ELEMENTS OF VISUAL

ARTS
1. LINE
 Line is the foundation of all drawing.
 It is the first and most versatile of the visual
elements.
 Line in an artwork can be used in many
different ways. It can be used to suggest shape,
pattern, form, structure, growth, depth,
distance, rhythm, movement and a range of
emotions.
We have a psychological response to
different types of lines:

 CURVED LINES suggest comfort and ease

 HORIZONTAL LINES suggest distance and
calm
 VERTICAL LINES suggest height and
strength
 JAGGED LINES suggest turmoil and anxiety
The way we draw a line can convey different
expressive qualities:

 FREEHAND LINES can express the personal energy and

mood of artist.
 MECHANICAL LINES can express a rigid control.
 CONTINUOUS LINES can lead the eye in certain
directions.
 BROKEN LINES can express the ephemeral or the
insubstantial.
 THICK LINES can express strength
 THIN LINES can express delicacy
ASSIGNMENT:

DRAW IN A SHORT BOND

PAPER THE DIFFERENT TYPES
OF LINES AND THE DIFFERENT
WAYS TO DRAW A LINE
2. SHAPES

 It can be natural or man-made.

 It can be regular or irregular.
 It can be flat or solid.
 It can be representational or abstract.
 It can be geometric or organic.
 It can be transparent or opaque.
 It can be positive or negative.
 It can be decorative or symbolic.
 It can be patterned or textured.
THE PERSPECTIVE OF SHAPES

 The angles and curves of shapes

appear to change depending on
their viewpoint. The technique we use
to describe this change is called
perspective drawing.
THE BEHAVIOUR OF SHAPES
 Squares and Rectangles can portray strength
and stability.
 Circles and Ellipses can represent continuous
movement.
 Triangles can lead the eye in an upward
movement.
 Inverted triangles can create a sense of
imbalance and tension.
 Two Dimensional Shapes

 Two
Dimensional Shapes: Most of the
art we see is two-dimensional: a
drawing, a painting, a print or a
photograph which is usually
viewed as a flat surface. Most two-
dimensional art tries to create the
illusion of three dimensions by
combining the visual elements to
a greater or lesser degree.

 M. C. ESCHER (1898-1972)
 Reptiles, 1943 (lithograph)
 Three Dimensional Shapes
 ANTHONY CARO (1924-2013)
 Paul's Turn, 1971 (cor-ten steel)
Three Dimensional Shapes: Anthony
Caro uses industrial beams, bars,
pipes, sections and steel plate
which he cuts, bends, welds, bolts
and occasionally paints to form the
shapes for his constructed metal
sculptures. You can walk around
and between these three
dimensional abstract forms to
interact with the changing
relationships of their delicately
balanced structures.
 Representational Shapes
 Representational Shapes attempt to
reproduce what we see to a greater or lesser
degree.
 Representational art is the blanket term we
use to describe any artwork whose shapes are
drawn with some degree of visual accuracy.
Realism, however, is not the sole objective of
representational art. It can be stylized with
various levels of detail, from a simple
monochrome outline to a fully rendered form
with color, tone, pattern and texture. For
example, compare the exquisite detail of 'Still
Life: An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life'
by Harmen Steenwyck to 'The Blue Fan' by
Francis Cadell at the top of the page. Both
are still life paintings that use accurate
representational shapes but the former
evolves as an outstanding study of tone and
texture while the latter abstracts and
develops color as a major theme of the work.
Abstract Shapes When Paul Cézanne began to distort the perspective of
representational shapes in his paintings, art took its first steps
on a journey that led it through the partial abstraction of
Cubism and Futurism to a range of pure abstract styles
including Suprematism, Constructivism, De Stijl, Abstract
Expressionism, Op Art and Minimalism.
 In 'Still Life with a Peach and Two Green Pears' Cézanne
tilts the perspective of the plate towards the picture
plane. This has the effect of flattening the composition
and emphasizing the abstract outline of its shapes. The
flatness of the painting is further enhanced by the
diamond shaped moulding and the circular handle of the
cupboard in the background. Cézanne believed that the
two dimensional qualities of a painting should not be
denied and consequently much of his work involves:

 creating a balanced arrangement of shapes, some of

which may be distorted for the benefit of the
composition.
 defining depth and form with the natural properties of
color, where warm colors appear to advance while cool
colors recede.
 adapting his painting technique by using regulated
brushstrokes to emphasize the unity of surface in his work.
Positive and Negative Shapes
 Positive Shape: This is the actual physical form of any
shape.
 Negative Shape: This the space between and around
the physical form of any shape.
 When we look at certain shapes in this work, their
form appears to either advance or recede
depending on their adjacent shapes and colors.
Despite the fact that they are flat and on the same
plane, they alternate between a positive or negative
reading of their space.
 There were two things that Davis loved which had a
profound effect on his painting: New York and jazz.
The title of this painting is a humorous reference to the
ambience of New York as the inspiration for the
shapes and colors of the work while acknowledging
the European origins of its style. His love of jazz is
reflected in the syncopated rhythm of his shapes as
they oscillate between a positive and negative
reading across the composition.
Geometric Shapes
 Geometric Shapes were originally
formed mechanically using a ruler
or compass. However today, even
the most complex geometric forms
can be easily created using digital
imaging software. In art they tend
to be used to convey the idea of
rigidity, structure, pattern,
perspective and 3 dimensional
form.
Organic Shapes
 Organic Shapes are usually natural,
irregular and freeform in character. You
can see them in the patterns of growth
and decay in nature; in the shapes of
seeds, plants, leaves, flowers, fruit, trees,
branches; and in the ephemeral forms
of clouds and water. They are also
associated with anatomical forms such
as heart and kidney shapes.

 Organic shapes can convey a sense of

formation and development, and
suggest qualities such as softness,
sensuality, flexibility and fluidity.
Symbolic and Decorative
Shapes Symbolic Shapes: A symbol is an object or sign that

represents an identity, a belief, a concept or an activity.
For example, the symbol of a cross can represent the
Christian faith; or be an emblem of the four classical
elements (earth, air, fire and water); or the four points of
a compass (north, south, east and west); or the flag of
Switzerland; or simply a road sign indicating crossroads.

 Decorative Shapes: All decorative forms are based on

either Nature or Geometry or a combination of both.
Within each of these categories lies a huge range of
styles that cross historical, geographic and cultural
borders including Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Arabian,
Turkish, Persian, Islamic, Indian, Chinese, Japanese,
African, Asian, Oceanic, Native American, Celtic,
Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo,
Neoclassicism, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco,
Modernism and Post-Modernism (the eclectic
combination of any of the aforementioned).
Transparent, Reflective and
Opaque Shapes
 Transparent Shapes allow light to pass
through so that you are able to see
what lies beyond them.
 Reflective Shapes reflect light to create
a mirror image of what is reflected on
their surface.
 Opaque Shapes absorb light but also
reflect some of it as color. As light is not
able to pass through them, you are
unable to see through them.
The Perspective of Shapes
 Perspective Drawing is the
technique that artists use to
calculate the angles of a
three dimensional shape
when drawing it on a two
dimensional surface.
3.COLOR
The Visual Element of Color
has the strongest effect on our
emotions. It is the element we
use to create the mood or
atmosphere of an artwork.
There are many different approaches to
the use of color in art:
 Color as light
 Color as tone
 Color as pattern
 Color as form
 Color as symbol
 Color as movement
 Color as harmony
 Color as contrast
 Color as mood
Color as Light

 Color is the sensation that

is stimulated in our brain
by different wavelengths
of light. One wavelength
will stimulate our
perception of red,
another orange, another
yellow and so on through
all the colors of the
spectrum.
Color as Tone
 Dramatic color combined with
a vigorous painting technique
are the key elements of
Expressionism in art. Expressionist
painting was more about using
color and the physical qualities
of a medium to express your
feelings about the subject
rather than simply describing it
in a naturalistic fashion.
Color As Pattern
 In Cubism the artist selects the essential
features from multiple viewpoints of the
subject and reconstructs them as an abstract
composition. At the drawing stage of a cubist
painting, the artist was often confronted with
a confusing structure of lines and shapes to
which he/she would apply patterns of color,
tone and texture in an attempt to organize
the spatial arrangement of the composition.

 In 'Violin and Checkerboard' by Juan Gris, the

artist assigns different colors to particular
shapes which create an asymmetrical pattern
of forms arranged around the white cloth at
the center of the painting. This pattern of
colors leads the viewer's eye in a clockwise
motion around the picture. Color distributed
as irregular pattern is often used as unifying
element in the composition of artworks.
Color as Form
 To create the illusion of form in a painting,
artists traditionally added lighter and
darker pigments to the main color of an
object in order to render the naturalistic
effects of light and shade. The main
disadvantage of this technique was that
much of the intensity of the original color
was sacrificed when it was blended with
highlights and shadows. The Impressionists
had introduced a more scientific
approach to the analysis of color to try to
solve this problem while some of the Post
Impressionists had begun to use color
structurally (Paul Cézanne and Georges
Seurat) and symbolically (Gauguin and
Van Gogh)
Color as Harmony  Harmony is the compatibility, balance or
progression of similar elements. 'Blue Dancers' by
Edgar Degas is a carefully composed pastel
painting that illustrates the harmony of color as well
as several other visual elements:

 The shape of the painting is square while the

rotational movement of the figures is composed
within a diamond forming a harmony of
rectangular shapes (click on flip icon to view).
 The decorative frills around the bodices of the
dresses form a subtle harmony of curves.
 The pointed projections of arms, elbows and wrists
create a rhythmic harmony of angles.
 The warm ochres of the background should clash
with the cool blue dresses in the foreground as they
are opposite colors. However Degas reconciles
their opposition with a clever harmony of their
colors. He scumbles traces of blue over the warm
ochre background which is counterbalanced by
the ochre underpainting that beats beneath the
blue dresses. This has the effect of harmonizing the
foreground with the background but still retaining
enough contrast to stimulate our interest.
Color as Contrast
 Few painters in the history of art capture the intensity of light and
energy more than Turner. In his first of two versions of 'The Burning
of the Houses of Lords and Commons' (1835), the visual elements
of the painting are fuelled by a collision of the classical elements
of earth, air, fire and water.
 Turner personally witnessed this event from among the thousands
of people who lined the south bank of the River Thames as well as
from a boat that he hired to get closer to the scene. He created a
series of quick watercolor sketches of the fire but there is some
dispute that they were painted at the location.
 The composition of the work is divided into four sections, each of
which harbors one of the four classical elements (click on the flip
icon to view). On the left the blazing oranges and yellows of the
burning buildings are set in opposition to the cold blues and lilacs
of the sky. The hot colors of the flames and their reflections (fire
and water) are intensified by the cold colors of the sky and bridge
(earth and air). A similar tension is established by the tonal contrast
of the dark crowd against the light river which is counterbalanced
by the light sandstone of Westminster Bridge against the darkening
sky. This painting is a cleverly arranged contrast of opposite colors,
tones and classical elements which Turner has devised to heighten
the impact of each.
Color as Movement
 When you look at an abstract artwork
your brain instinctively searches for signs
of rhythm and order to try to make
spatial sense of the image. Victor
Vasarely makes use of this impulse to
create an impression of movement by
combining graduated squares and
sequential colors. These lead the eye
into and through the image with
increasing and decreasing
acceleration. The squares, which
graduate from large to small, are
aligned on their horizontal axes but are
staggered on their vertical axes to
create the illusion of a tunnel whose
dizzying perspective unfolds as they
travel towards the vanishing point at its
center.
 The receding squares in this image form the shape of the
movement while the progression of colors determine its speed. In
our illustration above we have separated the alternate
sequences of colors so that you can see their relationship more
clearly. You can now distinguish their tonal scale as one
sequence moves from dark through light to dark, while the other
moves from light through dark to light. The changing contrasts of
these sequences form a counterchange of tones and colours
which give rise to the retinal roller coaster ride that is 'Vonal KSZ'.
Color as Symbol
 This is Van Gogh's masterpiece from the first
period of his work before he moved to Paris
in 1886. 'The Potato Eaters' are a poor Dutch
peasant family sitting down to share their
frugal evening meal. They are agricultural
labourers and the earthy greens and
browns that Van Gogh uses to paint them
symbolize their closeness to and
dependence on the land for their survival.
There is a unity of colour and texture
between the hands and faces of the
peasants and the potatoes and coffee they
are sharing. The dark sombre tones of the
work sympathetically reflect their humble
existence and the artist's respect for the
quiet dignity of their labour.
Color as Mood - Joy
 For Van Gogh, yellow was the colour of joy
and friendship. He painted a series of at least
seven sunflower pictures to decorate the
rooms of his 'Yellow House'. These paintings
were conceived as a welcome to his friend
and fellow painter Paul Gauguin with whom
he dreamed of setting up a ‘Studio of the
South’ [2] in Arles in the South of France.

 In contrast with the sombre mood of 'The

Potato Eaters', 'Sunflowers' is one of the most
joyful paintings in the history of art. Despite
the fact that it has echoes of the Vanitas
subjects of 17th century Dutch still lifes, as
some of its blooms have turned to dead seed
heads, it still glows with a radiance that
transcends any hint of melancholy.
Color as Mood - Sadness
 We often use the language of color to describe our emotions. We
talk of being 'red' with rage or 'green' with envy. If we are feeling
good we are in the 'pink' or if we are sad we've got the 'blues'.
When Pablo Picasso painted 'The Old Guitarist' he was certainly
suffering from the 'blues'. In fact, the main body of his work
between 1901-04 is now referred to as his 'Blue Period'.
 In 1901 Picasso sank into a deep depression after the suicide of his
close friend Carlos Casagemas. His subsequent work reflected his
sad psychological state in both its subject matter and the colors
he used to paint it. One symptom of his depression was that he
entered a period of self imposed social exile. As a consequence of
this he identified himself with those whom society had exiled - the
poor, the lonely, the infirm, the destitute vagrants and vagabonds
of street - and they became the subjects of his work. He would
paint these sorrowful figures mostly in tones of blue to enhance
their melancholic mood.
 'The Old Guitarist' is a major work that illustrates the key elements
of Picasso's 'Blue Period'. There is a strong focus on the humanity of
the old man whose emaciated and twisted physique not only
expresses the anguish of his abject condition but also the
tormented emotions of the artist himself. This is a timeless image
whose style unites past and present. It owes as much to the
tortured mannerism of the 16th century artist El Greco as it does to
the contemporary introspection of Expressionism. Picasso's use of
blue as the corresponding color of sadness is counteracted by the
comforting shade of the brown guitar. Its soulful tone is the only
note of consolation in this tragic image.
Color as Mood -
Peace  Gustav Klimt's reputation was built on his paintings
of sensual allegories and society portraits of
beautiful women, all dripping with opulent
ornamentation in a fusion of figuration and
abstraction. Klimt was always a workaholic. His
idea of a taking a peaceful holiday was to paint
a different subject, in a different style, in a
different place. For around sixteen years (1900-
1916) he visited the Salzkammergut, a
picturesque region of alpine lakes, forests and
mountains where he painted landscapes as a
form of relaxation. These works were almost
always square shaped as he used the same small
ivory viewfinder to frame the landscape.
Consequently the composition of these paintings
was flat and patterned as he would 'crop' the
image around or below the horizon, thereby
negating the effect of perspective. This allowed
him to focus on the abstract relationships of the
colors, shapes, patterns and textures of the
woods and the lakeside
Color as Mood - Anxiety
 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch has entered the
public consciousness as an emblem of anxiety.
All its components combine to form an image
of impending doom; it is a panic attack in visual
elements. The two main colors of the painting
are orange and blue, a lurid contrast from
opposite ends of the spectrum guaranteed to
form a tense relationship. An anxious state of
agoraphobia is generated by the extended
perspective of the bridge and the haunting
waves of sound that echo around the fjord. A
stomach churning glimpse over the edge of the
handrail initiates an attack of vertigo. A deep
sense of isolation and helplessness is
experienced by the figure who is holding his
head to absorb the phobic assault from this
environment, while his path of escape is
blocked by the spectral figures at one end of
the bridge and the mysterious border which
channels the burning color of the sky at the
other.
Color as Mood - Noise
 We began this analysis of color in art with one
Futurist painting and we end it with another. 'The
Dance of the Pan-Pan at the Monico' was the
large centerpiece to the first Futurist Exhibition
outside Italy which was organized by Gino
Severini at Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris. It
was painted in 1909-11, but this version was
destroyed and Severini repainted it from a
postcard in 1959-60.

 The Futurists embraced the noise, energy and

intensity of modern city life. The raucous night-
life of the cabaret with its vibrant fashions and
risqué dancing to ragtime rhythms, all
illuminated by modern electric lighting, was the
perfect setting for a vision of Futurist fun. Severini
smashes this image into countless fragments
which he reassembles in a dynamic
composition that captures the collective
consciousness of Futurism. Contrasts of opposite
colors collide in a shatterproof structure that
frames the fun, frolics, noise and excitement of
modern entertainment.