Elements of Painting

Knowing the different elements of a painting is like knowing the backbone of a certain structure. Like
knowing the hidden details in a blueprint of a building, these elements are essential to further understand the
composition of each painting’s techniques and style. With these elements of painting, an artist will have a
comprehensive understanding of the arts properly in an easy way.

What are all the essential elements of painting and how these elements affect artists from different
painting media? Which elements of a painting are considered the fundamental structure of arts? Are all these
elements of painting known to the artist?

The Essential Elements of Painting and Their Important Role in Artist Life
If you are wondering what is the importance of knowing all the elements of painting, then to simplify the
answer is, the elements of painting serves as the basic and common interaction of arts to our lives. It is the
fundamental component of knowing how one artist communicates to another and how to formally describe the art
that was created or the work in progress of arts. Though you cannot find all the elements under one painting
surface, however, there may be at least two to three elements together.

These elements are essential to an artist life as they built the world of art and the best way to further give
the right words for every artwork that is made. Creating the best possible artwork and trademark or masterpiece
of an artist is by working with the elements of painting. Every texture of the painting, the colors that were used to
create it, the value, tone, lines and shapes and the movement when this certain painting was created can somehow
be visible and can greatly contribute to the overall appearance and impact of art in our lives.

The Fundamental Elements of Painting

To sum up all the essential and fundamental elements of painting, then there should be at least 10 of them.
Let us break down each element and find which one or two are always present in your artwork.

1. Color – is the most important element in working with arts. The foundation of all paintings and how one
work of art affects the artist and the spectator depends on the colors that
are present in the painting. One artist can determine the right feeling
towards art by simply looking at the colors that were used to create the
art piece.
You can describe the painting based on the colors the artist used
with it, it can either be cold or warm base on these colors. It is indeed
the element that represents the heart of every masterpiece you’ll ever
see. Traditionally, the artist works with the color theory to determine
and have a comprehensive guide for each color that they used. You can
determine the colors, and intensity by its color, the value and hue are
also other factors on how you can easily determine the color’s tint or
lightfastness.
Color theory is one of the keys to working with color, especially for painters. Each new color you
introduce to a canvas plays a vital role in the perception viewers have of the piece.
 Color can be broken down further into hue, intensity, and value. Also, many artists choose to work with
a mother color when painting. This is a particular paint hue that is mixed into each paint that touches the
canvas and it can bring uniformity

2. Line – While we tend to think of lines when drawing,

painters must also focus on it. After all, every brushstroke
you make creates a line.
Line is defined as a narrow mark made by a brush, or a
line created where two objects or elements meet. It defines
the subject of paintings and helps us imply things such as
movement.
Painters should also be aware of different types of lines.
Among these are implied lines, those that are not drawn but
are instead implied by the brushstrokes around it.
Most of the time, lines are incorporated with drawings
and sketching. Though there are lines with every painting as
well. You may not notice small lines created by your brush
for they are sometimes not that visible to the naked eye.
There are also some lines that you can easily see with every
certain painting technique. Though you may not be aware of the other indirect lines created in paintings,
there really are different types of lines you will learn along the way. Lines that are created by your paintbrush
are some of the elements present in your artwork. Just like colors, these lines are essential in creating a
dynamic painting.

3. Tone – Tone and value are used interchangeably in painting. It is, essentially, how light or dark a paint is
when you strip away the color. Understanding how to use it can
greatly affect the way your art is perceived.
Every color of paint has an almost endless variety of tones
available to it. You can mix it with mediums and neutral paints to
adjust its tone however you like. Some paintings have a very
limited range of tones while others include stark contrasts in tones.
At its most basic, tone can be best seen in grayscale: Black is
the darkest value and white the brightest. A well-rounded painting
often has both of these, with highlights and shadows adding to the
overall effect of the piece.
Just like colors and lines, tones are essential to the painting
that you are creating. It can be found in the shadows on the artwork that you did or the highlights of the main
subject of your painting. The tone varies depending on the style that the painter wants to have in their
artwork. This can range from how light or dark the painting can get.

4. Shapes/Form – Every piece of artwork includes the element of

shape, which ties into line and space. In essence, a shape is an enclosed
area that is made when lines meet. When that shape takes on a third
dimension (as in sculpture or some mixed media), we then also
have formed.
Artists often train themselves to see the shapes in everything. By
breaking down the basic shapes of a subject, it creates an accurate
representation of it in paintings and drawings.
Additionally, shapes may be either geometric or organic. The former
are the triangles, squares, and circles we're all familiar with. The latter are
those shapes that are not well-defined or those found in nature.
Though it can be tricky if you are not so familiar as to how will you categorize this one. To simplify, the
shapes that are present on a painting can be classified as organic if you can find this shape inclined with
nature. On the other hand, there are also some geometric shapes that can be found in some paintings, these
are mostly considered as the basic shapes that you can see all around or as you study them. Most artists create
shapes with their artworks, be that organically or not. There will always be s shape present in each painting.

5. Space or Volume – Space (or volume) is another crucial element in any art and it can be used to great
effect in paintings. When talking about space in art, we think
of the balance between positive and negative space.
Positive space is the subject itself while the negative
space is the area of a painting around it. Artists can play with a
balance between these two spaces to further influence how
viewers interpret their work.
The element of art that can sometimes be crucial to the
overall appearance of the painting. These depend on the part of
the painting that affects the subject and the surroundings of
your main subject.

6. Texture – Paintings are the perfect medium to play with texture as well. This can be interpreted as a
pattern within the painting or the brushstrokes
themselves.
Some paints, particularly oils, are thicker and how
they're applied on the canvas or board can give the work
more depth because of the texture. For instance, if you take
the color out of a painting by Van Gogh and view it in black
and white, the texture of his brushstrokes stands out
dramatically. Similarly, impasto painting relies on very deep
textures.
Texture can also be a challenge for painters. Replicating
the shiny surface of glass or metal or the rough feel of a rock
can be difficult. It is in objects like these that a painter can
rely on the other elements of art—line, color, and tone, in
particular—to further define the texture.
There are different ways on how you can explain texture
when it comes to painting. Though some create the depth of
each painting with the brushstrokes present in each artwork.
This element can sometimes be a great challenge for an artist especially if you are working with certain
texture present with nature to replicate it personally. That is why you will need to use other elements to
showcase the texture on the painting.

7. Composition – The elements above are essential to paintings,

though quite often we also add four more elements to the list.
One of the most important for any artist is composition.
Composition is the arrangement of the painting. Where you
place the subject, how the background elements support it, and
every little piece that you add to the canvas becomes part of the
composition. It is critical to how the work is perceived.
There are also "elements of composition" to consider. These
include unity, balance, movement, rhythm, focus, contrast, pattern,
and proportion. Each plays an important role in every painting,
which is why artists focus so much of their time on composition.
The element that creates a sense of uniformity or balance to the
overall appearance of paintings. It is necessary to take note of how the
composition of the painting will affect the viewers or artist point of view.
8. Direction or Paintings Perception – Direction may also be used to refer to perspective. Where your
place objects or how they're used in proportion to others can direct
a viewer through the art. In this sense, it's related to movement as
well and direction is an important aspect of design, no matter the
medium.
Painters are also concerned about the direction of the light in
their paintings. All of the painting's elements must have light
falling on them from the same direction or viewers will be
confused. They may not realize it, but something will disturb them
if highlights and shadows change from one side of the painting to
another. The way a painting will be placed will affect its overall
appearance. That goes with the amount of light that will hit the
painting to corresponds to the details present on each artwork. The
light place an important part of how spectators can realize the
paintings complete details and how the artist wants to direct them
to that certain experience and feeling while looking at the artwork.

In art, the word "direction" is a broad term that can be interpreted in many ways. You might, for instance,
consider the format of a painting part of its direction. A vertical canvas can work better than a horizontal one
for certain subjects and vice versa.

9. Size – "Size" refers to the scale of the painting itself as well as the scale of proportions within the
painting's elements.
The relationship between objects can also unknowingly disrupt a viewer's perception and
enjoyment. For instance, an apple that is larger than an elephant is not natural. Less dramatically, we expect
someone's eyes, lips, and nose to have a particular
balance in size.
When it comes to determining the s
what the intended buyer might have room for.
On many levels, size is one of the biggest
considerations for any artist.
This element of art is one of the things that an artist
always took into consideration when creating a
certain artwork. There are some details that need to
be in proportion to reality, especially if you are
working with portraits or still life paintings.
Regardless of anything, the size matters as where the
painting will be placed.

10. Movement/ Time – All of the other elements affect how the viewer perceives and looks at a painting. This
is where time and movement come into play.
 Time can be viewed as the amount of time a viewer spends looking at a piece. Are there various
elements that continue to capture their attention? Is it intriguing
enough so they stop and don't keep walking past your art?
Admittedly, this is one of the elements that concern many artists.
Movement is also one of the elements of composition,
though its importance should not be overlooked in that grouping.
This refers to how you direct the viewer's eye within the painting.
By including various elements in strategic places and incorporating
the other elements of art, you can keep viewers moving around the
painting. This, in turn, increases the time they spend looking at it.
Of all the rest of the elements of art and painting, this is the most
crucial part after all. The time that a spectator will spend looking at
your artwork will define the ways in how their eyes will focus on
every detail that you wish to manipulate with them. With a complete curiosity of movements to your
painting, you are taking their time by allowing them to further explore your artwork as well.

Prepared by:

RIZA JEAN HITIAYON-BOTE

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