Understanding the Elements of Art
How do we utilize our knowledge of the elements of design to make effective works of art?
Drawing, painting, sculpting; all art making takes training and time. Practicing hand eye coordination, observing, analyzing, and studying visual art will help you become a better artist and creative visionary.
When you sit down to start a drawing it is wise for you to observe the structure and space around your subject. Look at the objects that will fill your composition carefully. It’s helpful to take a few moments to fully observe everything, minute details will be discovered, items that you did not notice upon initial viewing. Pay close attention to how you perceive your subject matter.
When preparing to draw, paint, or sketch follow these suggestions and guidelines.
To start off with, relax! Make sure you are in a comfortable position and location when you start your artmaking. Adjust and hold your posture, angles and proportions will shift if you start slouching or moving your body. Use your wrist, elbow, and shoulder to make your work. When you allow yourself to loosen up your art will look relaxed, and your pieces will have a sense of surety. When an artist is overly worried or non-committal to their work it will be obvious when viewing it.
- Get comfortable.
- Do not move or reposition yourself too much.
- Stay relaxed.
- Use your wrist, arm, and shoulder (if needed) to make marks.
- Shift paper/media when necessary.
When beginning a piece ask yourself these questions. Are you creating something you are familiar with? Are you excited to get to work and explore or worried and feeling challenged? When working from observation, do not assume you know what the object looks like, keep staring at it. Be aware of your light – is it natural or artificial? Will the daylight shift in your location, will the movement of shadow and light affect what you are seeing? Ease into the process, what is the rush? It takes time for your hand and eye coordination to synchronize. At times, there will be a voice coming from the back of your mind when working. – This is bad, I can’t do it. This is called inner critic and it is no friend, find and listen to the inner analyst. Redirect the negative thoughts to – How can I fix this, where do things need to change? Always pay attention to your surroundings, be aware of your thoughts, but most of all be present with your art making.
There are so many types of media one can use. Your subject, image, or concept may dictate what materials to start with or maybe it’s the other way around. Explore different techniques within each media. Learning to use various materials will sharpen your skills and knowledge, you never know what you may discover. See the defining media chapter to learn tricks and watch the how to demonstrations.
