VISUAL ARTS

Painting
 The expression of ideas and emotions, with the creation of certain aesthetic qualities, in a two-
dimensional visual language.
 An artist’s decision to use a particular medium, such as tempera, fresco, oil, acrylic, watercolor or
other water-based paints, ink, gouache, encaustic, or casein.
Elements of Painting are the basic components or building blocks of a painting (and art generally). In
Western art they are generally considered to be:
1. Color - is the most basic element of a painting. Every color has three aspects to it: hue or name,
value or tone, and intensity.
● Hue – Pure Color
● Value – Amount of Black or White in color.
● Intensity – Degree of Purity of color.
2. Tone - refers to the degree of lightness or darkness of an area. Tone varies from the bright white
of a light source through shades of gray to the deepest black shadows.
3. Line is used to control our eye, create unity and balance. Help construct meanings. Line can be
described as a moving dot. Line is perhaps the most basic element of drawing.
4. Shape - an element of art that is a two dimensional area that is defined in some way. A shape may
have an outline around it or you may recognize it by its area.
 Geometric shapes - precise shapes that can be described using mathematical formulas. Ex.
Circle, square, triangle, oval, rectangle, parallelogram, trapezoid, pentagon, pentagram,
hexagon, and octagon.
 Freeform Shapes - also called organic shapes, are irregular and uneven shapes. Their outlines
may be curved, angular, or a combination of both.
 Form - an element of art, means objects that have three dimensions. I like to think of form as
3-D shape.
5. 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
Six (6) ways an artist can create the illusion of space on a 2-Dimensional surface.
1. Overlapping - occurs when objects that are closer to the viewer prevents the view of
objects that are behind them.
2. Placement on the paper - Objects placed higher within the picture plane will appear
further away.
3. Size - Objects that are smaller will appear further away from the viewer.
4. Detail - Objects that are further away should have less detail than objects that are
closer to the viewer.
5. Color and Value - Objects that are further away are lighter in value, while objects that
are closer are typically darker in value.
6. Perspective - Linear perspective is a drawing method that uses lines to create the
illusion of space on a flat surface.
Texture - the surface quality of an artwork and the roughness or smoothness of the material from
which it is made.
1. Implied texture - suggested roughness or smoothness of objects in the composition.
2. Real Texture – what it would feel like if you touch it.
Classification of Arts Based on Medium
Medium came from the Latin word “ medium “ which indicates the artist’s feelings or thoughts
depending on how the artist communicate his idea.
Visual Arts - those mediums that can be seen and occupy space. They are further divided into:
 Two-dimensional arts - They only have height and width (e.g., painting, drawing,
printmaking, photography) flat in form but rich in visual depth.
 Three-dimensional arts - They have height and width, and depth (e.g., sculpture,
architecture, crafts like ceramics) a lowing viewer to walk around through it.
Auditory Arts - those mediums that can be heard and expressed through time.
 Combined arts are mediums that can be both seen and heard, existing in both time and space.
 Performing arts depict a significant a significant event and represented before an audience.
Technique. The manner in which an artist controls their medium to achieve the desired effect. It
refers to the artist’s ability to meet the technical demands of their work and manipulate the medium to
express their vision.
Types of Painting
 Landscape - is an outdoor scene. A landscape artist uses paint to create not only land, water, and
clouds but air, wind, and sunlight.
 Portrait - is an image of a person or animal. Besides showing what someone looks like, a portrait
often captures a mood or personality.
 Still life- shows objects, such as flowers, food, or musical instruments. A still life reveals an
artist's skill in painting shapes, light, and shadow.
 Real Life - scene captures life in action. It could show a busy street, a beach party, a dinner
gathering, or a place where living goes on.
 Religious - work of art shares a Religious message. It might portray a sacred story or express an
artist's faith.
Method of Painting
1. Fresco - a painting method done on a moist plaster surface with colors ground in water or a
limewater mixture. It must be done quickly because the moment the paint is applied to the
surface, the color dry into the plaster and the painting became integral part of the wall. The image
will be permanently fixed and impossible to remove.
2. Tempera paints are mineral pigments mixed with egg yolk or egg white and ore. This egg-based
blend binds the pigments to the surface. Tempera is characterized by its film-forming properties
and rapid drying rate.
3. Pastel consists of pure powdered pigment and binder in a stick dried paste ground with chalk and
compounded with gum and water. It's basically the same pigment that is used in all art mediums.
4. Encaustic Painting also known as "hot wax painting" is a painting technique that uses heated
wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. The molten mix is applied to a surface
like canvas and other materials.
5. Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments with a
medium of drying oil as the binder. It is the process of painting in oil colors as a medium
consisting of pigments suspended in drying oils.
6. Acrylic Painting is one of the most popular types of painting today. Acrylic painting techniques
are different styles of manipulating and working with polymer-based acrylic paints. Acrylic
differs from oil paints and they have shorter drying times and are soluble in water.
Style of Painting
Abstract Art - Refers to a style of painting that does not use figurative reality as a reference.
4 Types of Abstract Art
1. Abstract Expressionism - paintings are emotionally intense and spontaneously created by
the artist.
2. Color Field- Paintings are characterized by solid colors on a flat plane. The colors are the
subjects themselves, and they are normally painted on large canvas material.
3. Lyrical abstraction - refers to abstract paintings that are softer and more romantic in
nature.
4. Cubism - is characterized by geometric figures. Cubist painters analyze the subject and
break it up into a geometric abstract form.
Surrealism - The images in these paintings are often illogical and have a dream-like quality about
them.
Conceptual Art - Is a modern art style where the artist believes that concept is more important than
artwork itself.
Pop Art - occurred as a reaction to abstract expressionism, which mid 1950s British artists believed
was art that was far-removed from daily life.
Photorealism - one that looks as realistic as a photograph. This is done by taking a picture of the
subject and then painting it.
Hyperrealism - Is an advancement of the photorealism art movement. Artists use high-resolution
cameras to take photographs and paint them on canvas.
Minimalism - is an art movement that is, as expected, characterized by simplicity. Minimalist
Paintings strip down the subject to its very essence.
Futurism - concerns itself with subjects like technology, speed, violence, and the future of the world.
It concerns itself with the depiction of man’s triumph over nature.
Impressionism - It is characterized by thin brushstrokes and an emphasis on the depiction of light. It
is often painted outdoors to capture sunlight and color of their subjects.
Fauvism - Is an art movement that occurred sometime after impressionism. Fauvist Paintings focus
on strong color. Artists employing this style have wild brush strokes and highly simplified subjects.
Baroque Art - is often thought of as a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear,
easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in their works.
Classical Art (Classicism) - idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male
figures were generally the focus of innovation. It also focuses on the beauty of a person.
Renaissance Art - A revival of classical learning, and a more individualistic view of man. The focus
was on the rebirth of classical ideas and artistic works. The works of art of the period often reflect
classical themes, including depictions of Greek deities.