The New Kuwait-Philippines International School

J’leeb Al-Shuyoukh, State of Kuwait

S.Y. 2019—2020

Contemporary Philippine Arts from

the Regions:
The Elements of Art

Submitted to: Ma’am Maria Lanie Gomez

Submitted by: Fatimah M. Hanaei Hosseini
September 25, 2019
The Elements of Art

Abstract

Art is free – however, to immerse one’s self in a way that would give you the trail towards the
peak, one should know the chisels of art. Art has seven elements: line, shape, form, texture, value,
color, and space. They harmonize together in order to bring out the most eloquent phrases through
the channels of the eyes. One can better themselves in the field when they impregnate themselves
with a message in mind, and one can be the best version they can be when they give birth to it
pristinely.

Art gives life to the mind, and the best way to do so is to use the seven elements together.
These seven can be maneuvered in ways that would build each other and make an artwork more
interactive with the audience. With these, art can be distinct from artist to artist. One’s own way
of manipulating these building blocks would also put up a name for one’s self. If an artwork is
executed with all might, with hands inclusive of these factors, then the prestige of an artist may be
raised to the highest power and inked into the greatest book.

The elements of art are components that would be synthesized into a mixture that draws the
breath of its audience. When realized and used properly, artists, whose expressions are usually in
the form of static visuals, will eventually be able to learn how to make their opuses speak on their
behalf. That is one of the skills that one would need to be called a virtuoso in the field.
The Elements of Art

The Elements of Art

Art is a synonym of expression – and what better way can artists manipulate emotion
than the maneuvering of the art per se? Artists choose to engineer the elements of art in a
structure, yielding a more interactive piece that would cater to the viewer the emotions of the
artist immaculately. There are seven elements tickling their hands – none of these being mutually
exclusive, in fact, all can be used simultaneously.
The first element of art is line, which entails the path an object takes when moving from
point to point. Lines are made to form a work on canvas, or a shape from malleable materials. It is
also used in recorded or digital art forms such as photography and filmography, wherein angles
are taken to establish the desired meaning of an image. They can be vertical, horizontal, diagonal,
straight, curved, or freeform. They are chosen to be thick or thin, light or dark. At times, an artist
may incorporate all of these in a single piece. Rough, dotted, zigzag, dashed, smooth, implied –
every option an artist indulges in defines their personal approach or style in their field, it gives
them their personal title. A perfect example is the league of Salvador Dali, a Spanish painter well-
known for his sketches which exerts line in a way that movement is being visualized.
Another element is shape, wherein a line unites with its first point or when it intersects with
another. Shapes in visual arts are two-dimensional. Anything can be a shape, however, they are
classified into only two: organic or geometric. Organic shapes are free-forms, often unique from
person to person. Geometric shapes, on the other hand, are recognized and oftentimes given labels,
such as squares, rectangles, or triangles. Artists assimilate this knowledge in order to build more
facile techniques in drawing these shapes. The way the lines were pressed to make a shape defines
the way an artist wants their viewers to see their work – realistically or abstractly, as a point of
view in the world.
The next substance is form, entailing the addition of depth in shapes. These effects may be
used to fool the human eye, making the admirer question the work. When given form, the two-
dimensional shapes gain an additional dimension, building a three-dimensional piece of art. Form
may acquire space – be it real or implied. In painting, form is usually implied, as it only creates an
illusion of a three dimension rather than it being actually structure that way. In sculpture, on the
other hand, the form is real because it takes up the three-dimensional space. Shadows and
highlights and the adjustment of these contrasts are important in making the opus, as well as the
manipulation of shapes to solidify the artist’s undercover realism.
The fourth element is texture, the look or feel of a surface. While art may usually be
misconceived as cake for only the eyes, it also aims to stimulate other senses, many artists
specifically scrutinize the mannerisms used to enliven the audience’s sense of touch. Texture can
be real (actual) or implied as well – actual texture can be felt by the sense of touch, but implied
cannot effectuate that actuality. In implied, it is only made to look like a certain texture, however,
when a palm grazes the artwork, they would not feel what they saw. Implied texture can be
materialized by the utility of different kinds of lines and shapes. Sometimes, painting can be real
texture, such as in instances where in paint is applied thickly to form a tangible feel. Artists use
textures from their materials or even from their hands in order to recreate the meaning of their art.
One more is value, how light or dark a given color or hue is. Different values are made by
lightening or darkening a hue. Tones between black and white equate to the low contrast of an
artwork, while high-contrast images will barely have the variety of shades between black and
white. Texture can also change the visuals of value, creating areas of potential contrast. Value
grasps the eye of the viewer, and forms harmony between the artwork and the perceptions of it.
Color, one of the seven, is formed by the reflection of light by a material, is splattered by
an artist to give specific emotions to a work. Every color – primary, secondary, tertiary, can be
changed individually through adjusting their value through tinting, shading and toning. Tinting
involves the adding of the color white, while shading adds black, and toning drops in both. An art
may use only the tints, shades, and tones of one color in an artwork, known to be a monochromatic
color scheme. Artists can make their styles distinctive through inventing their own special colors.
As colors have symbolisms attached to it, as well as psychological triggers, they can be exerted by
artists to dramatize their piece in the minds of the observers.
Finally, space is the area in which the artwork is organized. The space of an artwork
includes the surroundings of an area, as well as its nature. Artworks spawning from mainly this
element are often site-specific works, wherein the location plays the most significant role in
conveying the message of an art. Through utilizing space, be it in two-dimensional form in which
the space is only taken from within the borders of a canvas, an artist can more clearly share their
desired thoughts through the art, involving the interaction with it, and the nature that embellishes
the piece.
The seven elements of art are the building blocks of a masterpiece, as well as of a renowned
artist. It differentiates every work from one another, and pierces a one-of-a-kind style to the name
of their creators. Hence, learning these components meticulously will aid one in shaping their
personal cultures in art, and giving them a guideline on how to convey your emotions through art
more transparently. Through taking this by heart, an artist may grow into a maestro that
orchestrates the feelings of the lovers of their art.
 References

Farr, K., Williams, M., Wanek, J. (2014). Elements of Art: Line. San Francisco,
CA. KQED Art School. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/BDePyEFT1gQ
Farr, K., Williams, M., Wanek, J. (2014). Elements of Art: Shape. San Francisco,
CA. KQED Art School. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/bJzGkZwkHt4
Farr, K., Williams, M., Wanek, J. (2014). Elements of Art: Form. San Francisco,
CA. KQED Art School. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/9DIPs3T2dQk
Farr, K., Williams, M., Wanek, J. (2014). Elements of Art: Texture. San Francisco,
CA. KQED Art School. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/YoOb3JSDAUo
Farr, K., Williams, M., Wanek, J. (2015). Elements of Art: Value. San Francisco,
CA. KQED Art School. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/AAwYHNo31ZQ
Farr, K., Williams, M., Wanek, J. (2015). Elements of Art: Color. San Francisco,
CA. KQED Art School. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/wWW_UbrkBEw
Farr, K., Williams, M., Wanek, J. (2015). Elements of Art: Space. San Francisco,
CA. KQED Art School. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/U11B_0FCn6o