Value

The title of this piece showing the element of value is "Avocados". The artist is Debi Starr and was painted with graphite on paper and posted on 7/28/12. It was painted to demonstrate value as seen by the darkness of the avocados. Value becomes important in a piece of work which has no colors other than black, white or gray.  
       The element of value is being used here showing only black, white and slight gray colors. Value will be lost if using colors. Think of value as a black and white photograph. When only black, white and gray are used, it makes you focus more on the item itself and not the stuff that is secondary like colors. Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color.                                                                                                               

Space

Space is an area that an artist provides for a particular purpose.  Space includes the background, foreground and middle ground. Space refers to the distances or areas around, between and within things. When a small amount of space is used between two people in a drawing, it can mean affection while a larger space between them can mean just friendship. Space can be thought of as distance or closeness. The principle of space in this picture is being used to show closeness or affection. In the two different pictures, the background is different, making one of the pictures a little more obvious than the other. When you first glance at these two pictures, you see what looks like a wooden candle holder. The one with the white background,(black faces), stands out first. I think that space and contrast are working together in these pictures. This piece was painted by John Smithson in 2007 and he wanted to demonstrate negative and positive space.

Scale/proportion/balance

Balance refers to the way elements like shapes, textures, lines, and colors are arranged in a piece. Elements are given equal "weight", unlike the picture at the top. I used this picture because it is a perfect example of the opposite of balance. Using the relative size of elements against each other can attract attention to a focal point. When elements are designed larger than life, scale is being used to show drama. You can minimize the scale to decrease the importance of something as well. Larger scales or proportions attract a persons eyes more than a smaller scale. The main character of a movie can be drawn to a much larger scale than the other characters to show his importance or his main roll. The eyeball is what catches the viewer's eye. If this picture were balanced, the eyeball would be much  smaller and blend in with everything else. When I think of balanced, I think of one of those scales used in chemistry and both are equal or level.

     The painting on the bottom shows the element of  balance. It was painted by Kathie del Hierro in 1974. Ms. del Hierro is an art teacher at Hill Country Middle School. Her painting uses oil paints and is on canvas. Her painting shows balance because the trees are equal or symmetrical. Both trees catch the viewer's eyes equally unlike the big eyeball on the top picture.

Colors

Color can aid organization of a painting. It can give emphasis to create a hierarchy and the piece of art. Bright colors can give a sense of spring, happiness, or brightness. Dark colors can give a feeling of sadness or gloominess. Colors can tell a lot about the artist's feeling or emotions.

     This painting shows the element of colors and was painted by Farrah Diani. The artist used acrylic paints on canvas. The painting was completed in 2013 at the Phillips Continuing Education Program Department. I believe that the artist painted a good layout of colors because it shows a variety of colors and also because of the way they blend in with each other.

Line

Lines and curves are marks that span a distance between two points (or the path of a moving point). As an art element, line pertains to the use of various marks, outlines and implied lines in artwork and design. A line has a width, direction, and length. Lines can be used to mark a boundary in a picture or drawing. Lines can give an impression of movement or distortion. In this drawing, lines can look like roads or train tracks. The principle of lines is used showing length, direction, and width. With so many lines crossing each other, it makes your eyes move all over.  With all the different directions of these lines, it gives the picture some action.
     This painting was created by Scott Hayes and is an optical painting. He completed it in 2002. Oil paint was used on canvas.

Texture.

Texture in painting gives the look and feel that the paper is raised. It is based on the paint, and its application, or the addition of materials such as ribbon, metal, wood, lace, leather and sand. Texture stimulates two different senses, sight and touch.
For example, use of rough surfaces can be visually active, while smooth surfaces can be visually restful. Texture can give the feeling of "liveness" to a painting. This painting was created by Vincent Van Gogh and he called it "Roses". He completed the painting in 1890 in the last year of his life. He painted it with oil paints on canvas. He completed this painting while in the Saint-Remy-asylum in France.

      The texture in this picture gives an image of deepness like carvings. The principle of texture is being used here because you can close your eyes and pass your hands over this piece and guess exactly what it looks like. I think that a blind person could appreciate this texture piece. This texture appears to be smooth and deep. The effect is that feeling it gives you a better idea than describing it with words.

Movement

Although a picture does not move it can give an optical illusion of movement.  Movement can appear horizontal or vertical. Movement can sometimes appear circular. Movement shows actions, or  the path the viewer's eye follows throughout an artwork. Techniques such as scaling and proportions can be used to create an effect of movement in visual artwork. For example, an element that is further into the background is smaller in scale and lighter in value. In this painting showing movement, the artist is David F. Heatwole. He completed the painting in 2008 using oil paints on canvas. He did this in Hedgeville West Virginia.

     In this piece, the effect of movement is present. It looks like the large ball in the center is turning or spinning. Because the outer squares of the ball are smaller and appear flatter, it gives the image of spinning or movement. "Moving" pictures are my favorite because you know it isn't really happening but it looks real. Movement is a very important element for magicians because without it they wouldn't be able to do illusions.

Rhythm

Rhythm in art is more of something that you feel just like the beat of music. A pattern has rhythm like the colors of a piece because they can make your eyes move from one component to another. Lines can produce rhythm by implying movement. Forms can also produce rhythm by the way that they are placed one next to the other. Rhythm is a principle in art that is hard to describe in words because it is more of a feeling. This painting was painted by Elisabeta Hermann. She calls it "African Dancers Number 3". She used acrylic paints on canvas.

     This piece shows the perfect example of the principle of rhythm. It gives you a feeling of something so intense that you can't stop staring at it. It makes your eyes move from one place to another. The artist painted the perfect piece for rhythm because rhythm is like the beat of music and this shows movement of dancers to music. Rhythm is exactly that, a FEELING.

Contrast

Contrast in art refers to the arrangement of opposite elements light vs. dark colors, rough vs. smooth textures, and large vs. small shapes.  The purpose of contrast is to create excitement in the drawing. Black and white are the colors that provide the greatest contrast in drawings. Complementary colors also contrast good with each other. An artist can use contrast as a tool to catch the viewer's eyes on a certain part of the drawing.
     In this painting, the artist uses black and white to make Marilyn Monroe stand out. The artist is Bob Baker and he calls his painting, "Marilyn Monroe-Red Drip". He used acrylic paints on canvas and completed his painting in November 2012.
    

Pattern

Pattern in art refers to the repetition of an element(s) in a work. The artist achieves patterns through the use of colors, lines or shapes. Because patterns require repetition, you cannot stop painting the pattern once you begin until you are done with that pattern. Patterns are a design or way that shapes and puts objects together. Patterns are also found in nature as well as in art such as the branching of trees.

     The principle of pattern is pretty clear in this piece. Sometimes patterns can seem never ending or boring. When using patterns you don't want to overdo it. The patterns I like best are colorful ones. This piece is probably my favorite and is titled "Rosebud Cottage". The artist is Thomas Kinkade and he completed tis piece in September 2011. He painted it with oil paints on canvas.

Emphasis

When a piece of art shows something that really sticks out or catches your attention, it shows emphasis. Emphasis gives dominance to an element in the drawing. Emphasis is when the artist wants to catch the viewer's eye on a certain element, telling you that it is important. Emphasis can be achieved by contrasting elements and grabbing the attention of the viewer. Emphasis gives a greater value or importance to a piece of art.

     In this piece, I believe that the emphasis is on the pretty Indian woman. Her skin looks so soft and clear. She looks peaceful and appears to be enjoying what she is doing. So the emphasis is on the woman. This piece was painted by Kirk Richards in 1996 in New York. He used oil paints on canvas. He calls this piece, "Blue Corn".

Form

Form is one of the seven elements of art. A form is a three-dimensional geometrical figure like  a sphere or a cone which is different from two dimensional. Everything that you can see in a piece of art is form. Form makes everything look united and complete. Having form helps the viewer analyze the entire picture like the feeling of mystery when you view the Mona Lisa.
    The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci and completed in 1517. The subject was Lisa del Giocondo and the location was Louvre. The period was the Renaissance-Italy. It was painted with oils. In this piece, Leonardo gives perfect form to Lisa. Look at the form he gave to her face especially the eyes and lips.  

Unity

Unity in art is when all the elements combine to make a balanced, harmonious, complete "whole". Unity is one of those things in art that when you see the drawing, you feel good about it. Unity gives you a sense that everything comes together in the drawing. Without unity, you would have the feeling that something is missing from the drawing. Unity makes words and images work together to give a full meaning to a picture or drawing.

     In this piece you see unity because the hands come together to unite with one and other. This shows the principle of unity because if you removed one hand, the picture would not be complete or whole. Unity is important in order to get the full picture or idea. Without unity it would be like a mystery picture, missing a piece. Unity gives fullness to a piece of art work. The title of this piece is " Dhyana Mudra 2". The artist is Sabina Espinet and it was painted with oil paints on canvas in 2013.

Mechanical Shapes

Are the shapes that can be drawn using a ruler or compass. Mechanical shapes, whether simple or complex, produce a feeling of control or order. A different variety of shapes or forms can be put together in large wall murals. Different shapes can be used to draw a persons face and body such as cartoon characters where the head is round, the body is cylindrical or square and the legs are sticks. Different shapes may look like a jigsaw puzzle.
     In this piece, the different shapes fit together just like a jigsaw puzzle. The principle of shapes is seen here because all the pieces of the different shapes fit together. Even though each piece is individual, the way they are shaped together makes it look like one large piece. Shapes are important for unity and completeness of a piece of art. Without shapes I think art would be very boring, imagine art with only lines. This piece was painted by a student named Jose C. during 2011-2012 school year and use oil pastel paints on cardboard.