The Visual Elements of Art These are what make up a work of Art. But what are they?

The composition of a work of Art is made up of the arrangement of the Elements LINE SHAPE FORM COLOUR TONE TEXTURE PATTERN

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

Terry Winters - static or active?

Franz Kline

Henri Matisse. How do these compare with the previous art works?

Bridget Riley A British artist whose has made her artistic career out of lines.

Brett Whiteley

How does the size of the lines change? What effect does this create?

Paul Klee What have his lines become?

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.

Colour Wheel

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?

Colour Theory Complementary Colours. Monochromatic colours Harmonious/Analgous Colours

Primary Colours Roy Lichtenstein What effect does the use of primary colours create?

Complementary Colours Paul Gauguin was known for his use of colour

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?

Colour can suggest mood

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.

Tonal contrast can be strong and dramatic as used by Rembrandt Or subtle and subdued as used by Gwen John

In this painting by Mattia Preti, the dramatic contrast of tone Has been used for what purpose? This technique is called chiaroscuro.

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.

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

Van Gogh - real or simulated? What effect does his use of texture create?

Anselm Kiefer takes the use of real textures to extremes.

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.

Matisse made images with cut out paper shapes.

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

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

What does Klimt’s use of pattern convey or suggest?

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

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

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