ART is creative human skill.
ART is communication about the self and
the world using
sight - the Visual Arts
sound - Music,
words - the Literary Arts, and/or
actions (Dance and Drama).
ART can be a combination of all of these.
ART explores media, which is the
materials,
images, words and actions used.
ART explores messages, subjects and
objects, themes and issues.
LINE is straight or curved, heavy or light,
soft or hard or a mixture of them
all.
LINE can characterise a shape by being
the edge of an area or surface, colour,
tone or pattern – it becomes an outline or
contour.
LINE can show MOVEMENT.
LINE can suggest RHYTHM.
LINE can create TEXTURAL results.
LINE can indicate EMOTIONAL effects.
SHAPE can be bordered by a LINE.
SHAPE can be defined by COLOUR,
TEXTURE or TONE.
SHAPE can suggest movement or
emotions.
SHAPE in 3-D is called FORM.
SHAPE can be sharp and clear or hazy and
suggesting something.
SHAPE can be NEGATIVE or POSITIVE.
COLOUR is an element of design with
endless variety.
COLOUR is a mixture of 3 primary colours,
red, yellow and blue.
SECONDARY COLOURS are a mix of 2
primary colours, orange, green and purple.
TERTIARY COLOURS are a mix of the 3
primary colours, red, yellow and blue.
Many
different colours can be made by changing
the amount of primary colours used.
Colour has TEMPERATURE – reds and
oranges feel warm like the sun or desert.
Cooler colours like blues and greens go
more with water and ice.
INTENSITY of colour is its strength and
purity.
HUE is the quality that separates one
colour from another.
TONE VALUE is the degree of lightness or
darkness of a colour, yellow is light,
blue is dark.
TINTS are made by adding white to a
colour.
SHADES are made by adding black to a
colour.
ANALOGOUS COLOURS are hues lying
near each other on the colour wheel,
red-orange, red-purple.
COMPLIMENTARY COLOURS are hues
opposite each other on the colour wheel,
red and
green, purple and yellow.
DISCORD is where opposite colours are
together and one is a tint, so that the
original tone of the hue is different.
TONE is light and dark. Light reveals,
shows the world to us, and shadow gives
meaning to the things we see.
TONE can give solidity, volume and weight
to an image
TONE gives the impression of distance.
Darker tones come forward and lighter
tones go back into the image.
TONE can give emotion to an image.
Highly contrasting tones give life and
energy, softer tones give a gentle mood.
TONE can create rhythm, with the eyes
jumping from one dark tone to another.
TONE is the property of colour. Yellow is
light, blue is dark.
TONE in sculpture is the way it catches the
light, so that sharp changes are
made by deep corners, and gentle ones by
smooth gradual changes.
TEXTURE is the part of the surface that
can be felt or seen.
TEXTURE is concerned with touch, how
something feels.
TEXTURE can be rough, smooth, spiky,
soft, velvety, regular or irregular.
TEXTURE can suggest emotions by linking
with the memory of how things feel.
TEXTURE can be real, the surface is
actually rough or smooth or it can be
suggested by the way the surface is
treated.
DIRECTION is about how our eyes move
around the artwork.
DIRECTION can be horizontal, vertical,
curved, sloped or straight.
DIRECTION can suggest movement by the
speed at which it is changed.
DIRECTION can be balanced to give
stability or imbalanced to give tension
DIRECTION can have an emotional impact.
Using rapid changes in direction or use
of diagonals, can cause anxiety while
horizontals and verticals bring about
calm.
SIZE is about the bigness or smallness of
an area.
SIZE can give space, it can make closer
objects appear larger and make distant
objects appear smaller.
SIZE can be given by comparing one
element that is larger or smaller than the
other.
SIZE can make a particular element look
important.
MASS is the amount of material in any
sculptural work.
MASS can be suggested in a painting or
drawing.
MASS can be heavy or light in effect.
SPACE or VOID refers to the lack of mass.
The way that an artwork is composed or
assembled.
COMPOSITION is about the way an artist
composes or combines the elements of
the
work to give clarity and order to their
ideas. Composition is about the way our
eyes are guided around the artwork.
COMPOSITION is involved with UNITY, how
the elements of the artwork go together
to form a oneness, a wholeness, which
satisfies the eye.
COMPOSITION is involved with and
governed by the principles of design.
Composition is about VISUAL
ORGANISATION
BALANCE involves the distribution of
elements in a work of art.
BALANCE is the control of the elements in
attracting attention. This attention
must be evenly or unevenly spread over
the area to make sure interest in kept
up, all the way through the art work,
without being static or chaotic.
BALANCE can be symmetrical or
asymmetrical
BALANCE can create movement, tension
or calmness.
BALANCE of the pictorial elements can act
like a see-saw or lever.
The elements can be balanced around a
VERTICAL, HORIZONTAL or DIAGONAL
AXIS
with enough variety so that the artwork
has rhythm and energy.
PROPORTION involves the relationship
between sizes - scale.
PROPORTION is about realistic relationship
or ratio. As an illustration, the
ideal human proportion is eight heads high
and the shoulders are two heads wide
so artists can change these relationships
or proportions for dramatic or comic
effect or to emphasise a feature or quality.
In cartoons the head and hands are
emphasised by enlarging then beyond
realistic scale.
PROPORTION is familiar to us all so artists
can use the warping or normal
proportions to suggest emotions or affect
the status of a subject.
REPETITION is the use of similar or
connected pictorial elements. For
example,
similar shapes, colours or lines that are
used more than once
REPETITION can be regular or irregular
and even or uneven.
REPETITION can be in the form of
RADIATION where the repeated elements
spread
out from a central point.
REPETITION may be in the form of
GRADATION where the repeated elements
slowly
become smaller or larger.
RHYTHM is about the rate the eye moves
throughout the work of art. This is
usually because the eye moves, jumps or
slides from one similar element to
another in a way similar to music.
DOMINANCE is about the focus given to a
part of a work of art.
DOMINANCE helps to create UNITY as the
eye is attracted to a key point then led
around the image by pictorial elements.
DOMINANCE can be created by contrasting
pictorial elements such as line, shape,
tone, texture, direction, size or colour.
DOMINANCE and BALANCE work together
to bring out UNITY.
HARMONY means pictorial elements of the
same type that "go" together.
HARMONY can be made where the eye is
used to seeing objects together, so they
form a group eg. flower pot and plants.
HARMONY can create feelings, similar
elements can seem calm and pleasing eg.
Blues and greens, rectangles and squares
or groups of organic shapes, while
contrasting elements create energy,
vitality, tension or anger eg. triangles
with circles and squares
CONTRAST means pictorial elements that
stand out because they are not alike eg.
squares and circles and triangles. Red,
yellow and blue contrast as they are so
dissimilar.
CONTRAST can be made by putting
objects together that do not normally "go"
together and therefore make each other
stand out more, than they would
separately.
CONTRAST gives variety and makes the
elements more lively.
UNITY is the sense of ONENESS, of things
belonging together and making up a
coherent whole.
Artists do this by repeating elements,
overlapping shapes and directing the eye
of the viewer around the work from one
similar element to the next or along a
line or shape
The eye is directed by the principles of
design and composition so that the
artwork has UNITY.
The main function or job of the principles
is to organise the elements into a
unified artwork.
VARIETY gives an artwork interest and
vitality, as the elements are repeated
with enough change or difference to
enhance each other.
VARIETY, contrast and harmony work
together to give unity.
Too much VARIETY leads to confusion and
disunity. Too little leads to boredom.

FORMS OF ART means the type of artwork
such as drawing, painting, sculpture
(carving, modelling, assemblage and
construction) architecture, printmaking,
electronic media such as computer and
digital graphics, ceramics, Visual Design,
Graphic Design, collage, photography and
Post Modern appropriation and
recontextualisation.
There is a LANGUAGE which is used to
describe the Arts. This language is
explained by using examples of student
work and brief summaries. Extra
information is available in the many texts
and reference books available. This
in not comprehensive but a student
research tool for beginners in Art.
VISUAL ARTS is where an artist uses
MEDIA (materials, images, signs and
symbols)
and the available TECHNOLOGY to
communicate about the self as expression,
or the
world as narrative or propaganda,
promotion, illusion, imagination, teaching
or
prediction.
The Visual Arts are about art for society,
art for the self, art for religion,
art for profit and art for art's sake.
Types of art are as varied as media,
subject matter and technology allow.
Art can be painting, drawing, sculpture,
printmaking, computer and digital
graphics, architecture, ceramics and
Visual Design which covers the more
functional works of art.
Subject Matter What the art work is about.
The title usually gives a clue.
Subject Matter is divided into ....
OBJECTS – Functional or useful objects,
Still life, found objects and objects
used as symbols of ownership, culture or
value. Objects venerated (sacred) as
religious symbols or used to represent
strong feelings or fantasy.
REPRESENTATIONAL – looks like
something, represents something even if
it is not
realistic.
PEOPLE – Portraits of specific people or the
Human Figure used in stories of
heroes or gods, or used for religion or self-
discovery or personality. The Human
Figure has been used in art as expression
of feelings, as objects of reverence,
as symbols of fertility or death, strength or
weakness, humorous or didactic
(teaching).
OTHER LIVING THINGS – Plants and
animals from land, air and sea, used to
decorate, as part of story or as a study in
themselves. Many animals and plants
have been use as symbols or motifs for
design or expression of feelings, humour
or themes and issues.
PLACES and SPACES – Landscapes,
Seascapes, Cityscapes, Interiors, maps or
keys
to location. Places in fantasy or personal
experiences.
EVENTS –Important Events in Life – birth,
death, sickness or work. Historical,
Public or Social Events- wars, coronations,
ship-wrecks, executions, festivals
or plagues.
Spiritual or Religious – Events within
religious teachings.
ISSUES and THEMES – where art deals with
issues or topics, which cause debate
such as feminism, multiculturalism,
pollution or animal rights. Some are
controversial others universal. Art which
deals with themes such as abstraction,
colour, love, hate, technology, cruelty,
confrontation etc.
Other Words or concepts used in the
Visual Arts ...
Media Material or substance used to make
an Art Work
MEDIA means the materials or substance
the artist uses to make art works.
For example oil paint on canvas, acrylic,
tempera or water paints. Drawing
media includes pencil, pens and ink,
charcoal and pastels. Sculptural media
includes clay, wax and bronze, wood,
metals, which are welded, junk or found or
ready made media assembled by
sculptors, plastics and wires, stone
especially
marble and even earth works.
MEDIA can also mean the images, signs
and symbols that artists use in their
artworks.
How the Artwork is made, the methods
used:
TECHNIQUE – means the manner of
making or method used in achieving an
artwork.
The manner of artistic execution or
performance or the skills used in making
artworks. For example, traditional western
oil painting on canvas or the
Impressionists "dab" technique. The
coiling technique in pottery or the
photographic silk screen print making
technique.
PRINT MAKING is where the artist uses
TECHNOLOGY that allows more than one
work
to be produced. This is done using the
traditional method of wood block/ lino
printing or etching where a groove is
carved or etched into the surface and ink
is applied then transferred to paper using
a press. In Modern times silk screen
printing and Lithography have been
developed.
Silk screen uses stencils where holes are
cut and the ink is squeezed through
using a screen and squeegee.
Photographic silkscreen print making is
used now,
especially for fabric and "T" shirts.
Lithography is where a moist ink resistant
block is painted with ink attractive
emulsion and then inked and transferred
to paper.
SCULPTURE is the word used to describe
an artwork which has three dimensions,
height, width and depth. most sculpture is
free standing but can be in RELIEF
where the form stands out from a flat
background. Relief sculpture decorates
the
walls of many buildings.
Sculpture is traditionally made by carving
wood or stone, or by modelling clay
and then casting the form in bronze.
Modern sculptors have made use of the
new
technology and materials to construct
artworks in many different media using
techniques of gluing and welding, nailing
or wiring.
DESIGN - is the deliberate choice and
layout of elements in a work of painting,
drawing, photograph, collage, computer
graphics or three dimensional form such
as furniture, appliances or furnishings,
which acts as a prototype for
production and commercial release. Visual
Design is a Process
STYLE – means the manner of an artwork,
the way it looks which can be recognised
as characteristic of a person, school or
culture eg the styles of Art Nouveau,
Art Deco, Cubism, the Aztecs or Egyptians,
the style of Dali or Picasso which
can be identified by its characteristic
elements.
PROCESS – means the sequence of action,
the steps taken when making an art work
usually involving developing ideas by
experimentation, exploring different ways
of solving problems, manipulating these
ideas and appropriate media by
evaluating success and resolving the work
for presentation.
PRACTICE – the way that an artwork is
made and studied that is the practice of
Art Making, Art Criticism and Art History.
Practice of making art works involves
ideas, beliefs, interpretations,
intentions, skills, technology and actions.
Art Criticism involves personal judgment,
evaluation and interpretation.
Art History involves looking at how the
artwork fits into history, into a
sequence of events and into the
surrounding culture.
FUNCTION- the task, the job, the purpose
of an artwork such as telling stories
or narrative, to inspire magic, to celebrate
an event, to decorate, art for
religious instruction and worship, to
imitate nature, for personal pleasure or
art for art's sake such as exploring the
emotional effects of the elements or
developing visual effects with media or
technology.
ABSTRACT ART – means it is non
representational, it does not look like
anything,
it does not represent anything seen. It
may cause the viewer to think of ideas
but it does not copy the seen world or
contain images.
ABSTRACTED – means to be made less
realistic by distortion or exaggeration of
images as the Cubists or German
Expressionists do. An image is changed,
made
less obvious.
CONCEPTUAL ART – means art where the
idea or concept is more important than
the
seen image. Conceptual art is usually
abstracted or performance art. Conceptual
Art uses elements to suggest deeper
thoughts to trigger thoughts in the viewer
rather than appreciation of skilled
imagery. Most artworks have a conceptual
side to it as most art works make the
audience think about a concept. Tribal Art
is strongly conceptual so is most modern
and Post Modern art.
REPRESENTATIONAL – looks like
something, represents something even if
it is not
realistic.
REALISTIC – looks like a seen subject.
NATURALISTIC – Looks as though it is from
nature. Natural in pose, gesture,
setting and imagery.
What is a Portfolio?
A portfolio is, literally, a porte folio, in
French, meaning a page carrier. A
folio is a large page roughly the size of a
single newspaper page. Porte means
to carry. Aporte folio, shortened to
portfolio in English, is basically a device
designed to carry loose pages. The first
goal of the porte folio we might say is
to hold these pages together in a secure
place so they do not get lost or
damaged. For artists these pages are
works of art on paper.
Although a folio is a large page there is no
implied size for the contents of a
portfolio. Similarly there is no implied
restriction on the nature of the works
of art placed in a portfolio. These can be
drawings, paintings, architectural
sketches, photographs, collages, etc.
There is also no implied restriction on
the type of container to be used. The
device used to hold these works of art
together, the porte part of the porte folio,
can be a folder, a box or some
other device chosen by the artist. Finally,
there are no restrictions on who can
create a portfolio. It is most often the
artists themselves who create
portfolios of their work.

Choose any type art mentioned in the

previous messages and create your own
portfolio to be submitted during the finals
week March 20-23, 2009.