Paintings From Photo

The Principles Of Design refer to the organization of a work of art. Each Principle interprets how an artist uses the Elements of Art, composition and design to express their feelings and ideas. By studying these, your own work will become more sophisticated as you will begin to apply this new knowledge to your own works of art. Let’s take a look at each one.

Rhythm & Movement

The words Rhythm and Movement are often associated with music, dance and sports. We think of steady marching rhythms, drum beats and the pulsing sound of the bass on the radio as types of rhythms. The darting of soccer players, the graceful flow of ballet dancers and the artful dodging of basketball players emphasize Movement. Art also has rhythm and movement, a visual rhythm, a rhythmic movement.

Balance

As humans we experience the need for Balance in our everyday life. We use it as we walk or run and to carry things. Balance is also necessary in other ways. We need to balance our awake and sleeping periods, our food intake and energy exports, and relaxation and stress. Balance is also important to a work of art. A balanced artwork leaves the viewer feeling “visually comfortable”. On the other hand, a work that is not balanced creates a sense of visual stress.

Proportion

The word “Proportion” means one part in relation to another. All people have a sense of proportion concerning themselves as compared to others. “My nose is too long for my face”. “She has long legs”. “His eyes are wide set.” All of these comments reinforce the idea that we see and have opinions about the relationships between one thing compared to another. Artists use their sense of Proportion to make statements or express a particular feeling about a subject in a work of art.

Variety keeps life interesting. Imagine if everything in your life was the same, day in and day out. Imagine the monotony! Artists also understand the importance of Emphasis in their work. Usually one part or area is given more detail to enhance that section.

Harmony & Unity

“Harmony” in music results in pleasing tones to the ears. “Harmony” in art results from a combination of related Elements of Art creating a pleasing work for the eye. “Unity” infers that the work of art is presented as a ” whole”. When a work of art has “Unity”, the viewer sees the work as a whole, not in separate sections.

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Article Source - The Elements of Art

The Elements Of Art are the building blocks of art creation. They can be analyzed, organized, and manipulated by artists. They are the VISUAL LANGUAGE of art. Each of the Elements is important. When looking at a work of art, see if you can identify which Elements of Art the artist stressed, organized or used to express a message or to create a mood.

How many types of lines can you make? How important are lines to our environment? The artist recognizes the power of the “Line” when he or she creates a work of art. Let’s take a more detailed look at “Line” and its impact on our world and the world of art.

Many people would argue that the Element of “Color” has the most effect on a work of art. Consider what our world would look like if everything was black, white and shades of gray? The effects of “Color” on humans has been studied many times. Artists have known that “Color” has a powerful effect on their works and on the impressions of the viewers. Let’s see what “Color” is and just how it is used in the visual arts.

An element of art which refers to the surface quality or “feel” of an object, its smoothness, roughness, softness, etc. Textures may be actual or simulated. Actual textures can be felt with the fingers, while simulated textures are suggested by the way the artist has painted certain areas of a picture.

Shapes are everywhere. More common ones are given names such as circle or square. There are an infinite amount of shape possibilities and combinations. Let’s see what role “Shape” plays in works of art and just how an artist uses the Element “Shape”.

Forms are often called the “three-dimensional shapes”. Unlike flat, two-dimensional areas, Forms are represented as “three-dimensional”. The great illustrators and sculptors of the world of art have mastered the Element Form. Let’s see how they did it!

Often we do not consider Space when we create a work of art. It often just seems to happen. Let’s take a look at how Space effects a work of art and just how artists use Space to create interest in their works.

Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. It also refers to how artists use other Elements Of Art to create a sense of light or dark.

Many art students enjoy drawing, but many of them say, “I can’t draw!” Discovering ways to instill in them, and give confidence, that they can draw can be a difficult task.

Chuck Close is a gifted artist with a dissability. Students were curious about his way of painting when they learned that Chuck paints with a paintbrush strapped to his hand, and that he is wheelchair bound. So when students think if he could paint like that, they could try to draw too.

By showing them examples of Chucks work and presenting them with the grid system, students begin to feel more comfortable… focusing on one inch at a time. Looking at 1-inch sections at a time, and not the whole portrait, helps students not to be overwhelmed by the thought of drawing the whole portrait.

The most difficult part then was ruler skills. Many students were having difficulty with the exact grid dimensions on their photocopied portrait picture and their drawing paper. I found them to be losing patience and getting frustrated, so making a grid on drawing paper myself 1 inch by 1 inch squares on a 8 ½” X 11″ sheet and putting in the photocopier with transparencies to have them be the same, simplified things tremendously.

All the students had to do was to tape the grid transparency to the portrait photocopy. They found this to be helpful and less frustrating. This then gave them the confidence they needed to look at the portrait and assess the shapes and values more closely.

Drawing the human figure is one of the most difficult things and my students always are intimidated by it, these modifications relived some of that tension and gave them the confidence that they need to believe in themselves that they can do it. It also got them quickly into the drawing part of the assignment.

Many times there are just too many preparation steps in a project and students lose interest and then are not motivated to complete the assignment. It is our job as teachers to keep students motivated and these simple project modifications are an example of that.

Article Source: Drawing By The Grid Method