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Post by Celeste McCall on Aug 8, 2009 8:19:46 GMT -6
ED Whitney's SEVEN ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
THESE ARE THE PARTS OF A PAINTING
* SHAPE - Anything with height and width
* Curved
* Angular
* Rectangular
* SIZE - The relationship of objects to each other
* Small
* Medium
* Large
* LINE - There are two types
* Curved
* Angular
* DIRECTION - The overall dominant direction can be
* Horizontal
* Vertical
* Oblique
* TEXTURE - Three basic textures
* Soft
* Hard
* Rough
* COLOR - Warm or cool, one should dominate
* VALUE - The lightness or darkness of a color
* Light
* Medium
* Dark
THE EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
These are the building blocks OF ALL ART!
This is what we can do with the SEVEN ELEMENTS, listed above.
* UNITY - The painting must be consistent throughout. Each part must look like it belongs to the rest.
* CONFLICT - (or Contrast) Must be present in all of the elements.
* DOMINANCE - The most important principle because without it, there will be too much variation and no unity of the elements. In each of the listed elements, one should dominate in a painting.
* REPETITION - elements should repeat
* ALTERNATION - Repition with variation
* GRADATION - Gradual change from one element to another
* HARMONY - Similar elements
* BALANCE - Most noticeable with shapes and should generally be informal (asymmetrical) vs. formal (symmetrical)
;d ;d ;d
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Post by Tami Durbin on Aug 8, 2009 9:17:08 GMT -6
Dear Celeste,
Thank you for listing Ed Whitney's Elements and Principles of Design.
It is good to refresh our memory.
One thing that I recently learned (from you) is these carry out to
the border/frame of a painting, including if it is wood ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Thank you for all of your help with painting ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Tami
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Post by Sam on Aug 8, 2009 9:39:03 GMT -6
Anyone who has had the privilege of taking from Vicky York will not only get a lesson in the design elements but a work sheet on them. She tries to make certain that everyone understands why she designed the patterns we worked from in class instead of just placing them on the china and going willy nilly from there.
Thank you Celeste for posting them. It would be a vast improvement in our art if everyone would learn these important principles and incorporate them in their work.... or at least attempt to.
Sam
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Post by Celeste McCall on Aug 8, 2009 12:48:34 GMT -6
Dear Tami,
Thank you for the post. Yes....it's kind of like home decorating. You can't have a denim couch in a very formal setting without it looking un-unified.....so frames and art need to look good together for unity. And when interior decorating....the frame and pic also has to go with the room. Although I have stuff all over my house that doesn't follow that rule. LOl ;d ;d ;d
I need more UNITY in my house...LOL
Dear Alice,
I agree. It is so good to point out the reason for a design....the whys and hows, etc.
If I lived to be 900 I would not tire of studying these things and trying to incorporate them into paintings. ;d ;d ;d ;d ;d
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Post by Cherryl Meggs on Aug 9, 2009 12:06:39 GMT -6
I tell my students the Elements of Art are like the basic parts of a cake, leave one out and you don't have a Cake.
The Principles make the cake taste and look so much better. LOL..
Been teaching these from Whitney for many years now, you can't beat his exlpainations.
A great book is Painting Watercolor the Edgar Whitney Way.
Thanks for posting these Celeste,
Cherryl
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Post by Cynthia A Pinnell on Aug 9, 2009 12:33:51 GMT -6
A "must have" piece of information. I paint so many times with a check list. HERE IT IS!!!!
Thanks, Cynthia
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Post by Celeste McCall on Aug 10, 2009 10:31:25 GMT -6
Ed says above that one of the elements should dominate..... when he describes dominance. That is something that I am going to really concentrate on this year.....and I think that the 'whole lotta and a little bit a' is the answer to everything concerning art elements or principles. ;d ;d ;d ;d ;d
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Post by Alan Berry on Sept 16, 2009 21:48:10 GMT -6
I know that the elements and principles are the building blocks of art work. I try to teach these to my high school students every year. However, I get so frustrated in trying to help them understand and apply these important and vital pieces. Any ideas on how to make it fun, interesting, and to help to understand the role of each in their artwork? Thank you for any help and advice.
Alan
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Post by Celeste McCall on Sept 16, 2009 23:48:39 GMT -6
Dear Alan,
I'm paraphrasing here below so not exactly perfect quotes but:
SHAPE -
* "Interesting shapes make interesting paintings" ! ~ Arnold Lowrey.
* "Dent the geometric shapes....but do it randomly. Don't make another boring shape by making it the same on each side. We're not thinking Pringles potato chips. We're thinking of a chip shape where you can call up Ripley's and say, "I just found Elvis in my bag of chips." - Celeste McCall
* "Always have a dominance of one geometric or organic shape in the painting in both the negative and positive space." - Frank Webb (get his dvd "Painting by Design")
______________________________________________________
SIZE -
* " Big shapes in a painting give a big impact. Small shapes make a small impact. Don't get stuck in the middle. Either paint big shapes or little shapes as the focal point" ~ Skip Lawrence
* "Shapes in sizes of Papa, Mama, and Baby" - Whitney
______________________________________________________
* LINE - straight and curved ...use a dominance of one of these in a painting. " When you buy french fries they are either straight or curly. You seldom see the chef put them together in the bag with your hamburger." - Celeste McCall
________________________________________________
* DIRECTION - The overall dominant direction can be
* Horizontal - sleeping in bed....laid back...calm...relaxed line
* Vertical - strong, supportive...holding up a beach house during hurricane
* Oblique - this means diagonal....like on the way down when falling. Diagonal lines create movement.
___________________________________________________________________
* TEXTUREs - Use a dominance of ONE texture in a painting. "Ever see a dog with soft hair on his face...rough hair on his ears, and hard hair on his tail?" Me neither,...and don't wanna see one like that neither." ~ Celeste
* "Textures are 'touch' for the eyes. " Celeste
________________________________________________________________
* COLOR - Warm or cool. "You arrive at the beach on a warm summer day with a clear sunny sky. You roll out your blanket and set out your snacks. The clouds come and you now have half sun and half clouds...you're not sure whether to get out the rain umbrella or the sun lotion. Paint your painting with a dominance of either warm colors (sunny day) or cool colors (rainy day). " - Celeste McCall
_________________________________________________________________________
* VALUE - The lightness or darkness of a color
* Light -
* Medium
* Dark
Use a dominance of one of the above. "The dominance of light values is like at a wedding...mostly white stuff all around. The dominance of medium values is like a cloudy day. The dominance of dark values is like in a movie theater." - Celeste
_____________________________________________________________________
THE EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
These are the building blocks OF ALL ART!
This is what we can do with the SEVEN ELEMENTS, listed above.
* UNITY - The painting must be consistent throughout. Each part must look like it belongs to the rest. "A painting is like a beef stew. Don't put the carrots on one side and the potatoes on the other in the stew!........ Stirr that stew up and sprinkle in a few japapenos too!" Celeste
______________________________________________________
* CONFLICT - (or Contrast) Must be present in all of the elements.
* "A whole lotta this...and a little bit of that." Skip Lawrence
______________________________________________________
* DOMINANCE - The most important principle because without it, there will be too much variation and no unity of the elements. In each of the listed elements, one should dominate in a painting.
* "Ever eat a cherry pie that had raisins, nuts, peaches and apricots in it?...maybe so...but it ain't going to be called a cherry pie no more." ~ Celeste
_____________________________________________________
* REPETITION - elements should repeat "Don't pour all the nuts on one side of the banana split."
__________________________________________________
* ALTERNATION - Repetition with variation
* "Make the layers of lasagna.....noodles, sauce, cheese, ...noodles, sauce, cheese......" ~ Celeste
______________________________________________________
* GRADATION - Gradual change from one element to another
* "Gradation links all things together smoothly ...light to dark....cool to warm...rough to smooth, etc." ~ Celeste
______________________________________________________
* HARMONY - Similar elements -
* "Football players, fans, band, and cheerleaders....they all wear the same colors yet each person looks different." ~ Celeste
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* BALANCE
* "Ask a kid to lift up his Dad and he might look at you funny and raise an eyebrow. When he grows up and is the same size and weight...he can easily do it.....unless Dad is grumpy." - Celeste
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Post by Alan Berry on Sept 17, 2009 22:20:56 GMT -6
Dear Celeste,
Thank you so much for taking the time to give me the fun and exciting sayings. Some of them I all ready use. But I love having these to use and teach my students. I love having something so easy to remember. Thank you for sharing. I appreciate you so much.
Alan
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Post by Celeste McCall on Sept 18, 2009 6:16:43 GMT -6
Hi Alan,
Thanks for the post and for inspiring us to think even more about how to teach them to young people. Cherryl will likely add to this post....I hope. She has some really funny sayings that help people remember these things. ;d
Again, I do hope that one day you will have lots of time to paint because you are such a great painter. ;d
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Post by Cherryl Meggs on Sept 18, 2009 17:57:30 GMT -6
Dear Alan,
I'm paraphrasing here below so not exactly perfect quotes but:
This is Cherryl,
Hi Alan, I have been giving out the Elements and Principles of Art to my seminar students for years.
SHAPE -
Creative Shapes make great paintings, organic shapes, shape without a name , Cherryl Meggs .*
"Interesting shapes make interesting paintings" ! ~ Arnold Lowrey.
* "Dent the geometric shapes....but do it randomly. Don't make another boring shape by making it the same on each side. We're not thinking Pringles potato chips. We're thinking of a chip shape where you can call up Ripley's and say, "I just found Elvis in my bag of chips." - Celeste McCall
* "Always have a dominance of one geometric or organic shape in the painting in both the negative and positive space." - Frank Webb (get his dvd "Painting by Design")
______________________________________________________
SIZE -
* " Big shapes in a painting give a big impact. Small shapes make a small impact. Don't get stuck in the middle. Either paint big shapes or little shapes as the focal point" ~ Skip Lawrence
* "Shapes in sizes of Papa, Mama, and Baby" - Whitney
Create a conflict at focal point with shape, large to small creates more interest. Have a tweener between the shapes. a medium size for a softer impact. Cherryl Meggs
______________________________________________________
* LINE - straight and curved ...use a dominance of one of these in a painting. " When you buy french fries they are either straight or curly. You seldom see the chef put them together in the bag with your hamburger." - Celeste McCall
Line, take a leisurely trip through the Hill Country, no freeway or straight lines. Create a wreck at focal point! Where lines converge. Cherryl Meggs
________________________________________________
* DIRECTION - The overall dominant direction can be
* Horizontal - sleeping in bed....laid back...calm...relaxed line
* Vertical - strong, supportive...holding up a beach house during hurricane
* Oblique - this means diagonal....like on the way down when falling. Diagonal lines create movement.
Direction:
Horizontal: A calm sea, man laying down.
Vertical: Like telephone poles or skyscrapers create stability in a painting. Mand standing up with hands at his sides.
Oblique: Create movement in a painting diagonals is another word for it, think of a person standing still with his hands at his side, makes a Veritical, then he moves forward and he then will be in motion, creating a oblique. Cherryl Meggs
* TEXTUREs - Use a dominance of ONE texture in a painting. "Ever see a dog with soft hair on his face...rough hair on his ears, and hard hair on his tail?" Me neither,...and don't wanna see one like that neither." ~ Celeste
* "Textures are 'touch' for the eyes. " Celeste
Texture: Describes what it is! The softness of a Rose petal and sheerness or the opaqueness of a Magnolia! Cherryl Meggs
Kay Houston said lick a tree is it soft or rough!
________________________________________________________________
* COLOR - Warm or cool. "You arrive at the beach on a warm summer day with a clear sunny sky. You roll out your blanket and set out your snacks. The clouds come and you now have half sun and half clouds...you're not sure whether to get out the rain umbrella or the sun lotion. Paint your painting with a dominance of either warm colors (sunny day) or cool colors (rainy day). " - Celeste McCall
Color: It is a very personal thing, warm or cool, gray or clean, one should dominate. You know where the painting is going to live and most people paint the colors they love. Cherryl Meggs
* VALUE - The lightness or darkness of a color
* Light -
* Medium
* Dark
Use a dominance of one of the above. "The dominance of light values is like at a wedding...mostly white stuff all around. The dominance of medium values is like a cloudy day. The dominance of dark values is like in a movie theater." - Celeste
Value:
Light: Gives a painting softness, and tells a happy story.
Mid value: More grayed tones and somber.
Dark Values: Low values ,Think of the music in a movie, moving from light and happy, then when the villian comes in the music gets lower and more sinister. You know something unsettling is about to happen.
Cherryl Meggs
_____________________________________________________________________
THE EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
These are the building blocks OF ALL ART!
This is what we can do with the SEVEN ELEMENTS, listed above.
* UNITY - The painting must be consistent throughout. Each part must look like it belongs to the rest. "A painting is like a beef stew. Don't put the carrots on one side and the potatoes on the other in the stew!........ Stirr that stew up and sprinkle in a few japapenos too!" Celeste
Unity: Like baking a cake, if you leave any of the Elements out you would not have a cake, all elements should relate to the Principles. Leave out the flour you have no cake. Cherryl Meggs
____________________________________________________
* CONFLICT - (or Contrast) Must be present in all of the elements.
* "A whole lotta this...and a little bit of that." Skip Lawrence
CONFLICT : Helps to create Focal Point, A good fight or wreck makes you look, You looked didnn't you when stuck in traffic and went by a wreck or accident, or someone raising ther voice in a Library. Cherryl Meggs
DOMINANCE - The most important principle because without it, there will be too much variation and no unity of the elements. In each of the listed elements, one should dominate in a painting.
* "Ever eat a cherry pie that had raisins, nuts, peaches and apricots in it?...maybe so...but it ain't going to be called a cherry pie no more." ~ Celeste
DOMINANCE: Without it there is confusion. What did you come tp talk about, stick to it.Cherryl Meggs
_____________________________________________________
* REPETITION - elements should repeat "Don't pour all the nuts on one side of the banana split."
Tells more of what you came to talk about, think of a pie wedge, of color, for example moving through the painting,
Repetition but not in all the same size, makes it more interesting, walk it through, Cherryl Meggs
I like what Arnold said, Creative Repetition like Beethoven's Fith.
__________________________________________________
* ALTERNATION - Repetition with variation
* "Make the layers of lasagna.....noodles, sauce, cheese, ...noodles, sauce, cheese......" ~ Celeste
Alternation: No twins no triplets! Nothing alike, alike!
Cherryl Meggs
______________________________________________________
* GRADATION - Gradual change from one element to another
* "Gradation links all things together smoothly ...light to dark....cool to warm...rough to smooth, etc." ~ Celeste
Gradation is what Analogous colors do, moving cleanly with color.
Large to small. with the differing sizes in between. No conflict here. Cherryl
______________________________________________________
* HARMONY - Similar elements -
* "Football players, fans, band, and cheerleaders....they all wear the same colors yet each person looks different." ~ Celeste
Harmony:
Everyone gets along, no fight, no conflict, a harmonious choir. No sour notes. Cherryl Meggs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* BALANCE
* "Ask a kid to lift up his Dad and he might look at you funny and raise an eyebrow. When he grows up and is the same size and weight...he can easily do it.....unless Dad is grumpy." - Celeste
Balance: Kids on a teeter totter, put a fat kid on the end and you have to have more than one skinny kid to balance it. Or the heavy kid has to move closer to center. Cherryl Meggs
« Last Edit: Yesterday at 10:33pm by Celeste McCall » Link to Post - Back to Top Logged
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"By learning you will teach; by teaching you learn."
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Post by Cherryl Meggs on Sept 18, 2009 18:02:26 GMT -6
Thanks Celste for doing this!
Without these paintings fall apart, above is what I use when I judge my work or if I am asked to judge others.
I have a hand out when I do seminars that explain the Elements and Principles of Art.
These are the backbone of every good painting.
Cherryl
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Post by Celeste McCall on Sept 19, 2009 7:01:38 GMT -6
YEAH Cherryl! You did it. You help to make things stick when you explain them. You relate them to easy to understand examples. ;d ;d ;d Thank you so much for explaining this. Dear All, If any of you care to really learn these and how they are used within a painting.....force yourself to buy and watch....no matter how many times you've heard about these.....the dvd by Frank Webb called, "Painting by Design". He was one of Whitney's students and is still winning in art contests today. He explains the elements and principles in such great easy to understand language and how they work within a painting. Here is where to order this dvd: www.cheapjoes.com/art-supply/DVD01-02842_10382_frank-webb-painting-by-design-dvd.asp |
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Post by Alan Berry on Sept 19, 2009 8:52:35 GMT -6
Dear Cherryl - Thank you so much for the added comments on explaining the elements and principles. I am making a handout this weekend to present to my classes. You and Celeste have given wonderful explanations. I know for myself, I have a lot of the sayings Kay uses ever in the forefront of my mind while I am working. Thanks again.
Dear Celeste - Thank you for the DVD information. I will get this video. I have Tony Couch's DVD and have watched it several times. You are a true champion of Art and thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your talent.
CHERRYL AND CELESTE - YOU BOTH ROCK AND PLEASE KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING - SHARING YOUR GREAT WISDOM AND TECHNIQUES.
I will keep ya'll posted on how my students do with this information.
Alan
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Post by Celeste McCall on Sept 19, 2009 10:03:33 GMT -6
Dear Alan,
Tony Couch is great to learn from also. It is amazing how many wonderful artists that have written books and won awards are student's of Whitney's. That is a great testament to his teaching.
Everything in good art design....is brought down to the simple sentences of..."A whole lot of this...and a little bit of that" and "Papa, mama, baby" and "Interesting shapes make interesting paintings."
Thanks again Alan. ;d
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Post by Celeste McCall on Sept 19, 2009 10:04:12 GMT -6
Dear All,
The current IPAT magazine certification booklets for 2009 and 2010 are great to learn from also and have advanced art lesson assignments.
Each certification booklet is included with the Rose Issue 2009....through the Rose Issue 2010. The lessons would be great to follow on any class in any medium.
We will be making dvd's of these lessons soon for sale through IPAT. (should be ready by next summer) Or get them free included with the IPAT magazines. ;d
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Post by Cherryl Meggs on Sept 20, 2009 9:39:47 GMT -6
Thank you Alan,
You Rock for coming here and posting,
Cherryl
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Post by Celeste McCall on Sept 20, 2009 12:06:03 GMT -6
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Post by judylee on Sept 20, 2009 14:06:15 GMT -6
Celeste,
I enjoyed the "thinkartmakeart" website Thanks. I'm up to date with the poppies.
Certainly not any where as good as anyone that posts but a personal best for me.
I also finished the Sol's project. I just used brown saving gold for my next attempt.
Even without the gold I"m very pleased.
Judy Lee
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Post by Tami Durbin on Sept 23, 2009 19:41:54 GMT -6
Dear Celeste & Cherryl,
These art sayings are jewels on the forum!!!!!
Thank you very much for typing them down for us ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Tami
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