PAINTING

Elements of Painting
The Color Wheel and its Categories
Mediums in Painting
Classifications of Painting Styles
 INTRODUCTION

Painting is a style of creating an expression by applying colors to a flat

surface or any mediums like canvas, clay, glass, paper, walls, leaf, or woods.
Elkins, in 1998, said that it is an unspoken and mostly unrecognized dialogue,
where paint speaks silently in masses and colors, and the artist responds in
moods; and records the most delicate gesture, for it tells whether the painter
sat or stood or crouched in front of the canvas. It is loaded with narrative
content, symbolism, or emotion.
 ELEMENTS OF PAINTING
• Line – it is the simplest element in a
painting. It is one-dimensional and can
vary in width, direction, and length. It can
be used to define shapes, and figures and
can also indicate motion end emotion.
Each line has its meaning: vertical lines
stress action, strength, dynamism;
horizontal lines mean serenity, calmness,
stability; diagonal lines express tension,
movement; curved lines mean softness,
flexibility, gentleness.
• Color – artists use color to convey
feelings and moods within their painting. They
can create a cheerful mood by placing bright
colors next to each other. They can create a
calm or gentle mood by placing soft colors
alongside each other. It has three distinct
qualities: hue, saturation, and value. Hue is the
name of the color; red, yellow, and blue are
primary color; and their mixture that produces
secondary colors are green, oramge, and
violet. Colors can be divided into warm (red,
orange, yellow) and cool (blues, greens, violets)
colors. When complementary colors (blue,
orange, red, green, and yellow, purple) are
used alongside each other, they intensify each
other and look extra bright. The artist also uses
black to tone down colors
(shades) and white to lighten them up (tints).
• Texture – it is a component of two-sided and three-sided designs and
distinguished by its perceived visual and physical properties. Texture can be
real or implied.
• Perspective – an art technique for creating an illusion of three-
dimension with depth and space. It is the same as “viewpoint” and
“position”, it is what makes a painting seem to have form, distance, and
look “real”. It is projected according to its levels namely:
foreground – visual plane that appears closer to the viewers
middle ground – the part between the foreground and the
background
background – the plane in a composition perceived farthest from the
viewers
• Shapes – an element of painting that
helps express ideas. It helps to interact, and
independently evoke agitation, purposeful
energy, direction, etc.Categories:
a. Geometric - these shapes find
origin in mathematical propositions. Its
translation and use are often man-made.
These include shapes such as squares,
triangles, cubes, circles, spheres, and cones
b. Organic - these shapes
are those readily occurring in
nature, often irregular and
asymmetrical
• Symbols – artists
often use symbolic
objects in their paintings.
It is used to express ideas
such as death, hope, life,
etc.
 THE COLOR WHEEL AND ITS
CATEGORIES
Colors play a fundamental
role in our lives and how we
respond to our environment.
Significantly, a color wheel
(also known as a color
circle) is a visual
representation of color
arranged based on their
chromatic relationship
Colors can be categorized based on
the following:

• Complementary Colors – these

colors sit contrary to each other on
the color wheel. Since they are
opposite, they tend to look lively
when used together. Example: red
and green
• Analogous Colors – these
colors sit next to each other on the
color wheel. They tend to look
pleasant together because they are
closely related. Example: orange,
yellow- orange, yellow
• Neutral Colors – they are
sometimes called “earth tones”.
They do not usually show up on the
color wheel. Example: black, white,
gray, and occasionally brown and
beige

• Warm Colors – these colors

are made with orange, red, yellow,
or some combination of these.
Example: colors of the sunset give a
feeling of brightness and heat
• Cool Colors – these
colors are made with blue,
green, purple, or some
combination of these.
Example: winter skies and still
ponds which makes you think
of cool and peaceful things
 SYMBOLISM AND MEANING OF
Colors can affect our actions and PRIMARY COLORS
emotions and on how we respond to
various people, things, and ideas.

Red – it is known as the warmest color. It is

associated with fiery heat and warmth
and has strong symbolism about life and
vitality. It is essential to human life
because:
a. it increases enthusiasm and interest
b. it gives more energy
c. it reinforces action and confidence
d. it protects us from fears and
anxieties
Blue – it is known as the calmest color like
that of the sky and ocean. It is the color of
inspiration, sincerity, and spirituality, and
often the chosen color by conservative
people. It is important to human life
because:
a. it is a sign of calmness and relaxation
b. it opens the flow of communication
c. it broadens our perspective in
learning new information
d. it implies solitude and peace
Yellow – it is considered as the easiest
color to recognize. It symbolizes
creativity and intellectual vitality. It also
symbolizes wisdom, happiness, and
brings awareness and clarity. It is vital to
human life because:
a. it helps us in making decisions
b. it relieves us from burnout, panic,
nervousness, exhaustion
c. it sharpens our memory and
concentration skills
d. it protects us from depression
MEDIUMS IN PAINTING
 CLASSIFICATIONS OF PAINTING STYLES
Part of the desire in painting particularly in the
21st century is the variety of available art
styles. The style in painting is in two senses: it
can refer to the distinctive visual elements,
techniques, and methods that characterized
one’s artwork, and can refer to the movement
or school that associated to the artists. Such
classification include the following styles:
a. Western styles
• Abstraction - it is an art in painting
which does not attempt to represent an
accurate depiction of a visual reality but
instead use colors, shapes, forms, and gestural
marks to achieve its effect.
• Expressionism - it is
sometimes called
emotional realism. In this
style, the artists sought to
express meaning or
emotional experience
rather than physical truth.

The German painter, graphic artist and sculptor Karl Schmidt-

Rottluff is considered a classic of modernism and one of the most
important representatives of expressionism. His 1914 painting
“Freundinnen” (Girlfriends) is often referred to as “Schwestern”
(Sisters).
• Baroque – it is
characterized by dynamism
(a sense of motion), which is
augmented by extravagant
effects (e.g. sharp curves,
rich decoration). Among
the significant Baroque
painters are Caravaggio,
Rembrandt, Rubens,
Velasquez, Poussin, and
Vermeer Boy Peeling Fruit by Caravaggio Original Title:
Fanciullo che monda un pomo Date: 1592 - 1593;
Rome, Italy
Style: Baroque, Tenebrism Genre: portrait
Media: canvas, oil
• Impressionism – it is a
type of art presenting the real-
life subject with emphasis on
the impression left in the artist’s
perception, particularly the
effect of light on the object
used as a subject.

Wheeling on the Water Lily Pond (1899) Claude

Monet
• Modernism – it is
characterized by a cautious
rejection of the styles of the
past and emphasizing
innovation and
experimentation of materials
and techniques instead to
create better artworks

French modernist painter Édouard Manet was born

#onthisday in 1832. Celebrate with ‘A Bar at the Folies-
Bergère’, 1882.
b. Modern styles

• Realism – it is a style
of painting practiced
before the invention of the
camera, where artists
depicted landscapes and
humans with as much
attention to detail and
precision as possible.

Peder Mørk Mønsted, View of Fredensborg with

Children on a Path in the Woods, 1893
• Symbolism – it is an art
that represents the subject
symbolically. For example, Juan
Luna’s painting, “Spolarium”,
that depicts the suffering of the
Filipino people from the hands
of the Spaniards

The famous painting “Spolarium” by Juan Luna, at

the national museum
• Fauvism – it refers to art
that used brilliant primary colors
or color illumination on subjects
like pictures to emphasize
comfort, joy, and leisure. The
word came from the French
word “fauve” meaning “wild
beasts” (this group refers to a
small group of painters in Paris
who exhibited works notable for
the bold and expressive use of
pure color).

The Pool of London 1906 by André Derain

• Cubism – it is a form of
abstraction wherein the
object is first reduced to
cubes and then flattened
into two-dimensional shapes.
It has been considered the
most influential and powerful
art movement during the 20th
century in Paris, established
by Georges Braque and
Pablo Picasso. Pablo Picasso, "Three Musicians", 1921
• Surrealism – it is a type of art
wherein the artist creates dreamlike
paintings that is filled with mysterious
objects. It is the opposite of
abstraction that attempts to portray
the conscious mind through
unconventional means.

Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937) – Salvador Dali