Elements of Art - Mastering the Building Blocks of Artistic Creation

FUNDAMENTALS: ELEMENTS OF ART

In simple terms, the elements of art are understood as the parts that make up a single work of art. These are often described as methods or components in the visual arts. There are typically seven primary elements of art namely; color, value, line, shape, form, texture, and space. We will discuss each of these in more detail below.

Artists have the ability to utilize the seven elements of art in a variety of ways, crafting artworks that are both aesthetically pleasing and expressive.

The elements of art are fundamental to nearly every form of visual artwork, including paintings, drawings, designs, and other artistic compositions. Understanding these elements is crucial, whether you're an art student or simply an enthusiast. They serve as essential guidelines or tools for both creating and analyzing artwork. By effectively incorporating these elements into your art, you can skillfully direct the viewer’s attention to the intended focal point. Mastery of art elements opens up limitless possibilities for their application in your artistic endeavors. Here's a brief overview:

If you've ever observed a painting without being aware of the elements of art, did it appear to be just a simple image? Lacking knowledge of these elements can prevent a deeper understanding of the artwork's structural composition. Essentially, the elements of art act as a framework for interpreting visual art, similar to how words form sentences in a language.

Many art experts refer to these elements as a type of visual literacy, essential for anyone wanting to meaningfully engage with art. Thus, the next time you're in an art gallery, armed with this understanding, you'll be able to appreciate artworks more profoundly, whether they're intricate sculptures or minimalist paintings.

Understanding the Seven Elements of Art in Detail 

By understanding each art element and how they can be used to enhance and artwork’s visual impact, you can be more confident in creating works that convey themes that are important to you. Below, we will dive deeper into the seven elements of art with a detailed definition of each element and how they are applied in the visual arts. 

Color is Critical

Also known as a hue, color is a critical art element because it reveals the main subject of the composition while guiding the viewer’s eye to important shapes and forms. Color is best understood for its role in evoking strong emotional responses. When applied strategically, color can create a well-balanced visual composition that is used to convey styles of Realism, Naturalism, and many other art approaches.

One can immediately gauge the impact of color in famous artworks such as The Blue Horses (1911) and The Yellow Cow (1911) by the German Expressionist Franz Marc.

The Blue Horses (1911) by Franz Marc, located at the Walker Art Center in Minnesota, United States; Walker Art Center, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In painting such as Marc’s The Blue Horses, one identifies the color blue in the horses, which is a traditionally unrealistic portrayal of horses. Rather, the use of blue in this case holds a deeper spiritual meaning that also alludes to Marc’s notions on masculinity, given that the symbol of the horse has been emulated as a signifier of masculinity since the modern era. In contrast to the blue hues of The Blue Horses is Marc’s use of yellow as a symbol of femininity in The Yellow Cow, which is an example of how color has been attributed to themes and concepts that have no set physicality, yet with color, can adopt new meanings. 

Color Science and the Color Wheel

So, what is color? The science of color involves the process of how visible light is formed. To understand the importance of color, one also needs to understand the makeup of color and how we perceive it. The human eye perceives light as specifics colors, depending on its wavelength and the reception of light from cells in our eyes. This brings us to the debate around whether color is real since it is something that is perceived in the presence of light. 

Of important note is also the understanding that light is only a small portion of the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and is the only form from the spectrum that the human eye can perceive.

Double Alaskan rainbow and supernumerary rainbows on the inside of the primary arc. The shadow of the photographer’s head on the bottom marks the center of the rainbow circle (antisolar point); Eric Rolph at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

It is important to note that there are other forms of light like ultraviolet or infrared light that we cannot see and make up part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

In total, there are seven colors visible to the human eye. These include violet, indigo,