Examine fundamental elements of art in this 1898 painting by Camille Pissaro, “Avenue de l’Opéra Morning Sunshine.” Image provided.

By Darla McCammon
and DeeAnna Muraski
Guest Columnists

Darla McCammon and DeeAnna Muraski

WARSAW — While we have been taking a glimpse into our art classrooms, reviewing the key elements that the students are learning will be helpful. Those critical elements are line, value, color, space, shape, form and texture. This is meant as a very brief review; depending on interest, we might delve into each a bit more after this series.

Do you remember the immensely popular 3D Magic Eye puzzles craze from the 1990s? They were secret puzzles that people could solve naturally by converting a two-dimensional object into a three-dimensional object. This was accomplished by focusing on a remote item. The puzzles were great for exercising the brain and eye. However, they were also wonderful for something else: helping our minds learn to see items differently. Helping our brains learn how to discover the appearance of objects is elemental in converting that to tangible artwork.

One of those ways is through line, which is the birth of art. All of us have experimented with line when we doodled. Line encompasses thickness, motion and curve. There are diagonal lines, horizontal, vertical and straight lines. Then, lines that express movements like diagonal, wavy, zigzag and chevrons. And curly, scalloped and spiral lines. Having the freedom to communicate that on paper is calming and satisfying. There are classes on the art form of Zentangle that explore the creation of designs expressly from a variety of lines and dots.

Value refers to the lightness and darkness of a drawing/painting. Value takes a two-dimensional item and creates a three-dimensional object by infusing it with light or shadow. Creating art with a variety of low, medium and high values provides dimension and interest in artwork. They create highlights and shadows that carry the eye around and over the painting elements.

Color allows for creating vibrancy and focal points in a painting. As you might remember from our Art in America series, adding color to a painting was a lascivious venture. Only a few bold artists were, thankfully, willing to pave the path and face potential career destruction. Hopefully, they would be gratified, realizing color is now a staple taught in public art classes. Also of note is that a scientist created the color wheel: Sir Isaac Newton. Learning the impact of color helps with art, interior design, graphic design and even emotional health. Knowing correct color combinations like analogous (using colors next to each other on the color wheel), creates harmony. Too many colors and too much of one color cause a dizzying array where our eyes and mental state cannot settle or feel calm.

Space is the area in and around a painting. Think of the difference between a painting depicting a mountainous expanse full of verdant trees with a calm, lazy river disappearing into the distance as opposed to the close-up of an apple. The mountain-scape gives the illusion of loads of space while the apple is an intimate close-up picture. There is negative space (that is not used) and positive space. My favorite element of space deals with two-point or three-point perspective, vanishing points and horizon lines. These are used to create architectural drawings, renderings for a new kitchen layout, and city-scape perspectives.

Shape and form are intertwined in art. For example, a two-dimensional square shape becomes a cubed form when other art elements are added to it. Sculpture takes full advantage of the use of shape and form.

Texture can refer to real or implied. Implied texture might be the smooth or rough bark on a tree, whereas real texture could be an intricate carving or thick brushstrokes on a painting.

That concludes your crash course in the seven art elements. For extra credit, look at a painting you enjoy to see if you can find which of the elements the painting employs.

Darla McCammon is an artist, columnist and author. DeeAnna Muraski is executive director of Operation Read USA Inc. Send an email to the mother/daughter team at [email protected].