FUNDAMENTALS OF

ART
MASBATE TUDLO ARTISTS’ GROUP
Fundamentals of Art Dan Scott

 The fundamentals of art are what we consider to be the building

blocks of an artwork. They are color, composition, value, form,
brushwork, and perspective.
 The fundamentals are generally universal across different mediums
and styles. Learning them will help you become a well-rounded and
versatile artist.
1.Color

Let us break the color into two parts:

color theory and color mixing and
application. Successful use of color in
painting requires a thorough
understanding of both.
Color Theory

Color theory refers to the body of principles

which address how we see color and what it is.
The theory is much easier to comprehend by
breaking color into its three individual elements,
being hue, saturation, and value.
Color Theory
 Hue: Where the color is located on the color wheel. Red, blue,
yellow, green: these are different hues.
Color Theory

 Saturation: How vivid or rich a color is. A color which is highly

saturated is vivid. A low saturation color is weak and close to gray.
 Value: How light or dark a color is, on a scale of white to black.
High-value colors are light and low-value colors are dark.
Color Mixing and Application
Color mixing and application is all about taking what we know about color and effectively translating that into
our paintings. Most of this comes down to experience and time spent on the canvas. Color mixing exercises and
creating small color studies (like the ones below) are also incredibly valuable for training your use of color.
Dan Scott, Color Studies, 2018
2. Composition

Composition broadly refers to how well all the visual elements work together in an

artwork. The visual elements are the building blocks of artwork and comprise of
line, shape, color, value, space, form, and texture.
A well-designed composition will be inviting and convey the big idea of the artist.
Everything will just look like it fits.
Composition is often discussed in association with the principles of art, which are a
set of criteria which are used to explain how the visual elements are arranged in a
work of art. They comprise of pattern, balance, emphasis, contrast, harmony,
variety, movement, proportion, and scale.
Some other concepts which can assist with your
compositions are:

Rule of Thirds: A technique which involves segmenting the

composition by thirds both horizontally and vertically. The
intersections are considered to be aesthetically pleasing areas to
position focal points. The rule of thirds can also be used to ensure
your composition is not overly symmetrical.

Composition
In the beautiful Ophelia by John Everett Millais, notice how key features
of the painting are positioned around the intersecting lines, in particular,
the female subject's face.

John Everett Millais,

Ophelia, 1851–1852
Simplification: Much of art and composition is about taking what
we see and simplifying it into something clear and concise on the
canvas. It is about simplifying the "noise”.

In John Singer Sargent's Venice in the Fog, notice how much of the detail has been simplified. The people and
boats are depicted with nothing but a few dark color shapes; the buildings in the background are faint and basic;
the water and sky are just thin washes of color.
John Singer Sargent, Venice in the Fog, 1882
Rule of Odds: The idea that objects in odd numbers can appear
more naturalistic than objects in even numbers.

This influenced the painter to have three boats in the painting below, rather than just
two.
Dan Scott, Three Boats at Kingfisher Bay, 2016
3. Value

Value refers to how light or dark a color is. It is one of

three elements of a color (the other two being hue and
saturation), but it is usually considered as a separate
fundamental area due to its importance to the structure
and appeal of an artwork.
 Value…

Arthur Streeton, Golden Summer, Eaglemont, 1889

 Painting with accurate values can go a long
way in giving your art a quality of realism,
even if your brushwork is loose. Take Sir
Arthur Streeton's painting beside for
example. If you look closely, you will notice
that Streeton did not carefully render every
detail. His brushwork was loose and fluent.
But, despite this, there is a wonderful sense
of realism about the painting. You really get a
feel for the dry Australian landscape. That is
because Streeton had a remarkable eye for
value.
Value…

 You can see all the different values in the

grayscale image beside. Note that the
value relationships are more important than
the individual values. That is, how light or
dark one area is compared to the surrounding
areas. Streeton painted in a high key (painted
with mostly light colors), but all the value
relationships are very accurate, giving his
work a strong quality of realism.
4. Form and Structure

Form and structure refer to the use of visual

elements to convey three-dimensional objects on a
flat surface. This could be done through methods
such as shading, contrast or contour drawing.
Form…..

Most subjects can be

simplified down to basic
forms of spheres, boxes,
and cylinders. Take this
seascape painting by
Frederick Judd Waugh.
The waves and rocks are really just an arrangement of spheres,
boxes, and cylinders.

 Understanding the basic forms

and structures which make up
your subject will allow you to
paint more convincing
depictions. That is why many
portrait artists dedicate so much
time to studying human
anatomy.
5. Brushwork

Claude Monet, Arch to the West from Etretat, 1883

 How you use your brush and manipulate
paint on the canvas can be a key feature of
your artwork. Much like the bold strokes in
Vincent van Gogh's work, or the fleeting
dabs of color in Claude Monet's work.
 A general guideline with brushwork is to
match the nature of your brushwork to the
nature of the subject you are painting. For
example, to paint rough, turbulent water,
use rough, turbulent brushwork. For calm
water, use calm, smooth brushwork.
Brushwork..
Vincent van Gogh, A Pair Of Leather Clogs, 1888

 Use you brush to follow

the contours of the subject.
This helps reiterate the
form. Van Gogh did this in
many of his paintings, like
his A Pair Of Leather
Clogs beside:
6. Perspective

Perspective in art refers to the depiction of a three-

dimensional environment on a two-dimensional surface
in a way that captures the relative size, position, and
appearance of objects. It is made up of two parts: linear
perspective and aerial (or atmospheric) perspective.
Linear Perspective

Linear perspective is used by artists to

determine the relative size, position, and shape
of objects by using drawn or imagined lines
which converge at a point on the horizon
(vanishing point). When one vanishing point is
used, that is called one-point perspective. When
two vanishing points are used, that is called
two-point perspective, and so
 Below are two examples of one-point perspective
 in action:
Vincent van Gogh, Vincent's Bedroom In Arles, 1889 - One Point Perspective

Linear perspective is more important when painting rigid

architecture than it is for landscape painting. That is because
mistakes in perspective tend to be more apparent when
painting things like buildings, houses, roads, paths, etc.
Aerial (or Atmospheric) Perspective

Aerial perspective is the effect of the atmosphere on the view of objects as they
recede into the distance. As an object recedes into the distance relative to the viewer,
the contrast, value (darkness), color saturation and detail all fade.
One of the common problems is the distant elements of the painting (i.e. the distant
mountains in a landscape) are painted with the same level of detail and color as the
rest of the painting. This gives an unnatural aerial perspective.
Perspective..

Claude Monet, Juan-Les-Pins, 1888

In many cases, the most "realistic"

mountain you could paint in the
far distance may be nothing more
than a simple, faint blue color
shape. Check out the mountains in
the distance of this painting by
Monet:
Thank you!
Masbate TUDLO Artists’ Group