ARTS I could tell you that art plays a large part in making our lives infinitely rich.

Imagine, just for a minute, a world without art! (You may think "So what?" but please consider the impact that lack of graphics would have on your favorite video game.) Art stimulates different parts of our brains to make us laugh or incite us to riot, with a whole gamut of emotions in between. Art gives us a way to be creative and express ourselves. For some people, art is the entire reason they get out of bed in the morning. You could say "Art is something that makes us more thoughtful and wellrounded humans." On the other hand, art is such a large part of our everyday lives that we may hardly even stop to think about it. Look at the desk or table where you are, right this minute. Someone designed that. It is art. Your shoes are art. Your coffee cup is art. All functional design, well done, is art. So, you could say "Art is something that is both functional and (hopefully) aesthetically pleasing to our eyes." You might say "Art is in a constant state of change, so nobody can really pin down what it is." The constant change part is true, but the not pinning it down part is going to get you a bad grade. It may even raise a comment or two about your being some sort of wisenheimer. Don't go this route. You might even say "Art is subjective, and means something different to every single person on earth." This, too, is the truth. I would caution against this approach, however, as it would require a stack of paper from here to the moon to cite all of your 6.8 billion references. Now, everything just stated has elements of truth, but is largely based on opinion. My opinion is, frankly, useless in your paper-writing endeavor. Form your own opinions (that should be the reason you are receiving an education, after all), and be sure to sprinkle them in your answer ... which needs a factual basis, so here are the cold hard facts: Art is form and content. "Art is form and content" means: All art consists of these two things. Form means:

The elements of art, the principles of design and the actual, physical materials that the artist has used. Form, in this context, is concrete and fairly easily described--no matter which piece of art is under scrutiny. Suppose you've written: "One half of all art is form. Here is how Goya's The Shootings of May Third, 1808 fits in." You would then go on to provide details about how Goya used color, value, space and line (elements of art). He used balance, contrast, emphasis and

proportion (principles of design). He composed the aforementioned elements and principles on canvas, using brushes and oil paints (the physical materials). The example just given employed a work of Western art, and was written in English. It doesn't take much of a leap in imagination, though, to understand that the concepts behind "form" could be applied to any piece of art, created anywhere on earth, at any time, using any language. With that, we have successfully covered "form." Content, now, gets a little more tricky. Content is idea-based and means:
o o o

What the artist meant to portray, what the artist actually did portray and how we react, as individuals, to both the intended and actual messages.

Additionally, content includes ways in which a work was influenced--by religion, or politics, or society in general, or even the artist's use of hallucinogenic substances--at the time it was created. All of these factors, together, make up the content side of art. Returning to the Goya example, you might comment on the fact that the shootings were an actual event. Napoleon had invaded Spain, at the time, and subjected it to six years of war and revolution (political and social influences). There had been a revolt by citizens of Madrid, and they were summarily executed (historical context). Goya, obviously, didn't think this was good and recorded the stark horror for all posterity. (He was successful at conveying that which he meant to convey.) We react to the painting in our different ways - usually with mixed feeling of revulsion, anger and sorrow. Again, we are discussing content using one picture as an example, but the same parameters apply to any piece of art. That's my best reply, then. The first four paragraphs are applicable - with infinite variations, up to, and including, "The way my girlfriend puts on her eyeshadow is art." Just be sure that your main argument includes "Art is form and content." You can certainly think of some great examples using works of art that you know and/or enjoy. Now. Go get cracking on that paper and, next time, don't wait until the last minute.

What is art and relationship between art and society?

Art is the way in which people choose to express themselves, it can be through writing, music, drawing, painting, dance and many other ways. The relationship between art and society is that usually art exemplifies what the society is going through at that moment in time, or how

individual people are feeling. If you were to look at art from older eras in time you would be able to see that people in painting aren't dressed as we are now, and language used in writing may not be the same either. Art is molded by society and how people that make up the society are willing to express themselves. It is different all over the world and during all eras of time.

still life paintings and drawings

Still life is defined as a collection of inanimate objects arranged together in a specific way. The magic of still life paintings is that they can show us a new way of looking at the ordinary objects around us. Once they are placed into a specific arrangement and then captured in paint, ink, pastel, or any other medium - the objects take on a whole new meaning. They are imbued with a life beyond the ordinary. Their existence becomes recorded in time.

Classic 20th century example: Andy Warhol's Campbell soup cans. No doubt you have seen this famous Pop Art image at some point during your lifetime. Take an ordinary soup can - it's just an everyday object that you wouldn't think twice about as you drop it into your shopping cart. But Warhol's treatment of the subject matter made the soup can collosal, larger than life, an image to be reckoned with! The objects chosen for a still life painting often have a special meaning, either on a personal, cultural, societal, religious or philosophical level. The themes surrounding the artwork often provoke introspection and reflection in the viewer. The way that the objects are depicted can evoke a wide variety of emotions, depending on their arrangement, as well as the lighting, color choice, and handling of the paint. These are all things to take into account when viewing a still life artwork. They are especially important to consider when you are creating one.

Campbell's Soup I: Tomato Warhol, Andy

I know that's a lot of information to throw at you at once! Don't worry, we'll examine each of these points futher:

Subject matter
The subject matter of still life paintings is determined by the objects that are portrayed in the paintings. Discover some of the natural still life objects that appear in famous still life paintings throughout history! Explore the symbolism and meaning of these objects, with still life examples.

Meaning & Themes in Still Life Art

When looking at a still life painting, or when creating one, the most important thing to ask yourself is, "What does it mean?" Is it a random collection of items, or did the artist have a particular intention when choosing them? It's easy to look at a painting and think, "Hmm, pretty objects", and quickly move on to the next painting. But the artwork usually goes much deeper than just depicting pretty objects. Even if a piece is purportedly meaningless, there is always an underlying thought process behind the work. (And if you want to look at art intelligently, it's important to examine the artwork with an investigative eye and an inquisitive mind!) The themes for a still life painting can be personal, cultural, societal, mythological, religious or philosophical and existential. Or, they can be based on material qualities, such as color or texture. They can even be whimsically based on objects that start with the same letter of the alphabet, or things you might find in a typical junk drawer in someone's kitchen. And of course, all of these themes can overlap to weave a richly layered tapestry of theme and meaning within a single artwork!

A quick jaunt through time: Historically, still life paintings were deeply imbued with religious and mythological meaning. This was a reflection of the times; the Church was the center of everyday life. Class hierarchy was deeply embedded - everyone knew their place and stayed within it. By the 16th century, society was changing. As science gained more of a stronghold, religious themes fell by the wayside. The natural world was now interesting to observe and record in its own right, not for religious or mythological purposes. As history rattled towards the mid-19th century, depicting the natural world was starting to go out of fashion. Now the art world was more interested in exploring our inner world of moods and emotions. As we sped through the 20th century, still lifes dissolved into geometry as objects were abstracted more and more on the canvas. By the end of the millenium, the object depicted in paintings were exhalted as commodity and recognized for their commercialism, as in the Pop Art and Photorealism movements.

Analyzing a Still Life for Meaning

If you're not exhausted after quickly careening through the history of the still life as an art form, let's close this section by examining how one of my paintings, Yellow-Orange, encompasses a few different themes.

Yellow-Orange - 5" x 7" - Acrylic on Wood Panel What is this painting about? Well, let's take a closer look. There are four objects in the painting: a toy duck, a candy in a clear plastic wrapper, a Tootsie Pop, and a shiny marble. What do they have in common? Well, the most obvious shared trait, also echoed in the title of the piece, are the predominating colors of yellow and orange. These are a variety of different objects that all share a similar color scheme, so they work well together visually. Is that all they have in common? Let's examine their function - what are they used for in everyday life? Two pieces of candy and two toys... Hmm, these objects signify childlike fun! The candies give great pleasure, and the toys bring great joy... when they are used, that is. In this painting, they are a collection of objects sitting still against a stark white background. They symbolize the potential for future fun, as well as conjure up memories of past fun. In the present, they are just simply there. Simply being. And what about that stark white background... what does it mean? Well, ask yourself: what does the white background cause my eyes and mind to do? Basically, the white background forces you to focus your direct attention on the objects. They are almost, but not quite, floating in space they still have subtle shadows, which define their place in space. In my view, the white background helps these items become more iconic. That is, they represent stereotypical emblems of childhood. They are timeless and unattached to a specific location. They could be anywhere. They could even be drifting in the white cloud of your imagination. This is one way of interpreting the painting. There is more that I could say about it, but for now, this will suffice. Remember that this is just one interpretation though. You could say that it is the interpretation; that since I am the artist, my word is the final word, case closed. Not true, however. Art is meant to be shared. It is a form of communication, and as such, the story doesn't end when the brush leaves the canvas. It is only just beginning.

When a viewer looks at a work of art, they are bringing with them all of their life experiences, all of their unique memories, all of their knowledge and understanding of the universe thus far. Their mind interacts with the artwork as their eyes travel over the piece. What I experience when I look at a certain artwork will not be exactly the same as what someone else experiences when looking at the same piece. Therefore, what I create will not always be interpreted by others in the same way as I intended. There is always a mysterious gap between intention and interpretation, and such is the beauty of communication.

landscape painting & drawing

A landscape painting or drawing refers to an artwork whose primary focus is natural scenery, such as mountains, forests, cliffs, trees, rivers, valleys, etc. If you want to learn how to paint landscapes, this section will help you get started! The earth is a wondrous creation. From barren deserts to lush rainforests; from swelling oceans to cloudy skies... the earth provides endless inspirations for visual artists. Nature's palette is everywhere we look. Throughout history, artists have found endless inspiration in the mysterious beauty of nature and the grandeur of the earth's varied landscapes. Landscape artists can choose to depict their vision of the earth in a variety of ways. They can be painted realistically, in an effort to replicate nature as closely as possible (such as my Fields of Gold pastel painting below). But landscape painting does not need to replicate a specific place. For instance, a landscape painting can be created in an abstract manner, in which the imagery is imbued with a deeper spiritual meaning. A good example of artists who work in this method are the Aboriginal artists of Australia who create intensely detailed abstract paintings.(You can see an example of one of my colorful abstract landscape paintings below, which was inspired in part by Australian Aboriginal art.) Another group of painters who adapted the use of color to form highly emotional, creative landscapes are the Fauvists, who chose wildly unexpected colors for a jarring and unsettling effect. Landscapes can also be surreal and purely imaginative, as in Dali's unusual and dreamlike artwork.

Two very different landscape paintings:

Today Is - 6" x 6" - Acrylic on Wood Panel Fields of Gold - 15" x 19" - Pastel on Paper

Landscape paintings also aren't necessarily limited to depictions of land. For example, they can also include images of seascapes, cloudscapes, skyscapes, riverscapes, or cityscapes (otherwise known as "urban landscapes"). The main unifying element of any of these -scape artworks is that they all center around some kind of scenery. Landscapes can be painted plein air or from a photograph. Plein air is a French term that means "in the open air". The benefit of plein air painting is that you can see the landscape right in front of you. You are already immersed and absorbed in the beauty of the scenery. There are, however, benefits to working from a photograph as well. If you work from photographs, you can work in the comfort and privacy of your own studio, without being dependent on daylight or the weather. You can also take certain elements from different photos to create a unique composite landscape. For example, if you like a hill from one photo and a gnarly old tree from another photo, you can combine them into the same landscape. Then if want to put a flowing river in front of them, you can. You can also work from quick landscape studies or sketches. If you're out hiking and there is a lovely view that strikes your eye, you can easily whip out a small sketchbook or watercolor pad and use pencils, colored pencils, or watercolor to quickly make a sketch of what you see. It often helps to write notes next to the sketch, so you remember what color certain leaves were, or what shade the sky was. Oftentimes these "quick sketches" turn out to be wonderful works of art in their own right!

I sketched this scene during a long walk in the Sussex countryside. If you look closely, you can see some tiny scribbled notes that I made about color.

I scanned the sketch into Photoshop and used my scribbled notes to remember what colors to put where. The result was this digital "sketch", which could be used as the starting point for a future painting.

In this digital age, anyone with access to a camera can snap a beautiful photo of a breathtaking landscape. There are thousands of heart-stoppingly stunning landscape photos circulating the Internet. So, with such modern conveniences, why should anyone bother taking the time to painstakingly paint something that can be more easily captured on camera? For lots of reasons!! For one thing, the machine can never replace the artist's hands, which work in conjunction with the artist's eyes and mind - analyzing the source of light, examining the range of hues and tones, filtering the mass of information and transforming the outer vision into painted reality. Artists can use a variety of techniques within their chosen medium to add emotional undertones to a work of art. They can choose wild, "unnatural" color schemes that are expressive and striking. They can take creative liberties to rearrange elements in a scene, adding something here, subtracting something there, to create a compelling composition. Their landscapes can be realistic, or they can be abstract or surreal. When it comes to art, the possibilities are as endless as the imagination. Landscape painting was a highly regarded art form long before the invention of the camera, and will always continue to capture the hearts and imaginations of artists and art enthusiasts alike.

portrait painting and drawing

A portrait painting or drawing depicts the image of a particular person or animal, or group thereof. The subject of a portrait is usually called a "sitter", because traditionally people would sit in front of the artist to have their portrait painted. Nowadays, of course, artists can work from a photograph, so not everyone has to "sit" for a portrait. Portraits are effective and compelling when they tell us something about the person. A good portrait is not just a visual representation of a person; it will also reveal something about the essence of the person. What the portrait reveals may not be completely obvious - sometimes it can be cleverly implied through a certain expression or pose, an included object, or the artist's use of color. Sometimes the person in the portrait can become iconic, representing a wider group of people from a specific period in time, who share something in common. A strong portrait captivates viewers, draws them into the painting, and engages their attention. Such a portrait painting causes the viewer to wonder about the person depicted. In this way a portrait painting or drawing can function as a biography - telling the story of that person's life. The artist will carefully craft visual clues to tell the story of the person in the artwork. Portrait paintings can reveal the sitter's place in society, their hobbies or occupation, or aspects of their personality or beliefs. When looking at a portrait painting, ask yourself:

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