The Visual Elements of Art

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The Visual Elements of Art

• These are what make up a work of Art.
• But what are they?

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The composition of a work of Art is made up of
the arrangement of the Elements

• LINE
• SHAPE
• FORM
• COLOUR
• TONE
• TEXTURE
• PATTERN

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LINE

• A line is a mark made by a tool. It has a
  beginning and an end.
• Lines can suggest movement.
• Lines can give a sense of tranquility

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Terry Winters - static or active?
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Franz Kline
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Henri Matisse. How do these compare with the
previous art works?
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Bridget Riley A British artist whose has made
her artistic career out of lines.
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Brett Whiteley
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How does the size of the lines change? What
effect does this create?
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Paul Klee What have his lines become?
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COLOUR

• Colour is a very expressive and exciting Visual
  Element. It appeals strongly to our senses and
  emotions.
• Colour can communicate many different emotions
  and concepts. Some artists communicate their
  ideas through colour alone.
• Colour can be very powerful and needs to be used
  wisely.

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Colour Wheel
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Colour Theory

• PRIMARY COLOURS
• Yellow, red, blue
• Cannot be created
• SECONDARY COLOURS
• Orange, green, purple/violet
• Created by mixing 2 primary colours together
• TERTIARY COLOURS
• What are these?

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Colour Theory

• Complementary Colours.
• Monochromatic colours
• Harmonious/Analgous Colours

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Primary Colours
What effect does the use of primary colours
create?
Roy Lichtenstein
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Complementary Colours
Paul Gauguin was known for his use of colour
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Monochromatic colour
What does the use of a monochromatic
colour scheme emphasise? How might the image
be interpreted if it was in black, grey and
white?
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Colour can suggest mood
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Tone
Is used to make objects and shapes look more
three dimensional. It can be used to add depth
to an artwork. It brings out areas of light and
dark.
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Tonal contrast can be strong and dramatic as used
by Rembrandt
Or subtle and subdued as used by Gwen John
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In this painting by Mattia Preti, the dramatic
contrast of tone Has been used for what
purpose? This technique is called chiaroscuro.
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TEXTURE

• Is the surface sensation.
• It can be real.
• It can be simulated.
• Which is this?
• Simulated textures copy or imitate real textures
  but remain flat.

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• Rough
• Smooth
• Shiny
• Furry
• Grained
• Prickly
• Which is this?
• Is it real or simulated?
• Escher

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Van Gogh - real or simulated? What effect does
his use of texture create?
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Anselm Kiefer takes the use of real textures
to extremes.
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SHAPE AND FORM

• A shape is an area defined by a line, an edge, a
  colour or a texture
• Shapes are flat and have only two dimensions -
  height and width
• They can be geometric as if made with a ruler
• They can be organic - uneven, irregular and
  natural looking.

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Matisse made images with cut out paper shapes.
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FORM

• Like shapes forms have height and width but also
  depth
• Forms are solid they have volume and occupy space
• Tone can be used to suggest form on a two
  dimensional shape
• Form is three dimensional

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PATTERN

• Lines and shapes combined create pattern
• Can be planned and designed
• Can be haphazard and quite random.

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• What does Klimts use of pattern convey or
  suggest?

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• What is the inspiration here.
• What is Sarah Morris conveying in her work?
• Why do you think pattern is so important to human
  nature?

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• Jackson Pollocks patterns.
• Are they intentional or do we try to find order
  in the chaos?

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Homework

• Analyse each of the visual elements.
• Define what they are
• Illustrate with examples of artists' work and
  explain HOW the artist has the element and what
  effect that creates
• Do some practical work of your own to illustrate
  an aspect of each element.
• One page per element.
• Due Wk 3A