FUNDAMENTALS OF ART
Wish you all a very Happy New Year!
"A man paints with his brains and not with his hands." This quote sums it up. You must have knowledge to create good artwork. It is not just skill. You must also have some sense of understanding of the basic concepts or fundamentals of art making to become a good artist.
It all starts with the Elements and Principles of art. I like to explain to my students how the Elements and Principles of art work through the illustration of cooking. When you are cooking something, you have a list of ingredients followed by the recipe. The elements of art are like the ingredients. If you are a good cook, then you care about quality ingredients. The same is true if you are a good artist. You care about the quality of elements that you chose to put in your artwork. So, you must spend some time exploring them, understanding them, and learning how to use them effectively. However, you cannot just throw a list of great ingredients together and expect to create a great dish. You must follow the recipe. The recipe is the principles of art. The principles of art are an organized way that the elements of art are arranged in a work of art. So, you must explore them as well. Creating good artwork is not just skill. It is definitely not luck or trial and error. It is knowledge.
The Elements of Art
The elements of art are the basic components of art-marking. It is impossible to create a work of art without using at least one of the seven elements of art. To be successful in art creation, an artist must be able to intelligently use the elements of art.
The seven elements of art are:
Line, Shape, Form, Value, Space, Color and Texture
1. Line- In terms of art, line can be described as a moving dot. Line is perhaps the most basic element of drawing. There are different kinds of lines such as vertical, horizontal, diagonal, zigzag and curved. Adding interest to your lines is important in creating successful artwork. Lines can be long or short, wide or skinny, rough or smooth. It can move in any direction. By varying the line, quality artists can make objects appear more 3-Dimensional and interesting
2. Shape- A shape is created when a line is enclosed. It has a variety of uses in the creation of art. Shape is a two-dimensional area that is defined by a change in value or some other form of contrast. All shapes are two-dimensional, meaning that they have only length and width. All shapes will fall into one of two categories. Geometric shapes and free form shapes. We can learn to see the world around us as shapes. Recognizing the shapes that we see will lead to improved drawing and painting.
Shapes defined BY objects are positive shapes (space). Shapes defined AROUND objects are negative shapes (space).
The relationships between the positive and negative shapes help the brain of our viewers understand what they are seeing. Our brains are even capable of making sense of complex relationships between positive and negative shapes.
3. Form- an element of art means objects that have three dimensions. I like to think of form as a 3-D shape. Form and Shape are related. You can turn a shape into the illusion of form by adding value and you can simplify a form from life into a shape.
4. Value- Value deals with the lightness or darkness of a color. Since we see objects and understand objects because of how dark or light they are, value is incredible important to art. (I'll remind you that drawing and painting is about seeing.)
Value deals directly to light. We see things because light reflects off of objects and goes into our eyes. Our mind processes the light and rationalizes what we are seeing. Without light, we cannot see anything. To draw or paint in a way that creates an illusion of what we normally see, we must understand light and how it reacts on surfaces. Value is the key to the illusion of light. This is why value is so important to drawing and painting. Artworks that exhibit a full range of value are generally successful. It doesn't matter the type of art you are creating. As long as there are dark values in harmony with light values, your artwork will most likely be aesthetically pleasing. A range of value means that they are ample amounts of light values – called tints, and dark values – called shades.
5. Space - In terms of art, space is the area around, above, and within an object. With consideration to drawings and paintings, our goal is to create the illusion of space.
There are six ways an artist can create the illusion of space on a 2-Dimensional surface.
Overlapping, placement on the paper, size, detail, color, value and perspective.
6. Color- Color can be broken down into 3 parts: color wheel, color value and color schemes.
7. Texture- Texture is the element of art that refers to the way an object feels to the touch or looks as it may feel. You can do 2D or 3D texture.
This abstract Radhe Krishna painting is a perfect example where seven elements of art have been used.
Open invitation to all art lovers
Shyama’s Art proudly presents “My Art My Way 2014,” an Art Exhibition at Carrollwood Cultural Center. Exhibit will stay there for January. Art reception with artist meet and greet will be held between 6 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 10. About 70 are participating in the show. There will be recital program of Shyama’s art language students, inspirational speech by some renowned guest speakers followed by a trophy and award ceremony.
Remember: When it’s from HEART, its ART
Shyama Rangwala can be reached at (813) 843-6784, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.shyamshyama.com or check Shyama’s Art on Facebook.