Elements of Art

A List of the Elements Line Shape Form Space Value Color Texture

Line Actual lines are lines that you can see. Implied lines are lines that seem to be there because of actual lines, shapes or colors.

Artist: Salvador Dali Study for “Don Quixote”

Notice that Dali used line To work rapidly Use gesture to show more than one movement in the same drawing What was he suggesting by using the line? Why is it called a “study”? Was this his final art piece?

Sketch Book Homework/Line Choose an object in your house. What types of lines does it have? Sketch the object and label the lines. Then make another sketch of the object, changing the lines. Make them thicker, or curve them more. How do different lines alter the mood of your sketch?

Shape Shape is an area that has height and width. Artist use two types of shapes. Geometric shapes are precise mathematical shapes like circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles. Organic shapes irregular shapes like those found in nature

Fernard Leger Disks 1918

Fernard Leger French Artist (1881-1955) Wanted to become an architect Used clearly defined shapes in solid colors to create bold patterns on his canvases Shapes came from the world around him because he was inspired by the industrial age, simplified architectural and mechanical shapes Did he us organic or geometric shapes? What objects might have inspired the shapes he used?

Sketchbook Homework/Shape Draw at least ten shapes from the world around you. Label each shape to identify where it came from and what type of shape it is. Choose three or four of the shapes you have drawn. Create a small composition with them by drawing a rectangle and filling it with the shapes you have chosen.

Form While a shape only has two dimensions, a form has three. It has height, width, and depth. A form is something that you can hold or go around. Basketballs, snow, cones, and alligators are all forms.

Form Geometric Forms- include objects such as spheres, cylinders, cubes, cones and pyramids. Organic Forms- are irregular, like the natural forms of pinecones and armadillos.

Artist- Umberto Boccioni Sculpture- Unique Forms of Continuity in Space 1913

What does this sculpture remind you of? The form is distorted and exaggerated to express an emotion or evoke a feeling. he captured movement in form by showing the figure striding and by sculpting the limbs to look as if garments were blowing in the wind. What do you think Boccioni was trying to convey?

Example of Drawing 3-D Forms

Sketchbook Homework/Form Because drawing is two-dimensional, artist must create the illusion of form to show a three-dimensional object. Use lines, light, and shadow to draw the illusion of several 3-D forms such as spheres or cubes. Keep one side of the object light, and darken the opposite side.

Space An element of art, space is the area in and around an object. It can be empty or full, nearby or far away.

Positive & Negative Space

Positive Space & Negative Space Positive Space is the area occupied by an object. Negative Space is the area around the object, and that defines the object’s edges

The rock formations in the photograph below are the positive space. The opening in the rock creates negative space. Artists who work in 2-D, such as painters, often create depth in their artworks. Depth is the use of perspective to give the illusion of deep space on a 2-D plane. Another way artist create depth is to use overlapping, the process of putting on object, color or line in front of another.

Artist- Claes Oldenberg Sculpture- Geometric Mouse-Scale A 1969-1971

In this sculpture, Oldenburg used geometric shapes to create a representation of a mouse’s head. What shapes form the positive space? By tipping the mouse’s head, Oldenburg created negative space between the head and the ground. He also created negative space within the Sculpture with openings in the large square of the mouse’s face. What might the openings represent?

Sketchbook Homework/Space Choose an object from nature or from home. Draw the object multiple times in a single composition, making it seem close, far and very far away. Use overlapping and diminishing size to give your drawing the illusion of depth.

Areas in Space Foreground- the object that are closest to the viewer. Background- the area farthest from the viewer Middle ground- the area between foreground and background

Artist- Grant Wood Painting- Stone City Iowa 1930

Wood overlapped objects to make the ones on top appear closer to the viewer. Objects, like trees and buildings, appear smaller the farther away they are. The objects that are near are darker and More detailed than the Objects that are far away, drawing the Viewer’s eye to the objects that are closer. What emotion or feeling does this sense of deep space evoke?

Sketchbook Homework/Depth Use what you have learned about showing space to draw an outdoor scene. Use a variety of organic shapes, geometric shapes, and lines to draw an outdoor scene that shows space. Use the techniques you have learned about space to show the foreground, middle ground, and background. Increase the illusion of space by adding details to shapes in the foreground with markers or colored pencils.

More Areas in Space Perspective Linear Perspective Horizon Line Vanishing Point Atmospheric Perspective

Perspective When you stand near the corner of a building and look along one wall, the front corner of the building seems bigger than the back corner. Lines on the building that are actually parallel seem to get a closer together the farther they are from you. And far down the road, over the hill, objects seem to get fuzzier and lighter. These are tricks of human perception, which artists use to convey depth in their work.

Space and Perspective Linear Perspective- is a technique in which artists use actual and implied lines to create an illusion of space and depth on a two-dimensional surface.

Horizon Line Horizon Line- In name given to the viewer’s eye level, is the implied line where the sky meets the ground.

Vanishing Point Vanishing Point- The point on the horizon where lines in a painting or drawing converge, or come together.

Artist- Carlo Crivelli Painting- The Annunciation with Saint Emidius 1486

Atmospheric Perspective Atmospheric Perspective- is another technique for creating the illusion of depth. This technique, also called aerial perspective, is used to create the appearance of atmosphere and space in a work of art. Objects that are close are darker in order to draw the eye; objects that are farther away are lighter and more muted. These changes in light and dark help create the illusion of depth.

Artist- Thomas Moran Painting- A Miracle of Nature 1913

Sketchbook Homework/Perspective Make two sketches that show linear perspective in outdoor scenes. Choose objects with strong linear qualities like buildings and tables. Make notes about what you find difficult in representing theses scenes. Describe different ways to solve the difficulties you encountered.

More areas in Space One-point Perspective Two-point Perspective

Interior Perspective One-point perspective- is a technique of using a single vanishing point to show space and depth on a two-dimensional plane.

Interior Perspective Two-point perspective- employs two vanishing points to show space and depth on a two-dimensional surface.

Sketchbook Homework/Linear Perspective & Atmospheric Use what you have learned about linear and atmospheric perspective to create a drawing of an interior scene. Choose a room in your house to draw. Use the techniques of one-point perspective to make the object fit in. Use markers, crayons, or color pencils to create atmospheric perspective by making the objects in the foreground darker than the background objects.

Value Value- an element of art, is the degree of lightness or darkness of a color. Shading- a gradual change from light to dark values

Here is how we create Value Shading- A gradual change from light to dark.

Shading Techniques- Blending, stippling, hatching and cross-hatching Artist- Mary Williamson Drawing- She Flies With Other Wings- 2006

Blending-gradually changing the value

Stippling- a pattern of dots

Hatching- thin parallel lines

Cross-Hatching-lines that cross one another

Artist-Diego Rivera Drawing- Study of a Sleeping Woman 1921

2 Assignments; Sketchbook Homework/ Part 1 Value Scale 1-Draw a two-inch by four-inch rectangle in your sketchbook. Divide the rectangle into eight equal spaces. Use these spaces to create a value scale that show gradual shading (from light to dark). Leave the first space white and show gradual increase in shading.

Sketchbook Homework Part 2/Portrait Draw a portrait of a famous person using blending, stippling, hatching, and cross hatching.

Color The color wheel

Primary Colors Primary colors RED Are the colors BLUE from which all YELLOW other colors are mixed.

Secondary Colors Secondary colors- Mixing two primary colors.

Intermediate or Tertiary Colors Intermediate colors- are mixed from a primary color and one secondary color.

Artist- Wassily Kandinsky Painting- Composition II Identify primary, secondary and tertiary colors.

Color Families Warm Colors= reds, yellows, and oranges. Cool colors= greens, blues, and violets.

Artist- Georgia O'Keefe Painting- From the Plains 1 1953

Look at O'Keeffe's painting. Two primary colors dominate this painting Look at O'Keeffe's painting. Two primary colors dominate this painting. What are they? O'Keeffe mixed these two colors to create which secondary color? Look for the light and dark values of this artwork. What kind of emotion does this bright limited palette evoke? What color family?

Sketchbook Homework/Color Value Chart Make a color value chart by drawing a grid that is twelve squares tall by five squares wide. Use colored pencils or crayons to color in a different primary, secondary, or tertiary color in each row. In each column, vary the value of each color from left to right, lightest to darkest.

Color Value Chart

Color Schemes Color scheme- is a plan for combining colors in what you wear and in a work of art. Hue- color Monochromatic- “mono” means one and “chrome” means color. Analogous- hues in a color schemes are beside one another on the color wheel, and share a common hue. Complementary- color scheme employs colors that are across each other on the color wheel. Neutral- colors include black, white, and shades of gray.

Monochromatic One color scheme. What is the color scheme here?

Analogous Colors next to each other on the color wheel and share a common hue.

Complementary Colors that are across from each other on the color wheel

Artist Pablo Picasso Painting Two Sisters 1902

Spanish artist Pablo Picasso used a mostly monochromatic color scheme for this painting. The areas that diverge from the blue hues create contrast. Notice how Picasso used values of blue to show depth and form. What reason could an artist have for using a monochromatic color scheme? What feeling or mood does the artist seem to be expressing in this artwork?

Tints, Shades, and Intensity Tint- are made by mixing a hue with white. Shades- are made by mixing a hue with black. Intensity- of a hue refers to its brightness or dullness. Pure unmixed colors are most intense. Mixing Tips- To mix a tint, begin with white paint on your palette. Add a small amount of color and mix the paints. Add color in small amounts to reach the tint you want. To mix a shade, add a little black. Add black in small dots, because it can darken the color very fast!

Artist-Vincent Van Gogh Painting- The Red Vineyard, 1888

Notice how Van Gogh's use of complementary colors makes the blue clothing of the figures stand out against the orange of the plants. The intensity of the colors adds to the color scheme’s effect.

Sketchbook Homework/Color Scheme Sketches Make 3 quick sketches of the same scene. Use colored pencils to give each sketch a different color scheme. Make one sketch’s color scheme monochromatic, one analogous and one complementary. Make notes about how each color scheme changes the mood of the drawing.

Texture Texture- is the way an object feels to touch, or the way it may look. Tactile texture- or actual texture is the way a surface feels to the touch. An alligator’s skin has tactile texture. Visual texture- is the way a surface looks like it would feel. A painting of an alligator’s skin might appear rough, but if you were to touch the painting, it would not actual feel like an alligator.

Artist-Barbara Benedetti Newton Watercolor with colored pencil- Fancy 2002

In the drawing, the apples look so real that it seems like you could pick one up and eat it! Newton used visual texture to show the smooth shiny surfaces of the apples and the silver plate. Notice how the ribbon appears soft, silky, and shiny. How do these textures contrast with those of the lace?

Sketchbook Homework/Texture Closely observe the variety of textures in your bedroom. Make sketches of some of these textures. Next to each sketch indicate where you observed the texture. Now create a composition using the texture you sketched.