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Arthur Wesley Dow was an American art teacher and artist. He created landscapes and sketches before study Japanese arts including Ukiyo-e prints and woodcuts. Dow wanted art students to be able to see, describe and create visual qualities in a systematic way. Dow wrote about the “elements of art” in 1899 in his book Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers. He started out with just three elements; notan (Japanese concept of light and shade, or mass), and color. Over the years, other art teachers have expanded the list the ones below.
LINE, SHAPE, FORM, SPACE, VALUE, COLOR, TEXTURE (Think of these as ingredients.) The PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN are how the elements are used in the composition of an artwork. (This is the recipe.) BALANCE, EMPHASIS, MOVEMENT, CONTRAST, UNITY, PATTERN, PROPORTION |
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ELEMENTS
OF ART Line active- passive bold -delicate flowing- light straight- curved thick -thin dark -light broken- continuous geometric- organic implied- actual precise- irregular contour- outline Shape/Form 2D-3D solid -void concave- convex positive- negative organic(natural)- geometric (man made) free form Space 2D-3D positive– negative open –closed filled– empty actual– implied interior– exterior scale orientation Value (Tone) shading high - low contrast intensity stippling hatching - cross hatching Color contrast tint huepigment primary secondary intermediate neutral color schemes warm - cool monochromatic analogous complementary split complementary triad bright– dull optical (or atmospheric) symbolic Texture actual (tactual) – visual simulated– invented |
PRINCIPLES
OF DESIGN Balance symmetrical asymmetrical radial Rhythm, Movement alternating progressive flowing jazzy vertical horizontal diagonal curving Proportion life-size monumental miniature Golden Section or Mean scale caricature normal– exaggerated – idealized Emphasis by dominance by focal point by isolation by size by contrast Pattern repetition motif (2D) module (3D) allover Unity or Contrast by repetition by simplicity by harmony by theme and variation by proximity by continuity by contrast |