Fundamentals of art.

Composition and elements of composition (visual

arts)

The Art of Painting by Jan Vermeer

In the visual arts, composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or

'ingredients' in a work of art, as distinct from the subject. It can also be thought of as the
organization of the elements of art according to the principles of art.
The composition of a picture is different from its subject, what is depicted, whether a moment
from a story, a person or a place. Many subjects, for example Saint George and the Dragon, are
often portrayed in art, but using a great range of compositions even though the two figures are
typically the only ones shown.
The term composition means 'putting together' and can apply to any work of art, from music
to writing to photography, that is arranged using conscious thought. In the visual arts,
 composition is often used interchangeably with various terms such as design, form, visual
ordering, or formal structure, depending on the context. In graphic design for press
and desktop publishing, composition is commonly referred to as page layout.

The various visual elements, known as elements of design, formal elements, or elements of

art, constitute the vocabulary with which the visual artist composes. These elements in the
overall design usually relate to each other and to the whole art work.
The elements of design are:

 Line — the visual path that enables the eye to move within the piece
 Shape — areas defined by edges within the piece, whether geometric or
organic
 Color — hues with their various values and intensities
 Texture — surface qualities which translate into tactile illusions
 Value — Shading used to emphasize form
 Form — 3-D length, width, or depth
 Space — the space taken up by (positive) or in between (negative)
objects

Line
Lines are optical phenomena that allow the artist to direct the eye of the viewer. The optical
illusion of lines do exist in nature and visual arts elements can be arranged to create this illusion.
The viewer unconsciously reads near continuous arrangement of different elements and subjects
at varying distances. Such elements can be of dramatic use in the composition of the image.
These could be literal lines such as telephone and power cables or rigging on boats. Lines can
derive also from the borders of areas of differing color or contrast, or sequences of discrete
elements. Movement is also a source of lines, where the blurred movement renders as a line.[1]
Subject lines contribute to both mood and linear perspective, giving the viewer the illusion of
depth. Oblique lines convey a sense of movement and angular lines generally convey a sense of
dynamism and possibly tension. Lines can also direct attention towards the main subject of
picture, or contribute to organization by dividing it into compartments. The artist may exaggerate
or create lines perhaps as part of their message to the viewer. Many lines without a clear subject
point suggest chaos in the image and may conflict with the mood the artist is trying to evoke.
[
citation needed]
Straight left lines create different moods and add affection to visual arts. A line's angle and its
relationship to the size of the frame influence the mood of the image. Horizontal lines,
commonly found in landscape photography, can give the impression of calm, tranquility, and
space. An image filled with strong vertical lines tends to have the impression of height and
grandeur. Tightly angled convergent lines give a dynamic, lively, and active effect to the image.
Strongly angled, almost diagonal lines produce tension in the image. The viewpoint of visual art
is very important because every different perspective views different angled lines. This change of
perspective elicits a different response to the image. By changing the perspective only by some
degrees or some centimetres lines in images can change tremendously and a totally different

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feeling can be transported. Straight lines are also strongly influenced by tone, color, and
repetition in relation to the rest of the image.
Compared to straight lines, curves provide a greater dynamic influence in a picture. They are
also generally more aesthetically pleasing, as the viewer associates them with softness. In
photography, curved lines can give graduated shadows when paired with soft-directional
lighting, which usually results in a very harmonious line structure within the image.

Color
There are three properties of color. Hue, brightness or chroma, and value. Hue is simply the
name of a color, (red, yellow, and blue, etc.) Brightness and chroma refer to the intensity and
strength of the color. A high chroma color is more pure and less greyed than a low chroma color.
The lightness and darkness to a color is the value. Color also has the ability to work within our
emotions. Given that, we can use color to create mood. It can also be used as tone, pattern, light,
movement, symbol, form, harmony, and contrast. [2] [3]
Texture
Texture refers to how an object feels or how it looks like it may feel if it were touched. There are
two ways we experience texture, physically and optically. Different techniques can be used to
create physical texture, which allows qualities of visual art to be seen and felt. This can include
surfaces such as metal, sand, and wood. Optical texture is when the illusion of physical texture is
created. Photography, paintings, and drawings use visual texture to create a more realistic
appearance. [4]
Value
Lightness and darkness are known as value in visual art. Value deals with how light reflects off
objects and how we see it. The more light that is reflected, the higher the value. White is the
highest or lightest value while black is the lowest or darkest value. Colors also have value, for
example, yellow has a high value while blue and red have a low value. If you take a black and
white picture of a colorful scene, all you are left with are the values. This important element of
design, especially in painting and drawing, allows the artist to create the illusion of light through
value contrast.[5]
Form
The term form can mean different things in visual art. Form suggests a three-dimensional object
in space. It is also described as the physical nature of the artwork, such as sculptures. It can also
be looked at as art form, which can be expressed through fine art. A form encloses volume, has
length, width, and height, unlike a shape, which is only two-dimensional. Forms that are
mathematical, a sphere, pyramid, cube, cylinder, and cone, are known as geometric forms.
Organic forms are typically irregular and asymmetrical. This form can be found in nature, such
as flowers, rocks, trees, etc., but can also be seen in architecture. [6]
Forms in drawing and painting convey the illusion of three-dimensional form through lighting,
shadows, value, and tone. The more contrast in value, the more pronounced the three-
dimensional form is. Forms with little value appear flatter than those with greater variation and
contrast.

Space
Space is the area around, above, and within an object. Photographers can capture space,
architects build space, and painters create space. This element is found in each of the visual arts.
It can be positive or negative, open or closed, shallow or deep, and two-dimensional or three-

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dimensional. In drawing or painting, space is not actually there, but the illusion of it is. Positive
space is the subject of the piece. The empty spaces around, above, and within, is negative space.

The elements of art are the building blocks of all art. Every piece of art
ever created includes one or more of these elements. Learn about
line, color, shape, form, value, space, and texture.

Defining the Elements

1. Have you ever looked at an artwork and wondered how the artist
decided to begin making it? All art, whether two-dimensional like a
painting or three-dimensional like a sculpture, contains one or
more of the seven elements of art. These elements are:
 Line
 Color
 Shape
 Form
 Value
 Space
 Texture

2. They are the basic building blocks of making art.

3. So how exactly does an artist use the elements? Working as an
artist and creating an artwork is similar to being a chef and cooking
a meal. The chef uses a list of ingredients combined together in
certain amounts to produce a unique recipe. The artist uses art
elements and combines them in different ways to create a unique
piece of art. The elements of art are like the ingredients in a recipe.
Sometimes artworks contain only one or two elements. Sometimes
they have all the elements of art. One thing is certain, however.
There would be absolutely no art without the seven elements of art.

Using the Elements

4. Let's say you are the artist. You've decided to create a drawing
using a pencil on a white piece of paper. You might use the pencil
to create the drawing using lines. A line is an element of art. It is a

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 mark made upon a surface. In order to be a line, the mark's length
must be longer than its width. There are many different types of
lines, including horizontal, vertical, wavy, diagonal, and more.
5. You might decide you want to continue working on your drawing
and enclose some of those lines. The enclosed lines are then
transformed into another element of art called shape. Shapes are
areas of enclosed space that are two-dimensional. Shapes are flat,
and can only have height and width. The two different categories of
shapes are: geometric and organic. Geometric shapes are
mathematical, like circles and squares. Organic shapes come
from nature, like clouds and leaves. This collage by Henri Matisse
uses a collection of organic shapes.
6. If you decide to vary the size and placement of your lines and
shapes, you will use another element. This is the element called
space. Space deals with the illusion of depth on a flat surface. You
might overlap shapes to make some look closer, or make objects
in the distance smaller to look like they are farther away. The
element of space can be used in three-dimensional art as well.
7. The drawing you've created now uses three elements of art. You
might consider using your pencil to darken some shapes or lines.
Or you might use your eraser to make some areas very light like
the white paper. Now you've used a fourth element of art. This is
the one called value. Valuerefers to the lightness and darkness of
areas in an artwork. White is the lightest value, while black is the
darkest. A value scale shows a range of lights and darks.
8. What if, however, you've decided to create a sculpture instead of a
drawing? Unlike a flat drawing, a sculpture can be seen from
various viewpoints. In this case, you could use the element of
form. Form is the three-dimensional version of a shape. An artwork
that has the art element of form can be viewed from different
angles, and is not flat

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 The elements of art are the building blocks of all art. Every piece of art
ever created includes one or more of these elements. Learn about
line, color, shape, form, value, space, and texture.

LINE
"A Line is a Dot that went for a walk" Paul Klee

         
     Line is one of the most important Elements of Art. Imagine creating a
painting, sculpture or design without drawing lines to divide the paper or
canvas into shapes and forms!. Think about how important a role Line plays
in the creation process. Lines can communicate an idea or express a feeling.
They can appear static or active. Lines define objects. We will take a look at
how artists use line expressively.
  
Line 
  is the path of a moving point:horizontal, vertical, diagonal.
  is the mark left by a tool: brush, pencil, pen, etc.
  defines the position and directionof a design, image or form.
  Types of line include vertical, horizontal, diagonal, contour or a
combination of these.
  They may be curved, straight, thick, thin, smooth, long, short and so
forth.
  Lines are used to create shape, pattern, texture, space, movement
and optical illusion in design.
  The use of lines allows artist to demonstrate delicacy or force.
  Curves may take us slowly uphill, or turn sharply twisting our mind
as they turn.
   a line can express various moods and feelings.

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Look around your class. Look at the edge of objects ... you
are looking at lines!.
Learn more about lines  and practice drawing with them.

Engraving. Germany, 1568.

Pablo Picasso

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 Still life, 1984. Miquel Barceló.

  

"Stripe Song" by J. Seeley. 1981.

Outline. Outlines show the edges of the shapes and forms being drawn.
Countour Line. Countour lines not onlyshow the edges of the shapes being
drawn, but 
they also go onto the surface of the object to help describe the 3-
dimensional qualities of 
the form.

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Gesture Lines. They indicate action and physical movement. They are done
quickly in  
the form of a rough sketch as the model moves. Therefore they lack detail.

Form
The term form can mean several different things in art. Form is one of the
seven elements of art and connotes a three-dimensional object in space. A formal
analysis of a work of art describes how the elements and principles of artwork
together independent of their meaning and the feelings or thoughts they may
evoke in the viewer. Finally, form is also used to describe the physical nature of
the artwork, as in metal sculpture, an oil painting, etc.
An Element of Art
Form is one of the seven elements of art which are the visual tools that an
artist uses to compose a work of art. In addition, to form, they include
line, shape, value, color, texture, and space. As an Element of
Art, form connotes something that is three-dimensional and encloses
volume, having length, width, and height, versus shape, which is two-
dimensional, or flat. A form is a shape in three dimensions, and, like
shapes, can be geometric or organic.

Geometric forms are forms that are mathematical, precise, and can be

named, as in the basic geometric forms: sphere, cube, pyramid, cone, and
cylinder. A circle becomes a sphere in three dimensions, a square becomes
a cube, a triangle becomes a pyramid or cone.
Geometric forms are most often found in architecture and the built
environment, although you can also find them in the spheres of planets and
bubbles, and in the crystalline pattern of snowflakes, for example.
Organic forms are those that are free-flowing, curvy, sinewy, and are not
symmetrical or easily measurable or named. They most often occur in
nature, as in the shapes of flowers, branches, leaves, puddles, clouds,
animals, the human figure, etc., but can also be found in the bold and
fanciful buildings of the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi (1852 to 1926) as
well as in many sculptures.
Form in Sculpture
Form is most closely tied to sculpture, since it is a three-dimensional art
and has traditionally consisted almost primarily of form, with color and

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texture being subordinate. Three-dimensional forms can be seen from more
than one side. Traditionally forms could be viewed from all sides, called
sculpture in-the-round, or in relief, those in which the sculpted elements
remain attached to a solid background, including bas-relief, haut-relief,
and sunken-relief. Historically sculptures were made in the likeness of
someone, to honor a hero or god.
The twentieth century broadened the meaning of sculpture, though,
heralding the concept of open and closed forms, and the meaning continues
to expand today. Sculptures are no longer only representational, static,
stationery, forms with a solid opaque mass that has been carved out of
stone or modeled out of bronze. Sculpture today may be abstract,
assembled from different objects, kinetic, change with time, or made out of
unconventional materials like light or holograms, as in the work of
renowned artist James Turrell.

Sculptures may be characterized in relative terms as closed or open forms.

A closed-form has a similar feeling to the traditional form of a solid opaque
mass. Even if spacesexist within the form, they are contained and confined.
A closed-form has an inward-directed focus on the form, itself, isolated
from ambient space. An open form is transparent, revealing its structure,
and therefore has a more fluid and dynamic relationship with the ambient
space. Negative space is a major component and activating force of an open
form sculpture. Pablo Picasso (1881 to 1973), Alexander Calder (1898 to
1976), and Julio Gonzalez (1876 to 1942) are some artists who created open
form sculptures, made from wire and other materials.

Henry Moore (1898 to 1986), the great English artist who, along with his
contemporary, Barbara Hepworth (1903 to 1975), were the two most
important British sculptors in modern art, both revolutionized sculpture by
being the first to pierce the form of their biomorphic (bio=life,
morphic=form) sculptures. She did so in 1931, and he did in 1932, noting
that “even space can have form” and that “a hole can have as much shape
meaning as a solid mass.” 
Form in Drawing and Painting
In drawing and painting, the illusion of three-dimensional form is conveyed
through the use of lighting and shadows, and the rendering of value and
tone. Shape is defined by the outer contour of an object, which is how we

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first perceive it and begin to make sense of it, but light, value, and shadow
help to give an object form and context in space so that we can fully identify
it.
For example, assuming a single light source on a sphere, the highlight is where
the light source hits directly; the mid-tone is the middle value on the sphere
where the light does not hit directly; the core shadow is the area on the sphere
that the light does not hit at all and is the darkest part of the sphere; the cast
shadow is the area on surrounding surfaces that is blocked from the light by the
object; reflected highlight is light that is reflected back up onto the object from
the surrounding objects and surfaces.

With these guidelines as to light and shading in mind, any simple shape can be
drawn or painted to create the illusion of a three-dimensional form.
The greater the contrast in value, the more pronounced the three-
dimensional form becomes. Forms that are rendered with little variation in
value appear flatter than those that are rendered with greater variation and
contrast.
Historically, painting has progressed from a flat representation of form and
space to a three-dimensional representation of form and space, to
abstraction. Egyptian painting was flat, with the human form presented
frontally but with the head and feet in profile. The realistic illusion of form
did not occur until the Renaissance along with the discovery of perspective.
Baroque artists such as Caravaggio (1571 to 1610), explored the nature of
space, light, and the three-dimensional experience of space further through
the use of chiaroscuro, the strong contrast between light and dark. The
portrayal of the human form became much more dynamic, with chiaroscuro
and foreshortening giving the forms a sense of solidity and weight and
creating a powerful sense of drama. Modernism freed artists to play with
the form more abstractly. Artists such as Picasso, with the invention
of Cubism, broke up the form to imply movement through space and time.
Analyzing an Artwork
When analyzing a work of art, a formal analysis is separate from that of its
content or context. A formal analysis means applying the elements and
principles of art to analyze the work visually. The formal analysis can reveal
compositional decisions that help to reinforce content, the work’s essence,
meaning, and the artist’s intent, as well as give clues as to historical context.

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For example, the feelings of mystery, awe, and transcendence that are evoked
from some of the most enduring Renaissance masterpieces, such as the Mona
Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci, 1517), The Creation of Adam(Michelangelo,
1512), the Last Supper(Leonardo da Vinci, 1498) are distinct from the formal
compositional elements and principles such as line, color, space, shape, contrast,
emphasis, etc., the artist used to create the painting and that contribute to its
meaning, effect, and timeless quality.

Shape

SHAPE AS A VISUAL ELEMENT OF ART

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FRANCIS CAMPBELL BOILEAU CADELL (1883-1937)

The Blue Fan, 1922 (oil on canvas)

The Visual Element of Shape can be natural or man-made, regular

or irregular, flat (2-dimensional) or solid (3-dimensional),
representational or abstract, geometric or organic, transparent or
opaque, positive or negative, decorative or symbolic, colored,
patterned or textured.

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The Perspective of Shapes: The angles and curves of shapes
appear to change depending on our viewpoint. The technique we
use to describe this change is called perspective drawing.

The Behaviour of Shapes: Shapes can be used to control your

feelings in the composition of an artwork:

 Squares and Rectangles can portray strength and stability

 Circles and Ellipses can represent continuous movement
 Triangles can lead the eye in an upward movement
 Inverted Triangles can create a sense of imbalance and
tension

Our selection of artworks illustrated below have been chosen

because they all use shape in an inspirational manner. We have
analyzed each of these to demonstrate how great artists use this
visual element as a creative force in their work.

Two Dimensional Shapes

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 M. C. ESCHER (1898-1972)
Reptiles, 1943 (lithograph)

Two Dimensional Shapes: Most of the art we see is two-dimensional: a

drawing, a painting, a print or a photograph which is usually viewed as a
flat surface. Most two-dimensional art tries to create the illusion of three
dimensions by combining the visual elements to a greater or lesser
degree.

In Escher's lithograph, the artist is playing with the illusion of two and
three-dimensions in the same image. From an interlocking pattern drawn

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on a page of his sketchbook, the flat outlined shapes of the reptiles are
brought to life by the addition of tone. They step out of their two-
dimensional world into a three dimensional landscape of solidly rendered
objects that have been selected for their variety of shapes and textures.
After a short journey exploring this new environment they return to their
original format by losing their tone and adopting their former position
within the design - a return trip between two and three dimensions.

Texture

Texture is one of seven elements of art. It is used to describe the way a

three-dimensional work actually feels when touched. In two-dimensional
work, such as painting, it may refer to the visual "feel" of a piece.
Understanding Texture in Art
At its most basic, texture is defined as a tactile quality of an object's surface.
It appeals to our sense of touch, which can evoke feelings of pleasure,
discomfort, or familiarity. Artists use this knowledge to elicit emotional
responses from people who view their work. The reasons for doing so vary
greatly, but texture is a fundamental element in many pieces of art.

Take rocks, for example. A real rock might feel rough or smooth and it
definitely feels hard when touched or picked up. A painter depicting a rock
would create the illusions of these qualities through the use of other
elements of art such as color, line, and shape.

Textures are described by a whole host of adjectives. Rough and smooth are

two of the most common, but they can be further defined. You might also
hear words like coarse, bumpy, rugged, fluffy, lumpy, or pebbly when
referring to a rough surface. For smooth surfaces, words like polished,
velvety, slick, flat, and even can be used.

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Texture in Three-Dimensional Art
Three-dimensional artwork relies on texture and you cannot find a piece of
sculpture or pottery that does not include it. Fundamentally, the materials
used give a piece of art texture. That may be marble, bronze, clay, metal, or
wood, but this sets the foundation for the work feels if it were touched.

As the artist develops a piece of work, they can add more texture through
technique. One might sand, polish, or buff a surface smooth or they might
give it a patina, bleach it, gouge it, or otherwise rough it up.

Many times you will see texture used in patterns such a series of
intersecting diagonals lines that give a surface a basketweave look.
Rectangles staggered in rows offer the texture of a brick pattern and
concentric, irregular ellipses may imitate the texture of wood grain.

Three-dimensional artists often use a contrast of texture as well. One

element of an artwork may be smooth as glass while another element is
rough and mangled. This contradiction adds to the impact of the work and
can help convey their message just as strongly as a piece made of one
uniform texture.

Texture in Two-Dimensional Art

Artists working in a two-dimensional medium also work with texture and
the texture may either be real or implied. Photographers, for instance,
almost always work with the reality of texture when creating art. Yet, they
can enhance or downplay that through the manipulation of light and angle.
In painting, drawing, and printmaking, an artist often implies texture
through the use of brushstrokes lines as seen in crosshatching. When
working with the impasto painting technique or with collage, the texture
can be very real and dynamic.
Watercolor painter Margaret Roseman, said, "I aim for an abstract element
of a realistic subject and use texture to add interest and suggest
depth." This sums up the way many two-dimensional artists feel about
texture

Texture is something that artists can play with through the manipulation of
their medium and materials. For instance, you can draw a rose on a rough
textured paper and it won't have the softness of one drawn on a smooth
surface. Likewise, some artists use less gesso to prime canvas because they
want that texture to show through the paint they apply to it.

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Texture Is Everywhere
As in art, you can see texture everywhere. To begin to correlate reality with
the artwork you see or create, take the time to really notice the textures
around you. The smooth leather of your chair, the coarse grains of the
carpet, and the fluffy softness of the clouds in the sky all invoke feelings.

As artists and those who appreciate it, regular exercise in recognizing

texture can do wonders for your experience.

Space

Space, as one of the classic seven elements of art, refers to the distances or areas
around, between, and within components of a piece. Space can
be positive or negative, open or closed, shallow or deep, and two-
dimensional or three-dimensional. Sometimes space isn't explicitly
presented within a piece, but the illusion of it is.
Using Space in Art
The American architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said that "Space is the
breath of art." What Wright meant was that unlike many of the other
elements of art, space is found in nearly every piece of art created. Painters
imply space, photographers capture space, sculptors rely on space and
form, and architects build space. It is a fundamental element in each of the
visual arts.

Space gives the viewer a reference for interpreting an artwork. For instance,
you may draw one object larger than another to imply that it is closer to the
viewer. Likewise, a piece of environmental art may be installed in a way
that leads the viewer through space.

Negative and Positive Space

Art historians use the term positive space to refer to the subject of the piece
itself—the flower vase in a painting or the structure of a sculpture. Negative
space refers to the empty spaces the artist has created around, between, and
within the subjects.
Quite often, we think of positive as being light and negative as being dark.
This does not necessarily apply to every piece of art. For example, you
might paint a black cup on a white canvas. We wouldn't necessarily call the

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cup negative because it is the subject: The black value is negative, but the
space of the cup is positive.
Opening Spaces

 Example.
Outdoor sculpture by Henry Moore is one of several works, by various artists, arranged around the grounds
of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, [Link] Arfin

In three-dimensional art, the negative spaces are typically the open or

relatively empty parts of the piece. For example, a metal sculpture may
have a hole in the middle, which we would call the negative space. Henry
Moore used such spaces in his freeform sculptures such as Recumbent
Figure in 1938, and 1952's Helmet Head and Shoulders.
In two-dimensional art, negative space can have a great impact. Consider
the Chinese style of landscape paintings, which are often
simple compositions in black ink that leave vast areas of white. The Ming
Dynasty (1368–1644) painter Dai Jin's Landscape in the Style of Yan
Wenguiand George DeWolfe's 1995 photograph Bamboo and
Snowdemonstrate the use of negative space. This type of negative space
implies a continuation of the scene and adds a certain serenity to the
work.X
Negative space is also a key element in many abstract paintings. Many
times a composition is offset to one side or the top or bottom. This can be
used to direct the viewer's eye, emphasize a single element of the work, or
imply movement, even if the shapes have no particular meaning. Piet
Mondrian was a master of the use of space. In his purely abstract pieces,
such as 1935's Composition C, his spaces are like panes in a stained glass
window. In his 1910 painting Summer Dune in Zeeland, Mondrian uses
negative space to carve out an abstracted landscape, and in 1911's Still Life
with Gingerpot II, he isolates and defines the negative space of the curved
pot by stacked rectangular and linear forms.X
Space and Perspective
Creating perspective in art relies on the judicious use of space. In a linear
perspective drawing, for instance, artists create the illusion of space to
imply that the scene is three-dimensional. They do this by ensuring that
some lines stretch to the vanishing point.
In a landscape, a tree may be large because it is in the foreground while the
mountains in the distance are quite small. Though we know in reality that the

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tree cannot be larger than the mountain, this use of size gives the scene
perspective and develops the impression of space. Likewise, an artist may choose
to move the horizon line lower in the picture. The negative space created by the
increased amount of sky can add to the perspective and allow the viewer to feel as
if they can walk right into the scene.

Color and value.

COLOR AS A VISUAL ELEMENT OF ART

9.  

WASSILY KANDINSKY (1866-1944)

Autumn Landscape with Boats, 1908 (oil on board)

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[Link] Visual Element of Color has the strongest effect on our emotions.
It is the element we use to create the mood or atmosphere of an
artwork.

[Link] are many different approaches to the use of color in art:

Color as light

Color as tone

Color as pattern

Color as form

Color as symbol

Color as movement

Color as harmony

Color as contrast

Color as mood

[Link] selection of artworks illustrated below have been chosen because

they all use color in an inspirational manner. We have analyzed each
of these to demonstrate how great artists use this visual element as a
creative force in their work.

Color as Light
13. 

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GIACOMO BALLA (1871-1958)
Street Light, 1909 (oil on canvas)

[Link] is the sensation that is stimulated in our brain by different

wavelengths of light. One wavelength will stimulate our perception of
red, another orange, another yellow and so on through all the colors
of the spectrum.

[Link] Balla's beautiful painting of a street lamp is a poetic

impression that represents the physical properties of light. At its
center, the bulb burns with a white heat in the darkness of the night.
Its radiant glow dissolves in concentric waves, each of which diminish

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 in intensity and change color to suggest the different wavelengths of
the spectrum.

[Link] was an Italian Futurist who revered the modernity of urban life.

He painted 'Street Light' at the time when electric lighting was first
introduced to the streets of Rome. It is a Futurist celebration of the
power of technology as a symbol of the new age. The light even
outshines nature herself as the corona of the crescent moon struggles
to compete with its incandescence. The painting technique that Balla
employed was derived from Pointillism, a more scientific approach to
the analysis of color, and as such forms the perfect marriage between
the subject and its execution.

17. 

Color as Tone
18. 

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EMILE NOLDE (1867-1956)
Lake Lucerne, 1930 (watercolor on vellum)

[Link] color combined with a vigorous painting technique are the

key elements of Expressionism in art. Expressionist painting was more
about using color and the physical qualities of a medium to express
your feelings about the subject rather than simply describing it in a
naturalistic fashion.

20.'Lake Lucerne' by Emile Nolde is a classic example of an expressionist

painting technique. It is painted more from memory than from
observation using the natural fluidity of watercolor to mirror the
changing mood of the landscape. First Nolde soaks his paper, in this
case vellum, with water. He then builds up the shapes of the
mountains  with washes in different tones of blue, more intense in the

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 foreground becoming paler in the background.  This creates an
impression of aerial perspective as the tones of the colors  appear to
fade into the distant landscape. He continues using a 'wet on wet'
technique to form the ephemeral layers of clouds and the watery
reflections in the lake. Finally, he applies a spot of yellow which
bleeds over the damp surface to create the glow of the setting sun
which he then repeats on the lake to create its reflection.

[Link] Nolde commented on his own watercolor technique, "I had

always wanted to paint so that I, the painter, would be the medium
through which the colors worked out their own logical development in
the same way that nature creates her own work... I feel at times as
though I myself can do nothing, but nature in and through me can do
a great deal". [1]

Color As Pattern
22. 

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JUAN GRIS (1887-1927)
Violin and Checkerboard, 1913 (oil on canvas)

[Link] Cubism the artist selects the essential features from multiple

viewpoints of the subject and reconstructs them as an abstract
composition. At the drawing stage of a cubist painting, the artist was
often confronted with a confusing structure of lines and shapes to
which he/she would apply patterns of color, tone and texture in an
attempt to organize the spatial arrangement of the composition.

[Link] 'Violin and Checkerboard' by Juan Gris, the artist assigns different

colors to particular shapes which create an asymmetrical pattern of

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 forms arranged around the white cloth at the center of the painting.
This pattern of colors leads the viewer's eye in a clockwise motion
around the picture. Color distributed as irregular pattern is often used
as unifying element in the composition of artworks.

Color as Form
25. 

ANDRÉ DERAIN (1880-1954) 

Portrait of Matisse, 1905 (oil on canvas)

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[Link] create the illusion of form in a painting, artists traditionally added
lighter and darker pigments to the main color of an object in order to
render the naturalistic effects of light and shade. The main
disadvantage of this technique was that much of the intensity of the
original color was sacrificed when it was blended with highlights and
shadows. The Impressionists had introduced a more scientific
approach to the analysis of color to try to solve this problem while
some of the Post Impressionists had begun to use color structurally
(Paul Cézanne and Georges Seurat) and symbolically (Gauguin and Van
Gogh).

[Link] group of artists who were bored with all the various naturalistic,
structural and symbolic approaches to using color in painting
were 'Les Fauves'. They simply wanted to use color that spoke to the
spirit, celebrating its vitality and feel-good factor.

[Link] was a style of painting developed at the start of the 20th

century by Henri Matisse and André Derain. 'Les Fauves' valued
intense color for its emotional impact more than for its ability to
render form. They used colors at their highest pitch with a simplified
drawing technique to express their feelings about their subjects.

[Link] the painting above, André Derain demonstrates how the intensity of
Fauvist color can be used to replace the traditional technique of
rendering form with light and shade. First, Derain simplifies his
drawing of Matisse into angular planes. Next, he selects colors which
are sensitively balanced, paying some respect to their tonal values but
pitched at their maximum intensity. Finally the colors are applied in
slabs of expressive brushwork without any subtle blending. Color and
form now coexist as equals in his painting, both expressing and
describing this exhilarating 'Portrait of Matisse'.

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Value - The Element of Shadow
[Link] word "value" is used a lot around this site and with good
reason.  Value is one of the seven elements of art. Value deals
with the lightness or darkness of a color.  Since we see objects and
understand objects because of how dark or light they are, value is
incredible important to art.  (I'll remind you
that drawing and painting is about seeing.)
[Link] deals directly to light.  We see things because light reflects
off of objects and goes into our eyes.  Our mind processes the light
and rationalizes what we are seeing.  Without light, we cannot see
anything. In order to draw or paint in a way that creates an illusion
of what we normally see, we must fully understand light and how it
reacts on surfaces.  Value is the key to the illusion of light.  This is
why value is so incredibly important to drawing and painting. 

Successful Artwork has a Full Range of Value

[Link] that exhibit a full range of value are generally successful. 
It doesn't matter the type of art you are creating.  As long as there
are dark values in harmony with light values, your artwork will most
likely be aesthetically pleasing. A full range of value means that
they are ample amounts of light values- called tints, and dark
values - called shades.  To be sure that you have a full range of
value in your artwork you may create a value scale... 
33.

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[Link] a value scale, you can be sure that you create a full range of
value.  Many artists use a value scale as they work, identifying
specific values and adding them in appropriate spots.
[Link] this apple for example...

36.
[Link] Source
[Link] we were to take out all color, we would still see the apple and
recognize it as an apple.  In other words, we are just showing the
values of the apple...

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39.

[Link] we take this one step further and isolate eight of the values, we
can see where we would need to draw or paint the values...

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41.

Using Value in Drawings

[Link] whole point to value is to create the illusion of light.  So value
is used to basically create the illusion of highlights and shadows. 
Highlights and shadows combine to create the illusion of a light
source.  Remember, without light we cannot see.  So technically,
without a light source, you have no illusion. 

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