ELEMENTS AND

PRINCIPLES OF ART
LESSON 1
Subject : INTEGRATING THE ELEMENTS AND
PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZATION IN THE ARTS

Prepared by: EMMERLINA J. FIGUEROA

ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES
OF ART
The elements and principles of art are the
building blocks or
foundations upon which a work of art is
created.
You will not use all of them all the time, but
you will use some of
them most of the time.
ELEMENTS OF ART
 LINE
LINESARE THE PATH OF A MOVING POINT. THEY
DEFINE THE EDGES OF SHAPES AND FORMS
Antony Gormley - Gut VII, 2010, steel,
176 x 53 x 50 cm

Amy Casey - Constellation

Andy Goldsworthy - Carefully

broken pebbles scratched white
with another stone St. Abbs,
Scotland, 1 June 1985
 SHAPE
2-D, FLAT, WHEN A LINE CONNECTS TO ITSELF
 M. C. Escher - Sky and Water I, 1938, woodcut

Pablo Picasso - Girl with a Mandolin

(Fanny Tellier), 1910, oil on canvas
 FORM
 3-D FORMS CAN BE ACTUAL OR IMPLIED,
THEY HAVE HEIGHT, WIDTH, AND DEPTH
Henry Moore - Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 5, 1963-
1964, bronze

Lindsay Feuer - Hybrid Flora no. 7

 COLOR
HUEOF AN OBJECT WHEN LIGHT IS REFLECTED
OFF OF IT.
 COLOR SCHEMES OR HARMONIES

Monochrome –
Using only one
color.

Jalo Porkkala - In Times Past,

cyanotype, 31 x 24 cm
  Analogous –
Using colors
next to each
other on the
color wheel.

Pippin Drysdale - from Tanami Trace Series IV -

V, 2006
 Complementary –
Using colors
opposite each
other on the color
wheel.

John Tilton - porcelain with matte crystalline glaze,

5.75 x 3.25 in.
 DIGITAL COLOR
representation of
color bridges the gap
between additive
and subtractive
systems of color, and
defines the method
by which colors are
stored, manipulated,
and reproduced
using computer
technology.
 TEXTURE
THEWAY SOMETHING FEELS OR THE
WAY IT LOOKS LIKE IT FEELS.
 Anish Kapoor - Cloud Gate, 2008, stainless steel, 10 x
20 x 12.8 m

Ikuko Iwamoto - Spikyspiky Bowl, 2009

 SPACE
THE AREA AROUND A SUBJECT IN A WORK
OF ART. SHOWN WITH SIZE, OVERLAP, AND
PROPORTION
 VALUE
THE LIGHTS AND DARKS OF A COLOR

WITHIN A WORK OF ART.
Harry Callahan - Eleanor, Chicago, 1947
Frank Miller -
Sin City,
comic and
movie
comparison
shot.
 SOUND
Sound is an audible material in art that can be
made electronically or naturally and might be
recorded and reproduced. Sound can be heard
as noise, words or music and is usually found in
contemporary art, such as videos. It may be a
component of installations or multimedia or
interactive works. Terms used to describe the use
of sound might include: loud, soft, harsh,
discordant, melodic, natural, artificial, vocalized,
sonorous, high or low pitched,
PRINCIPLES OF ART
 BALANCE
IS THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE VISUAL WEIGHT
OF OBJECTS IN A WORK OF ART. COLOR,
SIZE, TEXTURE
Henri
Cartier-
Bresson -
Ile de la
Cité, 1952,
gelatin
silver print,
11.5 x 17.5
in.

Sandro Botticelli
- Birth of Venus
(La Nascita di
Venere), c.
Judith Braun
1486, tempera
on canvas,
109.65 x 67.91
in.
 Megan Puls - Reserve 2, 2011, mixed clays
and porcelain

Joseph Mallord William Turner - Staffa, Fingal's

Cave, 1832, oil on canvas, 90.9 x 121.4 cm.
The large white mass of mist and cloud that
envelopes the isle of Staffa and its cave is
balanced by the ship steaming off to the sun
at the edge.
Merete Rasmussen

David Roberts - Eroded Bowl, 56 x 28 cm

 EMPHASIS
MAIN IDEA, THE MAIN FOCUS, THE THING
YOUR EYE SEES FIRST
 UNITY
A SIMILAR ELEMENT THROUGHOUT A WORK

OF ART THAT BRINGS THE PARTS TOGETHER
 PROPORTION/ SCALE
THE SIZE OF SOMETHING COMPARED TO

WHAT IS NEXT TO IT.
 RHYTHM/MOVEMENT
VISUALELEMENTS IN A WORK OF ART THAT
CREATE A SENSE OF ACTION OR IMPLIED
MOTION.
 Jacques Henri Lartigue - Grand Prix de Circuit de la
Seine, June 26th 1912. At least, that's what it seems to
have been labelled at an exhibition at the
Czartoryski Museum

Dylan Meconis - Bite Me! pg. 5, 11/5/2008

 M.C. Escher - Lizard, 1942
Chuck Close - Self Portrait 2007 Screenprint, 2007,
Screenprint in 187 colors, 74.5 x 57.8 in.
 CONTRAST
differences in tone, colours, textures, shapes
and other elements used to draw attention
or to make dramatic parts of an artwork. For
example, complementary colours or black
and white tones create high contrast, and
setting circular and elliptical shapes against
each other creates low contrast.
Jacob Lawrence - The Migration of the Negro, Panel
no. 11, 1940-1941, casein tempera on hardboard, 18
x 12 in. The bright red of the figure stands out against
the complementary color of the green background:
the extreme contrast, along with the pose, gives the
figure energy and emotion.

Jona Cerwinske - Sharpie Lamborghini, 2007?,

sharpie marker on Lamborghini Galladro
 VARIETY AND VARIATION
Using a range of different qualities or
instances of an art element to create a
desired visual effect - e.g., a variety of
shapes, colors, etc. Variety can add interest
and break the monotony of simple
repetitions.
 Barbara Frey - Looking Ahead Tpot 7,
porcelain, colored porcelain and glaze, 6.5
x 6 x 8 in.

Carol Gouthro - Portal 2 (Anthazoa enticement),

ceramic, 26 x 17 x 10 in.