This document provides an introduction to identifying and describing works of art. Identification involves reporting key details like the artist, title, date, medium, and style. Description uses vocabulary like the elements of art (line, shape, color, texture, value, form, and space) and principles of design to characterize what a work looks, sounds or feels like. The elements of art are the basic building blocks and are defined, with examples given of how each element can be manipulated, such as a line's direction, measure and character or a shape's geometric vs organic qualities. Descriptions help bring works of art to life through detailed observation and analysis.

1. Identification vs.
Description &
ART ELEMENTS
ART ELEMENTS

2. Identification
 Identification is the capability to
find, retrieve or report specific
data.

3. How would you identify a
work of Art?
 Name of Artist
 Title of Art Work
 Date
(Year/Century)
 Medium
 Period/Genre
 Country (optional)

4. Identifying a work of art
 Henry Ossawa
Tanner
 The Banjo Lesson
 1893
 Oil on Canvas
 Realism

5. Description
 A description seeks to provide a
definition of something, such as what
it looks like, sounds like or feels like.
 The product of thought bounded by
context, similarities, differences and
interpretation.

6. How do you describe
a work of art?
 Use the vocabulary developed by the
Ancient Roman Architect, Vitruvius.
 Elements of Art
 Principles of Design

7. Elements of Art
 The Elements of Art are the building
blocks for a work of art.
 Artists use the elements in planned
and organized ways.
 They are organized according to the
Principles of Design.

8. Elements of Art
 Color
 Line
 Shape
 Form
 Value
 Texture
 Space

9. Color
 Color is the most
expressive element
of art and is seen by
the way light
reflects off a
surface.
Keith Haring, Untitled, 1982

10. Three Properties of Color
 All colors possess three basic qualities.
 Hue is another word for color and it is basically the
color pigment present.
 Value involves the lightness and darkness of a color.
A color is made lighter by adding white and darker
by adding black. Each color also has natural value.
From lightest to darkest are: Yellow, Orange, Red
and Green, Blue and Violet.
 Intensity is the brightness or dullness of a color. A
color can't be made brighter than the way the
pigment comes to you in the paint tube.

11. Color Wheel
 The Color Wheel is a diagram
that organizes colors. It can be
reproduced by just remembering
the placement of three colors:
Red, Yellow and Blue. These
colors can be used to make all
other colors. Yellow is always
placed at the top, Red to the
left and Blue to the Right
forming an equilateral triangle.
 The purpose of the color wheel
is to show the relationship of
colors to each other. It also
helps us to find ways colors look
good together (color schemes
will be addressed later in this
unit).

12. Primary Colors
 The primary colors are what the color wheel is
based on and are indicated on this color wheel by
the solid black line. They are Yellow, Red and Blue
and they form an equilateral triangle. Yellow is
always at the top, Red to the left, and Blue is to the
right.
 These three colors are primary or basic and can be
used to make all other colors in the world.

13. Secondary Colors
 The secondary colors are the colors
connected by the dotted line. They are
created by mixing two primary colors and
are placed between those color on the color
wheel.
 Yellow + Red = Orange
 Yellow + Blue = Green
 Blue + Red = Violet (also known as Purple)

14. Intermediate Colors
 Intermediate Colors are made by mixing adjacent
primary and secondary colors. They are located on
the color wheel between those two colors. There
are six intermediate colors and are named by using
the primary color first.
 Yellow-Green = Yellow + Green
 Blue-Green = Blue + Green
 Blue-Violet = Blue + Violet
 Red-Violet = Red + Violet
 Red-Orange = Red + Orange
 Yellow-Orange = Yellow + Orange

15. w
s
Warm
Colors
 Suggest
heat and
flames
Uche Okeke
Ana Mmuo, 1961.
(Land of the Dead)

16. Cool Colors
 Suggest
water,
grass, and
shadows
J.A.McNeill Whistler,
Nocturne: BLue & Gold -
Old Battersea Bridge, 1873

17. Line
 Line is the path of
a moving point.
 Lines define the
edges of shapes
and forms.

18. Three Basic Properties of
Line
 Direction
 Measure
 Character

19.  Horizontal Line
Direction
 Horizontal lines follow
the horizon line. (The
horizon line is, in a
general definition,
where the sky and land
meet.) When they are
dominant in a work of
art there is a strong
restful, relaxing,
almost peaceful feeling
within the work of art.
The direction of line is
important because it
can control the viewers
eye movement.

20. Direction
 Diagonal Line
 Diagonal lines are
placed at angles in
the composition.
They are neither
horizontal or
vertical and they
imply motion.

21.  Vertical Lines
Direction
 Straight up and down
lines in a composition
create a sense of
stability. There is often
a sense of structure
and poise about the
work of art also.
 This non-objective
piece is very structured
and stable

22. Measure
 There can be an
infinite number of
combinations of long
and short, thick and
thin lines within a
composition.
 Thin
 Short
 Fat
 Long

23. 
Character
The character of line
shows emotional
qualities and is greatly
dependent on the
nature of the artistic
media that the artist
uses.
 Looking at the
diagram: Can you
locate lines that show
these feelings? Somber,
tired, energetic,
brittle, alive, feminity,
etc.?

24. Shape
 Shape is an area enclosed by line.
Shape is 2 dimensional
It can be Organic or geometric.
This painting by Frank Stella is a
geometric abstraction, 1968

25. Geometric vs. Organic
Shapes
 Geometric Shapes
(such as a square,
triangle, or rectangle)
also called rectilinear.
 Organic Shapes are
free form also called
curvilinear shapes.
Shapes in nature are
usually organic: leaves,
trees, mountains,
clouds, animals.

26. Shape
 Shape is an area enclosed by line, or seen as an area
because of color or value changes. Shapes have two
dimensions. They can be geometric or organic.
 This abstract painting has three people that are
simplified into an arrangement of flat shapes. The
artist used a variety of shapes in creating the painting
that sort of fits together like a puzzle.
 Look for these shape varieties:
 Large, medium & small shapes
 Geometric & organic shapes
 Flat & patterned shapes
 Dark & light shapes
 Positive & negative shapes
 Outlined & un-outlined shapes

27. NEGATIVE SHAPES


THE DISCUS THROWER
by MYRON
Greece 460-450 BC
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28. Form
 Forms are three
Dimensional. They
occupy space or
give the illusion
that they occupy
the space.

29. Rectilinear forms
 Rectilinear forms
are used in
architecture.
Rectilinear forms
have geometric
sides and have
angular corners and
edges.

30. Curvilinear forms
 Natural or curvilinear
forms abound in
nature. These
curvilinear forms are
free form and usually
curving along the
edges. Similar to what
we discussed about
organic shapes but now
we have forms instead.

31. Value
 Value is the
lightness or
darkness of a
surface. It is often
referred to when
shading but value is
also important in
the study of color

32. 10 Steps of Value
 There are 100's of variances of value but we can
easily identify 10 Steps of Value within a work of
art. Can you point out the 10 Steps in this eye
and in the painting above?

33. Texture
 Texture is the
actual surface feel
of an area or the
simulated
appearance of
roughness,
smoothness or many
others.

34. Textural Painting
Techniques
 Depending of the style and technique
that the painter wants to use,
different textural effects can be
achieved.
 By dabbing, dotting, swirling, blending
and others, painters make implied
textures as they create

35. Space
 Space is the
illusion of objects
having depth on the
two dimensional
surface. Linear and
aerial perspective
are used.

36. Linear Perspective
 Linear perspective was devised by the
Renaissance artists to show depth to
help accurately to draw buildings, both
exterior and interior, and other box
like forms.

38. this is the end of the
introduction to the
Art Elements
Art Elements
LET’S MAKE ART!
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