We will focus on the elements of art as defined in the California Department of Education frameworks as the sensory components used to create works of art: line, color, shape/form, texture, value, space. The textbook refers to the elements of art as line, shape, value, space, and texture and pattern. In addition, the authors discuss the principles of art - balance and symmetry, variety, repetition, emphasis, and domination-subordination.
California Visual Arts Glossary Definition
line. A point moving in space. Line can vary in width, length, curvature, color, or direction.
Definition
An element of art. The basic skeletal foundation of a design or composition.
Description of line
Vary in weight, width, and emphasis
May be delicate or bold
May be made with freedom and spontaneity or with deliberate action
May flow or jerk
Can be thin and light or thick and heavy
May be wavy, fish-scale, jagged, or zigzag
May suggest a personality that is bold, careful, or tentative
Can create outlines, inner edges, paths of motion, decorative patterns
Getty Arts Education Website -//www.getty.edu/education
The Getty Arts Education website adds the element of composition. Read through the Getty Arts resource explaining the elements of art at: //www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/elements.html
Line - A point moving in space. Line can vary in width, length, curvature, color, or direction.
Color - The visual sensation dependent on the reflection or absorption of light from a given surface. The three characteristics of color are hue, value, and intensity.
Shape/Form - A two-dimensional area or plane that may be open or closed, free-form or geometric. It can be found in nature or is made by humans.
Texture - The surface quality of materials, either actual (tactile) or implied (visual). It is one of the elements of art.
Value - Lightness or darkness of a hue or neutral color. A value scale shows the range of values from black to white.
Space - The emptiness or area between, around, above, below, or contained within objects. Shapes and forms are defined by the space around and within them, just as spaces are defined by the shapes and forms around and within them.
Getty Arts Webpages
The Elements of Art - //www.getty.edu/education/for_teachers/building_lessons/elements.html
A Guide to Building Visual Arts Lessons - //www.getty.edu/education/for_teachers/building_lessons/
Grade by Grade Guide - //www.getty.edu/education/for_teachers/building_lessons/guide.html
Search Lesson Plans - //www.getty.edu/education/search/
For Kids - //www.getty.edu/education/for_kids/
Line
Ideas for Creating a Lesson on Line