Paintings

CHAPTER
4
“
”
– Henry Wards
Hooray to a new academic year! The Beecher
journey in this pandemic has been
tough yet you made it. New normal MODULE CONTENTS
has come, but the learning must
continue. This would be pretty
exciting! As we start digging through
INPUTS:
this course pack, you will start on a
bird’s eye view of this subject Art • Elements of Painting
Appreciation. This module develops • The Color Wheel and its
students ability to appreciate, and Categories
critique works of art. Also, this • Symbolism and
course aims to develop Meaning of Primary
Colors
• Mediums in Painting
students’ genuine • Classifications of
appreciation for Philippine arts Painting Styles
by providing them
opportunities to explore the diversity
and richness and their rootedness in
Filipino culture.
Intended Learning Outcomes
At the end of Chapter 5 you should be able to:

a. Identify the elements of painting;

b. Show the importance of the color wheel;
c. Convey an idea about symbolism and meaning of the colors; and
d. Demonstrate knowledge about the mediums in painting and its
characteristics.
 color. Their mixture that produces the secondary
ABSTRACTION colors are green, orange, and purple.

Texture. It is a component of two-sided and three-

Elements of Painting sided designs and distinguished by its perceived
visual and physical properties. It is used to describe
Painting is a style of creating an expression by the way a three- dimensional work feels when
applying colors to a flat surface or any mediums like touched. In two dimensional models, such as
canvas, clay, glass, paper, walls, leaf, paper, or painting, it may refer to the visual "feel" of a piece
woods. Abstraction or composition, drawing and (Isaac, 2017)
other aesthetics may serve to manifest the
expressive and conceptual intention of the artists
(Mayer, 1970). It is an unspoken and mostly Perspective. It is an art technique for creating an
unrecognized dialogue, where paint speaks silently in illusion of three dimension with depth and space. Its
masses and colors, and the artist responds in moods. real goal is creating a viewpoint for the audiences
Paint records the most delicate gesture. It tells that will best communicate the subject and serve its
whether the painter sat or stood or crouched in front particular message
of the canvas (Elkins, 1998). It is loaded with
narrative content, symbolism, or emotion.
Perspective is the same as "viewpoint" and
"position." It is what makes a painting seem to have
form, distance, and look "real" (Evans, 2002). It is
A beautiful painting is not made by projected according to its levels namely: foreground,
photographic likeness, but rather good composition. middle ground, and background.
For the artist, the harmony in his her artwork will be
on the selection of appropriate devices, peculiar to
the medium and the use of certain principles to The foreground is the visual plane that
relate them. A unique style emerges when an artist appears closer to the viewers. On the other hand,
recognizes his or her personal preference of the middle ground is the part between the
dominant design elements foreground and the part of which is which is called
the background. The foreground of a composition is
and consciously or unconsciously the illustrative plane that appears closest to the
emphasizes these dominant elements (O et viewer, while the background is the plane in a
al., 2008; Gatto, 2000). The significant aspects of the composition perceived farthest from the viewers.
painting are the line, color, texture, perspective, The middle ground is the illustrative plane between
shapes, and symbols (Nohay, 2018). the foreground and the background. The scale of
these elements often associates to the dominance in
a picture. The foreground is frequently the most
Line. It is the simplest element in the painting. It has dominant due to the larger perceived size of the
a continuous marking made by a moving point to picture objects.
outlines shape and can contour areas within those
outlines. It can suggest movement (vertical,
horizontal, diagonal, and curved). Each line has its
meaning: vertical line stress action, strength, Shapes. It is an element in painting that helps
dynamism; horizontal lines means serenity, express ideas. It helps to interact, and independently
calmness, stability diagonal line express tension, evoke agitation, purposeful energy, direction, etc.
movement; curved lines appear softness flexibility, They maybe circles, rectangles, ovals, or square. It is
gentleness. an area with defined boundary created by a variety
of color, value or texture of the areas adjacent to it.

Color. The Artists used colors to convey feelings and

moods within their painting. It is the result of
wavelengths of lights reflecting of object. It is Symbols. The Artists often include symbolic objects
composed of three distinct qualities such as the hue, in their paintings that have a special meaning or a
saturation, and value. Hue is merely the name of the special message. It is used to express ides such as
color. Red, yellow, and the blue are the primary death, hope, life, etc.
 Symbolism and Meaning of
The Color Wheel and its Primary Colors
Categories
Colors play a fundamental role in our lives Colors can affect our actions and emotions
and how we respond to our environment. It is the and on how we respond to various people, things,
visual perceptual property corresponding in humans and ideas. Much has been studied and written about
to the categories called blue, green, red, and others. color and its impact on our daily lives.
It has two main types, warm and cool colors

Significantly, a color wheel (also Red Color. This is noted as the warmest of all types
of colors. It is most chosen by extroverts and one of
the top choices among males. It is a color which is
known as a color circle) is a visual associated with fiery heat and warmth and has
representation of color arranged based to their strong symbolism about life and vitality. It is also
chromatic relationship. It is a circle shape that is essential to human life because:
divided evenly into 12 segments which display
different color according to its pigment value. It also
shows the relationship between the primary colors, a. It increases enthusiasm and interest.
secondary colors, and complementary colors. Other b. It gives more energy.
colors can also be categorized based on the c. It reinforces action and confidence.
following: d. It protects us from fears and anxieties,

Blue Color. This is known as the calmest color like

Complementary Colors. These colors sit contrary to that of the sky and ocean. It is the color of
each other on the color wheel. Because they are inspiration, sincerity, and spirituality and often the
opposites, they tend to look lively when used chosen color by conservative people. This color is
together. When you put complementary colors important to human life because:
together, each color seems more noticeable.
Examples of these colors are red and green.
a It is a sign of calmness and relaxation.
b. It opens the flow of communication
Analogous Colors. These colors sit next to each c.It broadens our perspective in learning new
other on the color wheel. They tend to look pleasant information.
together because they are closely related. Orange, d. It implies solitude and peace.
yellow-orange, and yellow are an example of
analogous colors. Yellow Color. This is considered as the easiest color
to recognize. It is symbol creativity and intellectual
Neutral Colors. They are sometimes called "earth vitality. It also symbolizes wisdom, happiness and
tones." These colors don't usually show up on the brings awareness and clarity
color wheel. Neutral colors include black, white, gray,
and occasionally brown and beige.
The yellow color is vital to human life
because:
Warm Colors. These colors are made with orange,
red, yellow or some combination of these. Colors of a. It helps us in making decisions.
the sunset give a feeling of brightness a heat. b. It relieves us from burnout, panic,
nervousness, exhaustion.
c.It sharpens our memory and
Cool Colors. These colors are made with blue, green, concentration skills.
purple or some combination of these. These colors d. It protects us from depression.
make you think of cool and peaceful things, like
winter skies and still ponds.
Mediums in Painting

There are different mediums in

paintings used today. It helps to describe the
elements that bind the colors in the paint (Martin,
2004). The following samples
of the methods used in painting:
Classifications of Painting
Styles
1. Oil. It is the type of slow-drying paint that consists
of particles of pigment suspended in drying oils such Part of the desire in painting particularly in
as linseed oil, poppy seed oil, safflower oil and the 21st century is the variety of available art styles.
walnut oil. The style in painting is in two senses: it can refer to
the distinctive visual elements, techniques, and
2. Pastel. It is an art medium in the shape of a stick methods that characterized one's artwork, and can
or crayons. It consists of pure powdered color and a refer to the movement or school that associated to
binder. Dry pastel can be classified as soft pastels, the artists. Such classifications include the following
pan pastels, hard pastels, and pastel pencils styles:

3. Acrylic. It is fast drying paint containing pigment a. Western Styles

suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion which
becomes water-resistant when dry, 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
4. Watercolor. It is the medium which the paints are gestural marks to achieve its effect. It may be formed
made of colors suspended in a water-soluble vehicle. by reducing the observable phenomenon, typically
It is usually transparent and appears luminous to retain only information which is relevant for a
because the pigments are laid down in a relatively particular purpose.
pure form with few types of filler obscuring the
pigment colors. Expressionism. It is sometimes called emotional
realism. In this style, the artists sought to express
meaning or emotional experience rather than
5. Ink. It is a liquid that contains colors and dyes and physical truth.
is applied to a surface to produce an image, text, or
design. It is for drawing with a brush, or pen.
Baroque. It is characterized by dynamism (a sense of
motion), which is augmented by extravagant effects
6. Encaustic. It is heated beeswax to which colored (e.g., sharp curves, rich decoration) Among the most
stains are added. The paste is then applied to a significant Baroque painters are Caravaggio,
wood-based canvas. Rembrandt, Rubens, Velazquez, Poussin, and
Vermeer.
7. Fresco. It refers to any of several related mural
painting types executed on walls, ceilings or any
other kind of flat surface. The term fresco comes Impressionism. It is a type of art presenting the real-
from the Italian word "affresco" which means life subject with emphasis on the impression left in
"fresh." the artist's perception, particularly the effect of light
on the object used as a subject.
8. Gouache. It is a water-based paint consisting of
pigment and other materials designed to be used in
an opaque painting technique Modernism. It is characterized by a cautious
rejection of the styles of the past and
emphasizing innovation and
9. Enamel. It is a paint that air dries to a durable, experimentation of materials and
usually glossy and solid finish. It is used for outdoor techniques instead to create better
coating surfaces or otherwise subject to variations in artworks.
temperature.
b. Modern Styles

10. Spray paint. It is the type of paint that comes in a Realism. It is a style of painting practiced before the
sealed pressurized battle and released in a fine spray. invention of the camera, where artists depicted
landscapes and humans with as much attention to
detail and precision as possible. The artist's primary
11. Tempera. it is a permanent, fast-drying painting goal is to describe accurately and truthfully as
medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a possible what is observed.
water-soluble binder method.
Symbolism. It is an art that represents the subject
symbolically. For instance, the "Spolarium" painting
of Juan Luna depicts the suffering of the Filipino
people from the hands of the Spaniards. Many works
of art included by some writers who cover the
Symbolist era were produced in the middle of the
century, or even before.

Fauvism. It refers to art that used brilliant primary

colors or color illumination on subjects like pictures
to emphasize comfort, joy, and leisure. It comes from
the French word fauves, meaning "wild beasts” (this
name refers to a small group of painters in Paris who
exhibited works notable for the bold and expressive
use of pure color).

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 20
century in Paris established by Georges Braque and
Pablo Picasso.

Surrealism. It is a type of art wherein the artist

creates dreamlike paintings that filled with
mysterious objects. It is the opposite of abstraction
that attempts to portray the conscious mind through
unconventional means.