adding white to a color to make tints.

SHADESTINTS ORIGINAL COLOR

Accomplished artists know, that to make a drawing look as real as possible, they must show a full value range in their artwork

Space is the distance or area between, around, below, and within things.

*There are two basic kinds of Space : positive and negative. Positive space is the object itself; Negative space is the area in and around the object.

Art ElementsSPACE

• Background: The part that looks farthest from the viewer.

• Middleground: The part that appears midway between background and foreground.

• Foreground: The part that looks closest to the viewer.

• Horizon Line: The point in a landscape where the sky meets the ground.

Can you point out the background, foreground, and middleground?

Background

Middleground

Foreground

Horizon Line

Space……………………

Artists use various technique to give the illusion of DEPTH in theirworks of art. Some of these include :

1.= Overlapping2.= Size3.= Focus4.= Placement5.= Intensity and Value6.= Linear Perspective

Lets take a look at some of these……………..

Space…………….

Intensity and Value:Artists often used colors lower in intensity and lighter in value for objects in the distance.

In this artwork by Monet, we can see how the color becomes less Intense and lighter in value.

As you can see in this example of linear perspective, in which parallel lines recede toward a common vanishing point, the illusion of 3-D space

is created on a 2-D surface. Objects farther away are higher up on the picture plane, there is overlapping of buildings and less detail as the image seems farther away from the viewer.

Objects farther away are placed higher on the picture plane and are less detailede

Buildings are overlapped to create an illusion of space

Let’s practice looking!

What elements do you see used in this geranium?

If you said:

Color ( Complementary -red and green)

Shape (Organic Shapes the outlines of flowers and leaves)

Line (the stems, the veins of the leaves) and

Texture (Real Natural -smooth petals and furry leaves)

You were

CORRECT!

Part II. What are PRINCIPLES OF ART?*What does using EMPHASIS enable the artist to do?*What is PATTERN / REPETITION and what two ways do artists use it in their artworks?*What are the three basic kinds of BALANCE?*What is CONTRAST and how do artists use this in their works of art?*What is RHYTHM and how is it similar to Repetition?*Why is PROPORTION in an artwork important?*How is MOVEMENT like a tour guide?

The Principles of Art are basically rules or guidelines that govern the way in which the Art Elements go together.These include:

*EMPHASIS*PATTERN*BALANCE*CONTRAST*REPETITION*RHYTHM*PROPORTION*MOVEMENT

Lets take a look at these individually…………….

EMPHASIS is used by an artist to makean element or object stand out in a workof art.EMPHASIS is used by the artist to controlWhat part of the artwork the viewer seesmost or most often.EMPHASIS is also used by the artist to control how long a viewer spends lookingat each of the different parts.

Emphasis Artists use emphasis to create a center of interest—the part of the work they

want the viewer to notice first. Sometimes an artist chooses to emphasize a single element of design to create a center of interest. And sometimes the artist separates the center of interest from its surroundings, makes it the largest object or places it in the center of the composition.

In any work of art, many elements and principles work together, but almost every successful work emphasizes something.

What is the artist trying to get us to notice first in

this work of art?

Emphasis

Center of Interest is the focal point of an art composition. It grabs the viewer’s attention. It’s also called emphasis.

Good Center of Interest Poor Center of Interest

Emphasis:

To make an element or object in a work of art stand Out…..artists use emphasis.

Emphasis = Emphasis of size

Emphasis = Emphasis of color

Emphasis of line

Salvador Dali

Van Gogh

Grant Wood

Pattern / Repetition /Rhythm is the repeatingof shapes, lines, color, or other artelements in planned or random order to create interest or make the artwork more exciting.

Andy Warhol

Vincent van Gogh

Mary Cassatt

BALANCE in an artwork, it the arrangement of art elements so thatno one part of a work overpowers, orseems heavier than, any other part.

There are three basic types of balance.These are: *Symmetrical or Formal Balance

*Asymmetrical or Informal Balance *Radial Balance

Balance

Symmetrical balance occurs when one

side of an object or painting is identical

(or nearly so) to the other side. In nature,

the human face and butterflies are examples.

Symmetry can create a sense of calmness

and formality, but sometimes it can be

visually boring.

Asymmetrical or Informal Balance is evident whentwo unlike objects appear to have equal weight. When used skillfully, it can create more interesting compositions.

Vincent van Gogh

Mary Cassatt

Radial Balance in an artwork occurs when the elements or objects are positioned around a central point.

BALANCE

Which type of balance does this art composition contain?

Salvador Dali, Domenech’s Melting Clocks

Answer:Asymmetric/Unbalanced

CONTRAST in an artwork is created-when the artist makes a difference in value, color,texture,shape,line,form,or space.

Value Contrast

by Durer

Color Contrast by Monet

Texture Contrast by OKeeffe

CONTRAST

eye.

Colors - black/white

Lines - horizontal/vertical

Texture - smooth/rough

Ansel Adams, Carlsbad Caverns, 1942

Can you identify the contrasting elements in this photograph?

Line ContrastBy Van Gogh

Form Contrast by Marat

Space Contrast by Monet

Contrast :

Proportion Proportion is the relative size of one thing

compared to the size of something else. In the paintings below, compare the proportion of the objects in one painting with one another. Do the proportions seem correct?

MOVEMENT in a work of art directs the viewerthrough the art piece –often to the focal area.Italso encourages the viewer to sense action within the work.

Van Gogh Van Gogh

V Van Gogh

Movement In a work of art, movement may be the course that a viewer’s eye

takes as it moves across the surface. Moving from color to color, shape to shape or value to value, the

eye traces a path around the picture.

Sometimes an artist will add

elements such as spirals, curves,

arrow-like shapes or diagonal

lines to convey a sense of

movement.

How has the artist shown movement

in this picture?

Rhythm & REPETITION Rhythm is a pattern of movement caused by colors, shapes, values, lines, etc.

that occur in organized repetition. If the size, shape or color of the repeated units is the same and if the distance between them remains constant, the rhythm is predictable and may even be monotonous. This is the type of rhythm you could find on wrapping paper or wallpaper.

To add variety and visual excitement, an artist may change the size, color or shape of the repeated units or vary the spacing between them.

How does the artist show an interesting rhythm in this

painting?

Is the rhythm exciting or monotonous?

How has the artist accomplished this?

Variety Variety generally accompanies unity in a work of

art; it adds visual interest by giving the eye different things to focus on. Artists create variety by including shapes, textures, lines, etc in many sizes and/or contrasting colors.

How has this artist shown variety? What elements has he used to create it?

VARIETY

The artist uses a variety of the elements so the work is interesting/not dull.

Pablo Picasso,

The Three Musicians,

1921

Picasso useda variety of shapes, colors,lines, textures, and values.

What varitey do you see being used in this artwork?

Unity Unity is a sense of cohesiveness, a feeling that all the parts of

something belong or work together. This is an important principle because a unified work looks complete and orderly. There are many ways to create unity in a work of art; a dominant theme or idea, a texture or repeated color, line, shape, etc.

What creates unity in this picture?

What principle(s) do you see used in these pictures?

A glass skyscraper

A plaid scarf

A flying bird

If you said:

Unity, Pattern, Proportion

Pattern, Unity, Contrast

Movement, Rhythm

Then you were

CORRECT!

Media: is the material used by the artist to produce art. (Media is Plural and Medium is singular)

2-Dimensional media include:

Paint (Egg Tempera, Oil, Watercolor and Acrylic) , Fabric, Yarn, Pastel (Oil and Chalk), Fiber art, Drawing, Photography, Computer-generated art, Ink

3-Dimensiona Media include:

Clay, wood, glass, stone, plaster, metal, paper, stone

• Art Processes: both art methods and the media used for visual communication in a variety of art forms

Art Processes: both art methods and the media used for visual communication in a variety of art forms

2-Dimensional Processes include:

Drawing ,Painting , Printmaking, Photography, Fiber Art: (includes fabric painting, stamping, batik, tie-dye, etc.

3-Dimensional Processes include:

Textiles, Ceramics, Sculpture, Architecture, Fiber Art (includes constructing with fiber, weaving, rugs, crochet, knitting, quilting

Art Vocabulary

• Collage - Artwork made by pasting pieces of paper or other materials to a flat surface.

Art Vocabulary

• Design - The way art elements are put together in a work of art, also called composition.

• Original - Artwork that looks very different form other work of art; not copied.

Claude Monet, Water Lily Pond, 1889

Art Vocabulary

• Subject Matter - All the objects seen in a work of art.

Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884

Types of Visual Art

• Landscape• Painting• Portrait• Pottery• Sculpture• Still Life• Weaving

Types of Art -Landscape

Albert Bierstadt, Oregon Trails, 1867

A landscape is artwork that shows an outdoor scene.

Types of Art -Painting

A painting is a picture created by using paint.

Georgia O’Keefe, Red Poppy

Types of Art -Portrait

A portrait is a painting or drawing of a person.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait, 1640Leonardo Da Vinci, Mona Lisa, 1506

Types of Art -Pottery

Pottery is a three dimensional piece of artwork that is made of clay and hardened by heat.

Making pottery on a pottery wheel.

Pottery made by Hopi Indians

Types of Art -Sculpture

A sculpture is a three dimensional piece of artwork formed from stone, clay, wood, metal, etc.

Leonardo Da vinci, Horse

Michael Angelo, Bust of David

Types of Art -Still Life

Still Life is artwork that shows non-living thingssuch as books, candles, etc. arranged by the artist.

Henri Matisse, Still Life w/ Oranges 1913

Henri Matisse, Blue Pot and Lemons

Types of Art -Weaving

Weaving is artwork created by lacing togetherStrands of materials such as yarn, thread, or paper.