2. Elements of Design
Van Gogh Wheatfield with crows

3. Albrecht Durer Portrait of Durer’s Mother
Line is perhaps the most basic means of visual communication. It is a mark made on a surface when some tool is drawn across that surface, and may be defined as the visual path left by a moving point.
Albrecht Durer Portrait of Durer’s Mother
Andre Daumier
A Clown

4. Colour is the particular hue that is seen when light is reflected off of an object. Of all the visual elements of art, colour has the most immediate impact on us. Value is the depth of colour or the degree of light and dark
Georges Seurat
Sunday Afternoon on the island a la Grande Jatte
Picasso’s Guernica

5. Shape (and form)
Shape is flat or two- dimensional. Shape is created when actual or implied lines meet to enclose a space. It is an area that stands out from the shape around it because it has a boundary defined either by actual line, or by a change in colour, shading (value) or texture
Henry Moore
Reclining Figure,
Van Gogh
Haystack

6. Texture Paul Klee Albrecht Durer Hare
Texture can be felt and seen; what you touch may not have the same texture as what you see.
Paul Klee
Ad Parnassum Oil on canvas,
Albrecht Durer Hare

7. Space (and depth)
Space is the area around, within, or between the images or component parts of a flat or sculptural work of art.
Raphael
Marriage of the Virgin
Can you spot all the different ways that Raphael creates visual space?
M.C. Escher Sky and Water

8. Principles of Design
Henri Matisse La Dance

9. Balance
In visual arts refers to visual weight. There are 3 types of balance: symetrical,
asymetrical and Radial. Once I have explained the 3 types try to figure out what
two types you see here.
Wassily Kandinsky several circles
Giorgioni Tempest

10. Dominance Denotes the importance of an object or subject in a work of art. Dominance can be obtained through the use of such elements as lines leading the eye to a particular focal point or through the use such elements as colour or size.
Francisco Goya The 3rd of may
How do these artists create Dominance?
Alex Colville Boy and Dog

11. Movement Degas La Classe de Dance Natalia Conchorova The Cyclist
Movement is meant to show activity in a picture. Physical movement can be produced by showing the physical activity i.e. skating. Compositional movement is created through repetition. Repeated lines or shapes lead the eye around the painting in a rhythmic manner.
Degas La Classe de Dance
Natalia Conchorova The Cyclist

12. Rhythm or Repetition
Van Gogh Starry Night
Trait transversal Kandinsky

13. Variety
Variety adds interest to a work of art. It can be created through the use of contrast in colour or texture, light and dark or through elaboration or adding detail.
Marc Chagall I and the village
Gustave Klimt The Kiss

14. Unity
Unity is achieved through the careful choice of visual elements. The use of similar lines, shapes, colours or textures can increase unity.
Georges Braques L’estaque
Emily Carr B.C. Forest