01 understanding the arts

Welcome to “Approaching the Art: Visual” course.
For the next eight weeks you’ll not only fulfill a requirement for your
degree, you’ll gain knowledge that will change the way you look at
art and everything around you for the rest of your life.
Art is a part of our lives more than we realize. We all think of art as
painting, sculpture, ceramics, and architecture.
We overlook the fact that industrial/product design, interior design,
and graphic design, are all art forms and they all have a direct
impact on our everyday lives.
Everything we consume has been designed to influence our
selection of one product over a similar one. All details, from colors,
to forms, shapes, and textures, are carefully planned.

• A greater knowledge of art history and an understanding of
pictorial elements, such as composition and technique, should
increase your appreciation of art and enhance the pleasure you
derive from looking at it.
• Each chapter in your textbook explores the history and offers an
appreciation of the ideas behind an individual artwork or art
movement.
• It is my goal that this class adds to your enjoyment and
appreciation of great art.

Module Objective:
• This course focuses on the visual arts
– Two dimensional art
– Three dimensional art
and the historic context in which art was created.
• The objective of this module is to learn about important components
of art: Media, Elements of Design, and Principles of Design.
• These components are critical in understanding art, what goes into
its making, and lays to foundation for observing how it progressed
throughout history.

The elements of design are :
• Line
• Shape
• Form
• Mass
• Value
• Light
• Color
• Texture
• Pattern
• Space
• Time
• Motion

Line :
• Line is an essential tool in drawing. A line represents a "path"
between two points.
• Line can express emotion, create depth or define a space, and every
beginning artist should master this technique before moving on to
more complex techniques.
• Artists use lines to create edges, the outlines of objects. A line is
created by the movement of the artist's pen.
• Line quality describes the appearance of a line -- its look not its
direction. Different line qualities like thick, thin, light, dark, solid,
broken, colored etc. all will change how the line is interpreted in a
drawing.

• A line can be straight, curved, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or
zigzag.
• Lines imply motion and suggest direction or orientation.
• A line can also be implied, that is filled in by the mind when
several points are positioned geometrically within a frame.
Placing four dots on a page in the shape of a square can imply
the points are linked as the mind searches for recognizable
patterns.
• The direction and orientation of a line can also imply certain
feelings. Horizontal lines imply tranquility and rest, whereas
vertical lines imply power and strength. Oblique lines imply
movement, action and change.

• Curved lines or S shaped lines imply quiet, calm and sensual
feelings.
• Lines that converge imply depth, scale and distance - a
fence or roadway converges into the distance provides the
illusion that a flat two-dimensional image has three-
dimensional depth.
• A line is an effective element of design because it can lead
the viewer's eye.

LINE
• Line here is used to follow the
edges of forms to define the
contour. They are called contour
drawings.
• Horizontal and vertical lines are
static.
• Diagonal lines are dynamic and are
used to create the illusion of
motion/movement.
• Often artists use a combination of
lines to create a balanced
composition.
Keith Haring. Subway
Drawing. c.1983

LINE
Judy Pfaff. cirque,
Cirque. c. 1983
• This is a sculpture,
but the artist
exploited the linear
qualities of the
materials and she
organized them in
space to look like a
three dimensional
drawing.

TYPES OF LINE:
Artists use different types of lines often in combination.
The following are the types of lines:
•Actual lines
•Implied lines
•Lines created by edges

TYPES OF LINE:
Actual lines
Roy Lichtenstein
Still Life with Crystal Bowl.
Oil & magna on canvas, 1973
The lines in this artworks are
clearly defined. They are
straight, curved, and of
different thickness.

TYPES OF LINE:
Implied lines
Raphael. The Madonna of
the Meadows. Oil on panel.
1505
The lines that follow the
direction in which the
Madonna, and St. John and
Christ look can easily be
followed despite the fact that
they are not drawn.
These lines contribute to the
narrative.

TYPES OF LINE:
Lines formed by edges
Amedeo Modigliani. Elena
Pavlowski, 1917. Oil on canvas.
25 1/2 x 19 1/4 in.
The juxtaposition of dark and light
create the illusion of a line. These
lines are created by the edges.

FUNCTIONS OF LINE:
Lines serve different function:
•Outline
•Contour
•Direction
•Movement
•Emphasis

FUNCTIONS OF LINE:
1. Outline defines two-
dimensional shape.
2. Contours are the
boundaries we perceive of
three-dimensional forms.
Contour lines are the line
we draw to record those
boundaries.
Henri Matisse. Artist and
Model Reflected in the Mirror.
Pen & ink on paper, 1937

FUNCTIONS OF
LINE:
3. Direction
Vincent van Gogh,
Wheat Field. Mixed media
drawing. c. 1889
• The viewer’s eyes follow
the direction of the lines
from foreground toward
the back to stop on the
hills, house, trees and the
sun.
• The lines direct the eyes
from front to back.

FUNCTIONS OF
LINE:
4. Movement
Thomas Eakins,
The Biglin Brothers Racing,
Oil on canvas, 1873- 74
• The horizontal parallel
lines of the tree tops,
shore, and two
canoes, and water,
create the illusion that
the canoes are gliding.
• The diagonals created
by the oars, and the
arms of the men as
they are rowing, create
the illusion of motion,
the illusion that the
canoe is gliding on the
surface of the water.

FUNCTIONS OF
LINE:
5. Emphasis.
Theodore Gericault. The Raft of the Medusa.
Oil on canvas, 1818-1819
16 ft x 23 ft
• The lines created by
the edges of the of
the raft, the ropes
and the sail
emphasize the
tragedy taking place
on the raft.

Théodore GÉRICAULT (Rouen, 1791 - Paris, 1824)
The Raft of the Medusa
This work caused a huge scandal at the Salon of 1819. For the
first time, an artist had depicted an event from contemporary
history without having received a commission and had filled his
composition with anonymous figures in a format reserved for
historical painting.
The subject was a critical statement on the government then in
power: in 1816, the frigate “Medusa” sank because of the
incompetence of a captain who had obtained his post through
political relations.
Due to a shortage of lifeboats, 149 people piled onto a raft that
drifted for twelve days.

Only fifteen survived the ensuing slaughter, madness, and
cannibalism.
Seen from one corner, the raft appears very unstable, while two
diagonals heighten the dramatic tension: one leads the eye to
the vast wave that threatens to engulf the raft, the other leads to
the tiny silhouette of “The Argus,” the ship that eventually
rescued them.
This long oblique line evokes the tragedy and the various
psychological states of mind: the dejection of the bewildered
man holding his dead son, the dying man rising up with a start,
and the desperate hope of those waving to their potential
rescuer.
But at this point in time, nobody knew which way the scales of
fortune would tip. The only hero in this poignant story is
humanity, and that is what still moves us today.

SHAPE AND MASS
A shape is a two-dimensional
form. It occupies an area with
identifiable boundaries.
Henry Matisse. The Beasts of
the Sea. Collage and gouache,
1950.

Shape:
Shapes can be organic and geometric.
Organic shapes are shapes with a natural look and a flowing and
curving appearance. For this reason, they are often also referred to
as curvilinear shapes.
Examples of organic shapes include the shapes of leaves, plants,
and animals.
Artists utilize organic shapes and geometric shapes in different
ways.

When attempting to create a piece that looks natural, flowing,
soft, peaceful, or calming, organic shapes are generally the
shapes of choice.
When attempting to create a sense of chaos, anger, or
rigidity, geometric shapes are used.
Geometric shapes may also be used to create abstract
interpretations of things that would normally be depicted as
organic shapes.

A mass is a three-
dimensional form that
occupies a volume in
space.
Figurine of a Lady
Maya, Late Classic
Period, 700-900 AD
MASS:

LIGHT
1. ACTUAL LIGHT
Light generated by a
source of light (Sun,
light bulb, candle,
etc.)
Claes Oldenburg
and Coosje van
Bruggen
Clothespin. 1976.
Cor-Ten Steel

2. THE ILLUSION OF
LIGHT
Thomas Eakins
The Concert Singer.
1892. Oil on canvas.

THE ILLUSION OF LIGHT
When light from a single direction (e.g. our sun) hits an object,
part of the object is in shadow.
Light and dark areas within an image provide contrast that can
suggest volume.
Factors that can affect our feelings towards an image include the
direction of the light source, from above or below, and the
gentleness or abruptness of the half tones.
Light emitted from above and to the side when applied to portraits
emphasizes edges and depth.

VALUE:
Value refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a certain area.
Value can be used for emphasis. Variations in value are used to
create a focal point for the design of a picture.
A light object on a dark background will be immediately recognized
as the center of attention, similarly for a dark object on a mostly
white background.
Gradations of value are also used to create the illusion of depth.
Areas of light and dark can give a three-dimensional impression,
such as when shading areas of a person's face.

COLOR
Color occurs when light in different wavelengths strikes our eyes.
Objects have no color of their own, only the ability to reflect a
certain wavelength of light back to our eyes.
Color can vary in differing circumstances. For example, grass can
appear gray in the morning or evening or bright green at noon.
Colors appear different depending on whether you view them
under incandescent, florescent or natural sunlight.

Colors also change according to their surroundings.
You can see this by looking at the color squares above - the
reddish outline box is the same color in all the examples.

COLOR
Color Theory
• Primary colors (red,
yellow, blue)
• Secondary colors
(orange, green, and
violet); each secondary
color is obtained by
mixing two primary
colors
• Tertiary colors (the
product of a primary
color with the adjacent
secondary color)
• Complementary colors
(diametrically opposed
on the color wheel)

• Color Value refers to the lightness or darkness of the hue.
Adding white to a hue produces a high-value color, often called a
tint. Adding black to a hue produces a low-value color, often
called a shade.
• Intensity refers to the brightness of a color. A color is at full
intensity when not mixed with black or white - a pure hue. You
can change the intensity of a color, making it duller or more
neutral by adding gray to the color. You can also change the
intensity of a color by adding its complement (this is the color
found directly opposite on the traditional color wheel). When
changing colors this way, the color produced is called a tone.
• When you mix complementary colors together, you produce a
dull tone. However, when you put complementary colors side by
side, you increase their intensity. This effect is called
simultaneous contrast - each color simultaneously intensifies
the visual brightness of the other color.

COLOR HARMONIES
(color scheme)
1. Monochromatic Harmonies
This color scheme involves the use of
only one hue.
The hue can vary in value, and black or
white may be added to create various
shades or tints.
Arnoldo-Roche Rabell. The
Spirit of the Flesh. 1980. Oil
pastel on paper.

COLOR HARMONIES
(color scheme)
Complementary Harmonies
This color scheme involves
the use of colors that are
located opposite on the
color wheel such as red and
green, yellow and purple, or
orange and blue.
Complementary colors
produce a very exciting,
dynamic pattern.
Marc Chagall
The Painter and His Wife,
Oil on canvas, 1969

COLOR HARMONIES (color
scheme)
Analogous Harmonies
This color scheme involves the
use of colors that are located
adjacent on the color wheel.
The hues may vary in value. The
color scheme is analogous, with
the colors varying only slightly
from each other.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Portrait of Madame
Renoir. Oil on canvas,
c. 1910

OPTICAL EFFECTS
OF COLOR
(afterimage)
• Stripes: GREEN and
black
• Square corner: red
• Stars: black.
• Stare at the dot in the
center for 30 seconds
minimum. Quickly
turn eyes to a white
paper or wall.
• The image should
appear in
complementary colors
(green background for
stars and red stripes)

OPTICAL EFFECTS OF COLOR (Optical color mixture,
pointilism)
When small dots of color are placed adjacent to each other,
your eye will combine the colors into a blended color.
This is the principle used when printing color in magazines.
Dots of cyan, magenta, yellow and black are distributed in a
pattern on the paper, and depending on the quantity of a
certain dot, you will see a specific color on the page.
Georges Seurat used a technique called pointillism that
involved creating art using the combination of dots to form
images.

OPTICAL EFFECTS OF
COLOR (Optical color
mixture, pointilism)
Georges Seurat A
Sunday on La Grande
Jatte, 1884-86
Oil on canvas. 6’9” x 10’1”

TEXTURE
Texture = surface quality.
• The perception of texture is dependent on light.
• Kinds of texture:
Smooth
Rough
Flat
Bumpy
Fine
Coarse

TEXTURE TYPES:
ACTUAL TEXTURE (TACTILE)
• Rougher texture has greater surface elevation differences.
• Actual texture is associated mostly with three-dimensional
media.
• Paintings can have actual texture if the artist uses IMPASTO
(thick layers of paint that preserve the marks of the tool they
were applied with)
• Some artists attach objects to the surface of a painting and that
make the painting more of a relief (which is sculpture) than a
painting.
VISUAL TEXTURE
• The visual texture is a simulation of actual texture
• The marks on a two-dimensional surface record only the effects
of light and dark in the form of patterns that are similar to the
ones from the world around us.

Frantishek Kupka
Prometheus in Red
and Blue. 1908.
Watercolor
TEXTURE (visual)

PATTERN
Pattern: any decorative, repetitive
motif or design. Pattern it is
usually decorative.
• The repeated elements in the
drawing are intentionally
decorative.
• They do not resemble nature, and
that is the intention of the artist.
• Artworks in which pattern is
heavily used are flat.
• Almost always creates visual
texture.
Gustav Klimt.
Expectation. c. 1905-09.
Mixed media with silver and gold
leaf on paper.

SPAC
E
Three-dimensional space
• The space occupied by actual objects.
• Space is a necessary element.
• In architecture we can talk about interior and exterior space.
• Sculpture cannot exist without the third dimension.
Two-dimensional space
Two-dimensional space = surface (has width and length)
Illusion of Depth
• The illusion of depth on a flat surface is dependent on several
“tricks”
• First the PICTURE PLANE (= the surface of the painting) is
established

METHODS FOR CREATING THE ILLUSION OF DEPTH
• Overlapping When objects are partially obscured by other objects
in front of them, we perceive them as further back than the
covering objects. We do not see them as incomplete forms, just
further back.
• Position (objects placed at the top of a painting seem farther
than the ones placed at the bottom)
• Linear Perspective (developed and perfected by Italian artists
during the 15th
century). Rules of linear perspective include:
1.forms away from viewer are smaller than the ones
close.
2.parallel lines converge (vanishing point). isometric
perspective;

• Isometric Perspective
• Rules of isometric perspective include:
1.forms away from viewer are the same size as the
ones close.
2.parallel lines do not converge converge (there si
no vanishing point).
• Foreshortening
• Atmospheric perspective (distant objects re blurred,
indistinct, misty (blue is added to the colors used for distant
objects)

Pablo Picasso
Women Running on the Beach.
1922.
Oil on plywood
METHODS FOR
CREATING THE
ILLUSION OF DEPTH
1. Overlapping

Chiu-Tah, Taos Pueblo
Taos Round Dance. 1938
Tempera.
METHODS FOR
CREATING THE
ILLUSION OF DEPTH
2. Position
(objects placed at the top
of a painting seem farther
than the ones placed at the
bottom)

METHODS FOR
CREATING THE
ILLUSION OF DEPTH
3. Perspective
- Linear
- Isometric
Schetch for linear and isometric
Perspective

Canaletto, View of Venice: Grand Canal,
Looking Southwest from near the Rialto
Bridge, c. 1730. Oil on canvas
METHODS FOR
CREATING THE
ILLUSION OF DEPTH
Perspective: Linear

Kumano Mandala. Japan
Kamakura Period, c. 1300
Color on silk.
METHODS FOR
CREATING THE
ILLUSION OF DEPTH
Perspective: Isometric

METHODS FOR
CREATING THE
ILLUSION OF DEPTH
4. Foreshortening
is a method of rendering a
specific object or figure in a
picture in depth.
The artist records, in varying
degrees, the distortion that is
seen by the eye when an
object or figure is viewed at a
distance or at an unusual
angle.
Andrea Mantegna.
Dead Christ. After 1466
Tempera on canvas

Devices to create the illusion of the three-dimensional depth
on a two dimensional surface
Seen as foreground:
• Large size
• Set low in the the picture
• Parallel lines set far apart
• Overlapping other forms
• Sharply define forms
• Rough textures
Seen as background:
• Small size
• Set high in the picture
• Parallel lines converging
• Overlapped by other forms
• Blurred forms
• Grayed colors
• Smooth textures

TIME AND MOTION
Elapsed time
• Actual time needed to perceive a 3-D object. Time needed to
actually move around the piece, see every time another angle and
add up everything to perceive the object in its entirety.
Actual Motion
• Kinetic artworks are moving activated by motors or wind.
Illusion of Motion
• Futurists created the illusion of motion.

Giacommo Balla.
Dynamism of a Dog in a
Leash. 1912. Oil on
canvas.
Illusion of Motion.
Futurism.

The decision to complete a painting requires a
great number of decisions on the part of the artist:
• Medium (oil, water color, acrylics, etc.)
• Support (canvas, paper, wood panel,
metal, etc.)
• Subject
• Composition
• A completed work of art has three components:
• Subject
• Form
• Content

THE PRINCIPLES OF
DESIGN ARE NOT RULES
OR LAWS.
THE PRINCIPLES OF
DESIGN ARE GUIDELINES
THAT APPLY IN MOST
SITUATIONS.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
• Unity
• Variety
• Balance - Symmetrical
- Asymmetrical
- Radial
• Emphasis and Focal Point
• Proportion and Scale
• Rhythm

UNITY AND VARIETY
(visual)
Henri Matisse.
The Red Studio. 1911.
Oil on canvas.
The color (red) unifies
the image. The variety
of shapes is balanced
by the unifying color.

UNITY AND VARIETY (visual)
Ben Jones. Black Face and Arm Unit.
1971. Painted Plaster
The arms and heads are the unifying elements. The different
patterns provide variety.

BALANCE: SYMETRICAL
symmetry or symmetrical balance - The parts of an image or object
organized so that one side duplicates, or mirrors, the other.
Also known as formal balance, its opposite is asymmetry -
asymmetrical balance.
Symmetrical balance is easiest to see in perfectly centered
compositions or those with mirror images.
In a design with only two elements they would be almost identical
or have nearly the same visual mass.

BALANCE
(symmetrical)
Paul Gauguin.
Day of the Gods.
1894. Oil on
Canvas

BALANCE
(symmetrical)
Frida Kahlo. The
Two Fridas. 1939.
Oil on canvas

• Asymmetrical balance occurs when several smaller items on
one side are balanced by a large item on the other side, or
smaller items are placed further away from the center of the
screen than larger items. One darker item may need to be
balanced by several lighter items.
• Although asymmetrical balance may appear more casual and
less planned, it is usually harder to use because the artist must
plan the layout very carefully to ensure that it is still balanced.
• An unbalanced page or screen creates a feeling of tension, as if
the page or screen might tip, or things might slide off the side,
just as the unbalanced balance beam would tip to one side
• The following images are examples of different ways artists
used asymmetrical balance.
BALANCE: ASYMETRICAL

BALANCE
(asymmetrical)
Principles of visual balance are used to visually balance artworks.
The above diagrams include examples visual weight that artists can
Employ to achieve asymmetrical balance.

BALANCE
(asymmetrical)
The principle used
in this artwork is
illustrated by #6 in
the previous
diagram.
Gustav Klimt.
Death and Life. 1911-1915.
Oil on canvas. 5’10”x6’6”

BALANCE
(asymmetrical)
This principle
used in this
artwork is
the diagram.
Sakai Hoitsu. Summer
Rain.
Edo Period (late
18th
-early19th C).
Color on silver paper

BALANCE
(asymmetrical)
BALANCE
(asymmetrical)
This principle used
in this artwork is
the diagram.
Joseph M. Turner.
The Burning of the
Houses of Parliament.
c. 1835.
Oil on canvas.

BALANCE
(asymmetrical)
BALANCE
(asymmetrical)
This principle
used in this
artwork is
illustrated by #5
in the diagram.
Edouard Manet. A bar at the Folies-Bergère.
1881-1882. Oil on canvas.

BALANCE
RADIAL
Baptism of Christ and
Procession of twelve
Apostles, dome mosaic.
c.520. Arian Baptistry,
Ravenna. Italy.
The third type of balance is radial
balance, where all elements
radiate out from a center point in
a circular fashion. It is very easy
to maintain a focal point in radial
balance, since all the elements
lead your eye toward the center.

EMPHASIS AND FOCAL POINT
• One method used to attract attention in the design of a page or
work of art is the use of a focal point.
• A focal point draws your attention to the most important element
on the page.
• There are several techniques used to emphasize the most
important object on a page.

EMPHASIS AND FOCAL POINT
Grant Wood. Parson
Weems’ Fable. 1939.
Oil on canvas
• Emphasis by
Placement
• An object placed in the
center will often be
perceived as a focal
point. If all eyes in the
painting look at one
object, or if an object is
placed at the center of
the lines of perspective,
that object will be
perceived as the focus
of the work.

• Dimensional element's defined by other elements relative to its
surroundings, or in relation to human size.
• Unusual or even unexpected scale can certainly be used as a
attention grabber.
• Changing the natural scale is certainly not unusual. It is frequently
used in religious painting.
SCALE

SCALE
Claes Oldenburg.
Knife/Ship II. 1986. Wood, steel, aluminum,
painted with polyurethane enamel.

SCALE
(hierarchal)
Wall painting from
the tomb of Nebamun.
Thebes, Egypt.
C. 1450 B.C.
Hierarchical scale in art
is the manipulation of
size and space in a
picture to emphasize
importance of a specific
Object or person.

PROPORTION
• Proportion is linked to the mathematical term ratio.
• The golden rectangle is an expression (golden mean) is width is to
length as length is to length plus width (w:1 as 1:1 + w).
• Artists AND Architects still use the proportions of the golden
mean.

PROPORTION
Renè Magritte.
Delusions
of grandeur II. 1948.
Oil on canvas.

RYTHM
• A recurrence or repetition of one or more elements within a visual
composition with the goal of creating harmony i.e. a rhythmic
feeling.
• In visual arts it is the flow and movement of visual element's). It is
a principle based on repetition. It a distinct reputation of elements
that are the same or slightly changed.
• Alternating rhythm consists of successive patterns in which the
element(s) continue to appear in a regular distinct order.
• Progressive Rhythm is repetition of a shape the changes in a very
regular manner. .

Amanda Hone
Natural Rhythm
Acrylic on canvas
RYTHM

Two-Dimensional Media
Two-Dimensional Art includes
•Drawing
•Painting
•Printmaking
•Photographic arts
•Graphic Design
•Illustration
They differ from each other in technique and materials used.
Painting, drawing, and printmaking employ pigments that are
mixed with a binder like oil, acrylic, gum Arabic, etc.

DRAWING
• Drawing is the artist’s note taking (preliminary sketches)
• The preliminary sketches reflect the artist’s testing of ideas.
MATERIALS FOR DRAWING
• Some artists draw in one medium only but most draw using a
wide range of media.
• All drawing and painting media are based on PIGMENT (coloring
material that has been ground and mixed with a substance,
binder, that enables it to adhere to the drawing surface.).
• The drawing materials are divided into:
- Dry media (particles of pigment mixed with binder and dried)
- Liquid media (particles of pigment suspended in liquid)

DRAWING
Edgar Degas. Dancer Adjusting her
Slipper. 1873.
Graphite and charcoal heightened
with white chalk.

DRAWING
Yann Weymouth. Ideas for the
supporting structure of the Louvre
Pyramid. c. 1986. Ink, colored
pencil, and guache on paper.

DRY MEDIA
• Pencil.
• Metalpoint: the ancestor of the graphite pencil. A thin metal wire (mostly
silver) mounted in a holding device. Popular during Renaissance.
• Charcoal: vine wood heated in a kiln until only carbon remains.
• Chalk and Crayon. The main difference between them is the binder.
Chalks have nonfat binders. Crayons have fatty, greasy binders.
• Charcoal and chalk are usually attached to the support (paper) with
fixative.

DRY MEDIA:
PENCIL
Jean-Auguste-Dominique
Ingres.
Portrait of Nicolo Paganini.
1819.
Graphite pencil.

DRY MEDIA:
METALPOINT
Perugino. A Man in
Armor. Late 15th
-early 16th
century.
Metalpoint, heightened with white
pencil on blue ground.

DRY MEDIA:
CRAYON
Georges Seurat.
The Couple
study for Sunday on La Grande
Jatte. Conté
Crayon on paper.

DRY MEDIA: CHALK
Jean Antoine Wateau.
Seated Young Woman.
Red, black, and white chalks
on cream-colored paper.

DRY MEDIA:
PASTEL
Edgar Degas.
The Entrance of the
Masked Dancers
Pastel on paper.

LIQUID MEDIA
• Pen and Ink
• Brush and Ink can be used with ink diluted with water or un-
diluted.
• When ink is used diluted by adding water to it is called a wash.
More or less water is usually added based on the desired effect.
• For lighter washes more water is added.

LIQUID MEDIA:
PEN AND INK
Rembrandt.
A Man Rowing a
Boat on the
Bullewyk.
c. 1650.
Pen and brown
wash and
white body color.

MATERIALS FOR PAINTING
• Pigment
• Medium/vehicle
• Binder
• Support:
- canvas,
- paper,
- wood panel,
- wall,
- metal plate, and more.
• Ground/Primer: support preliminary coating.
PAINTING

PAINTING MEDIA
• ENCAUSTIC
• FRESCO
• EGG TEMPERA
• OIL
• WATERCOLOR
• GOUACHE
• SYNTHETIC MEDIA
• PAINTING RELATED TECHNIQUES - COLLAGE
- MOSAIC

PAINTING:
ENCAUSTIC
• In this medium the pigments are mixed with molten wax.
• When the colors are heated the wax melts and the paint can be
brushed easily.
• When the wax cools, the paint hardens. When it cools off the
surface is slightly opaque. Every layer needs buffing with wool
cloth. More layers must be applied to complete a painting.
• This was an important technique in ancient Greece.
• It was adopted by Romans and forgotten with the fall of the
Roman empire.
• It was redeveloped after the discovery of the Roman-Egyptian
portraits.

PAINTING:
ENCAUSTIC
Young Woman with a Gold
Pectoral, from Fayum.
100-150 C.E.
Encaustic on wood.
This portrait was placed on the
mummy. This is a accurate
portrait of the deceassed.
The following is a Fayum
mummy example.

PAINTING:NTIN
ENCAUSTIC
Mummy case of Artemidoros, from
Fayum.
100-200 AD.
Stucco casing with portrait in
encaustic on limewood with added gold
leaf.
67” high. The British museum, London.

PAINTING:
ENCAUSTIC
Jasper johns,
Numbers in Color.
1958-59.
Encaustic and newspaper on
canvas.
This is an example of how
the
technique was used in the
20th
century

PAINTING: FRESCO
• Pigments are mixed with water and applied to a plaster support.
• Fresco - buon fresco (true fresco)
- fresco secco (dry fresco)
• Is a wall-painting technique. It was used for large-scale murals
since ancient times.
• The plaster can be painted while wet therefore the artist must plan
each day’s work and spread plaster that can be painted in one
session.
• Michelangelo could cover one square yard in a day.
• It requires careful planning and hard physical labor.
• Work may be guided by a full size drawing called cartoon. The
drawing’s outline is perforated. Pigment is then forced through
the holes.
• The fresco technique requires maximum precision. Corrections
are very difficult.
• Frescoes have survived since ancient times.

PAINTING:
FRESCO
Raphael.
The school of
Athens
1510-1511.
Fresco.
Stanza della
Segnautra,
Vatican, Rome.

PAINTING: TEMPERA
• Tempera
• Egg tempera
• Casein tempera
• In egg tempera the medium is an emulsion that contains egg yolk.
• In casein tempera the medium is an emulsion that contains casein
(a milk derivative)

PAINTING:
EGG TEMPERA
Andrew Wyeth
Braids.
1979.
Egg tempera on
canvas.

PAINTING: OIL
• Oil paints consist of pigment compounded with oil, usually
linseed oil.
• Oil paints can be worked in an almost infinite range of
consistencies ranging from GLAZES to IMPASTO.
• Oil paint can be applied most commonly with a brush or a knife ( a
special painting knife).
• Painting knives vary in size and shape.
• Common support for oil painting: canvas, linen, wood panel,
cardboard, and more.
• The support must be prepared with a ground or primer before
painting.

PAINTING:
OIL
Jan van Eyk
Man in red Turban
1433.
Tempera and oil on wood
panel.

PAINTING: WATERCOLOR
• The pigment is mixed with water and gum arrabic ( sticky plant
substance that is water soluble) that acts as a binder.
• The support for watercolor is usually a specially formulated paper.
• The characteristic of watercolor is its transparency.
• Watercolor paintings are very sensitive to humidity.

PAINTING:
WATERCOLOR
Winslow Homer
Shore and Surf,
Nassau.
1899.
Watercolor on
paper

PAINTING: GOUACHE
• Gouache is a watercolor with inert white pigment added.
• An inert pigment becomes colorless in paint. In gouache it serves
to make colors opaque.

PAINTING:
WATERCOLOR
AND GOUACHE
Paul Klee
Landscape with
Yellow Birds
1923.
Watercolor and
gouache on paper

PAINTING: ACRYLIC
• By the 1930’s chemists developed paints using a vehicle of
synthetic plastic resins.
• By 1950’s advances in technology allowed the development of of
paints that met the artists requirements.
• The acrylic became the first challenger for oil paint.
• Water based medium.
• Support: paper, canvas, linen, metal, wall, etc.

PAINTING:
ACRYLIC
Helen Frankenthaler
The Bay
1963
Acrylic on canvas.

PAINTING-RELATED TECHNQUES:
COLLAGE
• A collage is a technique of making art that may include newspaper
clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers, portions of
other artwork, photographs and other found objects, glued to a
piece of paper, canvas, wood, or any other material.
• The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but
this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the late 20th
century.

PAINTING-RELATED
TECHNQUES:
COLLAGE
Pablo Picasso.
Music and Glass
1912
Pastel on paper, gouache,
and charcoal.
Collage: Music sheet,
newspaper fragment, colored
paper, glued on wallpaper

PAINTING-RELATED TECHNQUES: MOSAIC
• Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small
pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials.
• It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior
decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral.
• Small pieces, normally roughly cubic, of stone or glass of different
colors, known as tesserae, are used to create a pattern or picture.

PAINTING-
RELETED
TECHNQUES:
MOSAIC
Empress Theodora and Retinue. c.547. Mosaic. San
Vitale, Ravena, Italy.

PRINTMAKING
METHODS FOR PRINTING
• Relief
- Woodcut
- Wood Engraving
- Linocut
• Intaglio
- Engraving
- Drypoint
- Mezotint
- Etching
- Aquatint
• Lithography
• Screenprinting

PRINTING
Multipurpose printing
press
This is a small press.
Presses that can print as
large as 44” x 63” are
considered large presses.
However there are presses
now that can print larger.

RELIEF
Relief: printing method in which the image to be printed is raised from
the background.
The piece that holds the image to be printed is called a printing block,
and can be made of wood, linoleum, stone. A printing block made of
metal is called a printing plate (copper plate, zinc plate, etc)

RELIEF: STONE
Mungituk
Man carried to the Moon
1959
Stone Relief print.
The printing block is stone.

RELIEF: WOODCUT
Albrecht Dürer
Four Horsemen
of the Apocalypse, from the
Apocalypse series
c.1497-1498.
Woodcut
The printing block is wood.

RELIEF: LINOCUT
Pablo Picasso
Portrait of a Young Girl,
after Cranach the Younger, II.
1958
Linoleum cut printed In color
Printing block is linoleum.
Each color was printed
Separately with a diferent
printing block. The challenge
was to align the printing
blocks properly otherwise the
colors would overlop and the
image would be very
confusing

INTAGLIO
Intaglio: printing method in which the image to be printed is
below the background. The ink is held in the grooves (cavities
created by removing/carving out the metal plate).
Intaglio includes:
– Engraving
– Drypoint
– Mezzotint
– Etching
– aquatint

INTAGLIO: ENGRAVING
Basic tool of engraving: the
burin, a sharp V-shaped
instrument used to cut lines into
the metal plate.
The printing press is necessary
to transfer the image from the
printing plate to the paper.
Shading effects are achieved by
hatching, cross hatching and
stippling.

INTAGLIO:
ENGRAVING
ENGRAVING
Marcantonio Raimondi.
After Raphael.
The Judgment of Paris.
Engraving
C. 1514-1518.
Raimondi, well known
engraver for his prints
copying paintings

INTAGLIO:
DRYPOINT
The technique is similar to
engraving. The engraving
tool is a needle.
The needle scratches
across the plate raising a
burr, or a thin ridge of metal
that holds the ink.
Lines in drypoint are softer
than in engraving.

INTAGLIO:
DRYPOINT
Pablo Picasso
At the circus
1905
Drypoint.

INTAGLIO:
MEZZOTINT
Mezzotint is a reverse process. The
entire surface is roughen with a
tool called rocker. If inked and
printed the page would be entirely
black.
Lighter tones created by
smoothing or rubbing so as not to
trap ink.
Major advantage of mezzotint is
that it is capable of subtle
gradations from dark to light.

INTAGLIO:
MEZZOTINT
Peter Pelham
Cotton Mather
1727
Mezzotint.

INTAGLIO:
ETCHING
Etching is done with acids that
“eat” the metal plate in areas
where it is exposed.
The metal plate is covered with a
ground that is resistant to acid.
Desired areas are exposed by
having the ground removed. The
plate is then dipped in acid, rinsed,
and the ground removed.
The plate is used as a regular
printing plate.

INTAGLIO:
ETCHING
Rembrandt.
Christ Preaching
c. 1652
Etching.

INTAGLIO:
AQUATINT
The plate is dusted with a resin.
The plate is heated so the resin
sticks to it. There are various
methods to control the resin’s
distribution on the plate.
Because aquatint does not print
lines but only areas of tone it is
always combined with other
intaglio
techniques – drypoint, etching or
engraving.

INTAGLIO:
AQUATINT
Francisco de Goya
Hasta la Muerte (Until Death).
1891
Etching and aquatint.

LITHOGRAPHY
Lithography: printing method in which the image to be printed is on the
same level with the background. The method is based on the principle
that oil and water do not mix.
Lithography the word’s originated from Greek λίθος - lithos, 'stone' +
γράφειν - graphein, 'to write‘.
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone (lithographic
limestone) or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface.
Traditional

Innovations in printing processes and presses include the
development of presses with multiple units (each containing one
printing plate) that can print multi-color images in one pass on both
sides of the sheet, and presses that accommodate continuous rolls
(webs) of paper, known as web presses.
The introduction of desktop publishing made it possible for type and
images to be modified easily computers for printing by commercial
presses.
The development of the digital platesetter, a process known as CTP
(computer to plate) printing revolutionized printing.

LITHOGRAPHY
Edward Munch
Sin
1901
Color lithograph

SCREENPRINTING
(SERIGRAPHY)
Screenprinting: printing
method based on the stencil
principle.
The screen: fine mesh of
synthetic fiber mounted on a
frame. Areas not meant to be
printed are blocked with a
photosensitive glue so the ink
does not pass through. The ink
is forced through the mesh
with a squeegee.

SCREENPRINTING
(SERIGRAPHY)
Printing Press

SCREENPRINTING
(SERIGRAPHY)
Andy Warhol
Marilyn
1967
Serigraph on paper

SCREENPRINTING
(SERIGRAPHY)
Andy Warhol
Marilyn
1967
Serigraph on paper.

Andy Warhol
Marilyn
1967
Serigraph on paper.
SCREENPRINTING
(SERIGRAPHY)

SCREENPRINTING
(SERIGRAPHY)
Andy Warhol. Marilyn.1967.
Serigraph on paper.
Andy Warhol
Marilyn
1967
Serigraph on paper.

THREE DIMENSIONAL MEDIA
Three-Dimensional Art includes
•Sculpture
•Ceramics
•Glass
They differ from each other in technique and materials used.

SCULPTURE
METHODS AND MATERIALS OF SCULPTURE
• Modeling (clay, and plasticine which is an oil based clay)
• Casting (plaster, rubber mold materials, ceramic shell, metal)
• Carving (stone, wood)
• Assembling (wood, metal, plastic)
• Modeling and Assembling/Fabricating are additive processes. The
process begins with a core or frame and material is added to it.
• Carving is a subtractive process. It starts with a large amount of a
material from which small amounts are removed repeatedly until
the desired shape is achieved.
• Casting occupies a category of its own due to the specifics of the
process. Based on the mold type one or more copies can be
produced.

MODELING
• Modeling is an additive
processes (material is
added).
• The process begins with
a core or frame and
material (clay) is added
to it.
• Modeling is one of the
preliminary steps in
bronze casting.

MODELING
Clodion (Claude Michel).
Satyre and Bacchante.
c. 1775.
Terracotta.
23”high

MODELING
Female figure, from Cyprus.
c. 1500-1200 B.C.E.
Terracotta.
6.25” high

CARVING
• Carving is a subtractive
process (material is removed).
• It starts with a large amount of
a material from which small
amounts are removed
repeatedly until the desired
shape is achieved.

CARVING
Tillamn Riemenschneider.
Virgin and Child on a Crescent Moon.
c. 1495.
Lime wood. Height 34”.

CARVING
Colossal Head. Olmec.
1500-300 B.C.E.
Basalt.
8ft tall.

CASTING
• Casting occupies a
category of its own
due to the specifics
of the process.
• Based on the mold
type one or more
copies can be
produced.

CASTING
Bronze: an alloy of copper
and tin often with a small
amount of lead
Crucible: Vessel used to melt
metal. The crucible is made of
bonded silicon carbide.
Crucible

• The modeling medium -
clay, wax, plasticene,
plaster - each demands
its own specific
knowledge of technique.
THE CASTING PROCESS
Step 1: Modeling

THE CASTING PROCESS
Step 2: Mold Making
• Mold making is a process of using
a material to make a "mold" of the
original model.
• Once the mold is created it will be
used repeatedly to make the
required number of castings for
the edition.
• The most common mold making
material is rubber. There are
many different rubbers available
today - silicone, latex,
polyurethane and polysulfides.
Each rubber has it's own
properties (strength, hardness,
flexibility, etc..)

THE CASTING PROCESS
Step 3: Wax Casting
• Bronze sculptures are usually cast
hollow if they are over any size 1"
in diameter.
• Bronze experiences heat
deformation as it cools and the
thicker the casting the more severe
the deformation, for this reason
most pieces are cast hollow.
• The goal of the wax casting is to
create a hollow wax copy of the
sculpture that will later be used to
create a heat-resistant shell that
encapsulates it.
• This process allows the sculptor to
create a limited edition of their
work.

THE CASTING PROCESS
Step 4: Wax Chasing and
gates making
• The wax casting is then cleaned
up - a process called chasing.
• A variety of sculpting and melting
tools are used to chase the wax.
• Bars of wax called gates are
attached by heating to the wax
casting. These gates are then
attached to a pour cup.
• The pour cup and gates are the
plumbing for the bronze - how
the metal will feed into the
casting. Often times a piece is
cast in several different pieces
and then welded together after
the casting has occurred.

THE CASTING PROCESS
Step 5: Ceramic Shell
• The wax is first coated with ceramic
shell "slurry" - whether by dipping or
pouring it over the wax casting.
• This allows you to cast a hollow bronze
• After coating the wax with slurry it is
then stuccoed with a refractory material,
fused silica.
• These stuccos come in a fine, medium,
and coarse grain. Each slurry coat and
stucco must dry before the next one is
applied, which is about 12 hours. It
takes an average of 4-5 days, mostly
drying time, to create the ceramic shell.
• The mold is then put into a high
temperature dewaxing oven. The wax
then melts out, thus being "lost."
• This wax is actually recycled and used
again.
• The ceramic shell, it is inspected for
cracks in its surface and is patched
accordingly with refractory cement.

THE CASTING PROCESS
Step 6: Pouring the Bronze
• Bronze ingots are placed into a
crucible and melted and brought up
to a pouring temperature in a
specially designed furnace.
• The ceramic shells are placed upside
down with the pour cups facing up
and packed in sand to stabilize and
insulate them.
• The crucible is then lifted out of the
furnace by a mechanical device and
hoisted over each ceramic shell.
• As the bronze cools it shrinks about
1/4" for every 12". The ceramic shell
cracks and is not reusable, for every
casting in the edition you must go
back to the rubber mold for another
wax casting and start the process all
over again.
• The shell is knocked off with a
hammer and chisel and the casting
is cleaned usually by sandblasting.

THE CASTING PROCESS
Step 7: Chasing the Bronze
• After the ceramic shell has been
removed from the casting the gates
and pour cup are cut off with a
grinder or arc - cutter. If the piece
has several components they are
now welded back together usually
with TIG welder and on larger
pieces with a MIG welder.
• The Chasing process consists of
several steps that progressively
refine the sculpture until the
desired surface texture and shape
has been achieved.
• Hammers and chisels put back
texture, like hair, over welded and
ground down areas. Progressively
finer and finer files are then used to
refine the surface form and then
the piece is finally sanded with
abrasives to the desired finish.

THE CASTING PROCESS
Step 8: Patination
• The final step is called
"patination", in which the patina,
or coloring, is applied to the
bronze. Patinas will occur
naturally over a period of years,
from the trace chemicals existing
in the atmosphere, but more often
a specific chemical is applied to
the bronze usually while it is hot
(200¡- 400¡ farenheit.) The desired
outcome is based on experience
with the different chemicals and
how they are applied.
• Before the sculpture cools
completely a coat of paste wax is
applied. This wax seals the patina
from the elements.
• When the bronze cools the wax is
then buffed with a soft cloth.

CASTING
Andrea del Verrocchio
Equestrian Monument of Colleoni.
c. 1483-1488
Bronze 15’ high
Large pieces like this are cast as
fragments and later weld together.
This sculpture is larger than
life-size.

CASTING
Benvenuto Cellini
Perseus and Medusa
1545-1554
Bronze. 18’ high

CASTING
Henry Moore
Reclining Figure.
1963-1965.
Bronze, length 30’

ASSEMBLING
David Smith
Cubi IX.
1961
Stainless steel.

CASTING AND ASSEMBLING
Nancy Graves
Extend-Expand.
1983
Bronze (direct casting) with
polychrome patina.
Each plant or fruit is covered with
ceramic shell (to make the mold). The
mold is placed in a kiln and plants and
fruits are burned. Bronze is cast in
each mold. Plants and fruits are weld
(assembled) together. Then a patina is
applied.

ASSEMBLING
Alexander Calder
Ordinary
1969
Painted steel.

ASSEMBLING
Mark di Suvero.
Tom
1959
Wood, metal, rope,
cable, and wire
Construction
9’ x 10’ x 12’.

• Relief is a sculptural technique in which figures are either carved
into a level plane or, more typically, the plane is removed to
create images on its surface without completely disconnecting
them from the plane. It is therefore not free-standing or in the
round, but usually has a background from which the main
elements of the composition rise.
• There are three basic forms of relief sculpture:
– bas-relief (low-relief), in which the sculpture is raised only
slightly from the background surface;
– alto-relievo (high-relief), in which part of the sculpture is
rendered in three dimensions;
– and intaglio (sunken-relief), in which the image is carved into
the surface material.
SCULPTURE AND THE THIRD DIMENSION

Persian low relief from Qajar era, located at Tangeh
Savashi.

SCULPTURE AND
THE THIRD
DIMENSION
RELIEF- this piece
employs a combination
Low (the background)
and High relief (the
foreground)
Lorenzo Giberti.
The Story of Jacob and
Esau from The Gates of
Paradise
c.1435.

SCULPTURE AND
THE THIRD
DIMENSION
Sculpture in the round
exists independently in
space. Viewer can walk
around it.
Auguste Rodin
The Burghers of Calais.
1884-85
Bronze

Rodin's 'Burghers of Calais' tell the story of the six distinguished
citizens of the French coastal town Calais, who in 1347, during the
Hundred-Years War with England, exposed themselves volunteerly
into captivity of King Edward III to save their town from
extermination.
Instead of focussing on the first of the citizens who had
volunteered, Eustache de Saint-Pierre, Rodin decided to portray six
individuals. Instead of idealising the dignity of their heroic sacrifice,
he revealed their misery and inner doubt and showed them in rough
sack-like clothes.
Instead of setting up a traditional pyramidal composition, he placed
the six men on the same level, each of them occupied by his own
personal conflict:

THE HUMAN
FIGURE IN
SCULPTURE
Menkaure and Khamernebty
Egypt
c.2460 B.C.E.

• Human figure in art evolved from primitive ancient
representations, to contemporary diverse modes of expression.
• The Menkaure and Khamernebty are still attached to the block
from which they were carved. The arms are attached to the body
and they appear very rigid. The axis of the figure is straight and
perpendicular on the ground.
• 2100 years later (the next image), the figure is freed from the block
of stone and it occupies the space more convincingly. The axis of
Apoxymenos is S shaped. The arms move forward into space.
• Fast forward to 20th
century and you can see the variety of
representations of human figure. Also note the variety of materials
(fiber glass, burlap, bronze, etc). During this period artists chose
to abstract the figure by creating a non-literal representations of
the human figure.

THE HUMAN
FIGURE IN
SCULPTURE
Apoxymenos.
Roman Copy of a
bronze original by Lysipos
c. 320 B.C.E.
6’8” HIGH

THE HUMAN
FIGURE IN
SCULPTURE
Magdalena Abakanowicz.
Infantes
1992
Burlap and resin.
33 figures
Height 4’7”

THE HUMAN
FIGURE IN
SCULPTURE
Kiki Smith
Untitled
1995
Beeswax
15.5” x 36” x 20”

THE HUMAN
FIGUGRE IN
SCULPTURE
Duane Hanson
Young Worker
Fiberglass with auto body
filler and mixed media
Life size

THE HUMAN
FIGUGRE IN
SCULPTURE
Duane Hanson
Body Builder
1989
Polychromed bronze + mixed media.

THE HUMAN
FIGUGRE IN
SCULPTURE
Duane Hanson
Old Lady on Folding Chair
Auto body filler with mixed
Media. Life size.

THE HUMAN
FIGUGRE IN
SCULPTURE
Duane Hanson
Supermarket Shopper
1970
Auto body filler with mixed
media. Life size.

THE HUMAN
FIGUGRE IN
SCULPTURE
Duane Hanson
Tourists ll
1988.
Auto body filler with mixed media.
Life size.

THE HUMAN
FIGUGRE IN
SCULPTURE
GEORGE SEGAL
Girl Resting
1970
Plaster and gauze.

THE HUMAN
FIGUGRE IN
SCULPTURE
George Segal
The parking Garage
1968.
Mixed media

THE HUMAN
FIGURE IN
SCULPTURE
Henry Moore
Reclining Figure:
Hand
1979
Bronze.
Length 7’3”

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