Learning a Visual Vocabulary
•Elements of Art
•Principles of Art
The Elements of ArtThere are 6 elements of art:
Color
Texture
Line
Value
Shape/Form
Space
COLOR
Primary Colors
• Red
• Yellow
• Blue
Secondary Colors
• Orange
• Green
• Violet
Intermediate Colors
• Yellow-Green
• Yellow-Orange
• Blue-Green
• Blue-Violet
• Red-Violet
• Red-Orange
Complementary Colors
• Colors opposite each other on the color wheel
• Ex:
• Red & green
• Blue & orange
• Yellow & violet
Warm Colors
• Hues containing red & yellow
• Advance or come forward in a painting
• Sunlight often painted with warm colors
Cool Colors
• Hues containing green or blue
• Seem to recede or go back into a painting
• Water often painted with cool colors
Texture•The quality of a surface, what you can feel and see
•What are some things that have texture? Describe them
Simulated Texture
•The surface appears to have texture
(an illusion)
Line
• Thick or thin
• Continuous or interrupted
• Straight or curved
• Vertical, horizontal or diagonal
• Geometric or organic
Van Gogh
Kandinsky
Value• The light or dark quality of a color or shape in
a painting• Black is the darkest value while white is the
lightest• Most successful paintings have a contrast in
value• The stronger the contrast, the more dramatic
the painting seems
Shape
• An enclosed space having only two-dimensions
• Can be geometric or organic
Form• Three-dimensional
and encloses volume
• Geometric: cubes, pyramids, boxlike, cones…
• Irregular: pencils, horses, bottles, people…
• The most important element for sculptors
Space• Illusion of space
Artists create an illusion of space in a painting
• Artists use perspective to show depth or space in a painting
• Perspective: the representation of 3D objects and space on a flat surface
Aerial Perspective: Creates the illusion of distance by muting color and blurring detail
as objects get farther away• Far away
–Lighter values
–The edges become softer/more blurred
• Up close
–Values are darker
–Colors are more intense
Analysis of a Painting• Subject matter: Which subject matter best describes your
painting? Why?• Elements of Art: (COMPLETE SENTENCES)
– Color: What kinds of the color? How does the artist use color?
– Texture: What kind of texture, where? How does it contribute to the painting?
– Line: What kinds of line? How does it contribute to the painting?
– Value: Light? Dark? Where? How does it contribute to the painting?
– Shape/Form: What kinds? Where? How does it contribute to the painting?
– Space: Is it deep or shallow space? How do you know? How does it contribute to the painting?