Various Art Forms Found in the

Philippines and its Elements

LESSON 3
Various Art Forms Found in the Philippines
and its Elements

Filipinos are known for their artistic and creative

skills. Several artists have been recognized in and out of
the Philippines for their masterpieces. In this lesson, we
will learn about the various art forms found in the
Philippines such as Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, and
other forms of visual arts. These topics will lead us to
understanding how different art forms are combined in the
modern world.
PAINTING

A painting is a two-dimensional
image or artwork created using
pigments or color on a ground such as
canvas, cardboard, paper or wood. The
pigment may be in a wet form, such as
paint, or a dry form, such as pastels.
Other variety of materials used are
acrylic, charcoal, ink, oil, and
watercolor. Since painting is created on
a flat surface, it can be described as
an artwork that has only height and
width.
DIFFERENT FORMS OF PAINTING
1. Easel painting

• EASEL PAINTING is the most common

form of painting. This involves
applying color to a board or canvas
that is fixed on an upright support
called an easel. These are typically
meant to be framed and hung on a
wall after creating them.
2. Mural

• MURAL is a huge-sized painting

usually created on a wall that aims to
convey a message to the public. In
the modern-day, a new form of mural
was developed to prevent the mural
from being erased from the wall – a
portable mural was created using
bold strokes and bright colors on
pieces of cheesecloth or canvas.
3. Telon Painting

• TELON PAINTING is an artwork

synonymous to a backdrop or
background for a stage usually used
in popular forms of theater arts in
the country such as komedya,
sarswela, or sinakulo.
4. Jeepney and Calesa Painting

• JEEPNEY and CALESA PAINTING is an

artwork that is created on the
famous transportation of the country.
Geometric shapes, repetitive
patterns and thin lines, typically in
one color, are painted on the borders
of the calesa while colorful logos,
images (mostly religious), and texts
are painted to cover the jeepney’s
body.
5. Collage

• COLLAGE involves the combination of

different images to form a single
artwork.
MATERIALS USED IN PAINTING
MATERIALS USED IN PAINTING

OIL PAINT ACRYLIC PAINT POSTER PAINT

is a thick, shiny paint made is a thick shiny paint made is a solid water-based paint
by mixing pigment with oil by mixing pigment with that dries to a matte finish.
(usually linseed). Oil water and an acrylic base.
paintings take several days Unlike oil, acrylic paint is
to dry but the art piece cheaper and dries within a
lasts very long. few hours.
MATERIALS USED IN PAINTING

FRESCO TEMPERA WATERCOLOR

is Italian for "fresh". The is a water-based paint that is a soft and transparent
technique involves painting may or may not be mixed paint made from pigment,
with dry pigment on wet with egg yolks (egg water and gum Arabic.
plaster. Note that Fresco a tempera).
secco involves painting on
dry plaster.
MOST COMMON THEME USED IN PAINTINGS
1. Still Life

• STILL LIFE involves the use of

natural or man-made objects
in a natural setting. It can be
flowers, food, or musical
instruments. A still life reveals
an artist's skill in painting
shapes, light, and shadow.
2. Portrait

• PORTRAIT is an image of a
person or animal. Aside from
showing what someone looks
like, a portrait often captures
a mood or personality.
3. Landscapes

• LANDSCAPES portray a natural

scenery or an outdoor scene. A
landscape artist uses paint to
create not only land, water,
and clouds but air, wind, and
sunlight. In the contemporary
time, landscape paintings are
created using mixed media.
4. Seascapes

• SEASCAPES make use of large

bodies of water like the ocean
or the sea as the subject of
the painting.
5. Interiors

• INTERIORS refer to the

painting of the space inside of
a house or a building, which
shows the social class of the
people living in it as well as
their traits.
6. History

• HISTORY portrays scenes from

the past, which often teaches
a lesson about national values.
7. Religion

• RELIGION is another common

subject used in paintings. It
includes religious images, lives
of saints, and scenes from the
Bible that portray a sacred
story or express an artist's
faith.
8. Genre

• GENRE painting depicts people

in their daily activities.
Basically, it is a painting of
scenes that capture life in
action. It could show a farmer
tilling a land, a busy street, a
beach party, a dinner
gathering, or any place where
living goes on.
9. Nudes

• NUDES are portrayals of the

unclothed human figure.
SCULPTURE

The sculpture comes from the Latin

word “Sculpere”, meaning to carve.
Sculpture as plastic arts refers to the
creation of three-dimensional figures, forms
or designs from a single block mass of
materials. Carving and Modelling are the
traditional ways of creating a sculpture,
sometimes in stones, metals, ceramics,
woods or other materials. However, in the
modern day, one has the complete freedom
to choose what kind of materials and
processes to use.
TWO MAJOR PROCESSES
1. SUBTRACTIVE

• Subtractive – is when unwanted

materials are cut away to form a
figure.
2. ADDITIVE

• Additive – is the putting together of

materials to form a figure.
TECHNIQUES IN SCULPTURE
1. CARVING

• CARVING is a subtractive
process where the material is
removed. This is common in
woods or stones (specifically
marble).
2. MODELING

• MODELING is an additive
process where the material is
added to build up a shape. This
is applicable to clay, wax,
plaster, or paper-mache
3. CASTING

• CASTING involves the use of a

mold to form molten bronze
(or other material) into a
desired shape. Note that the
“Lost Wax” Method is often
used for jewelry or small
sculptures
4. CONSTRUCTION

• CONSTRUCTION is an additive
process that involves welding,
gluing, or nailing materials
together.
5. ASSEMBLAGE

• ASSEMBLAGE is an additive
process that involves
assembling of found objects in
unique ways.
6. KINETIC SCULPTURE

• KINETIC SCULPTURE involves

the use of movable parts (like
the wind).
MATERIALS USED IN SCULPTURE
1. STONE

• Stone – although heavy, this

material is hard and durable,
and weather and fire resistant.
2. BASALT AND DIORITE (black and hard)
3. MARBLE (finely-grained, with crystalline sparkle)
4. GRANITE (tough, coarse-grained but suitable
for bold effects)
5. LIMESTONE (softer)
6. WOOD

• Wood – is lighter, softer, and

cheaper, and easy to cut.
7. TERRA COTTA

• Terra Cotta - which means

“baked earth” is made by
firing clay, as in pottery
making.
8. BRONZE

• Bronze - is solid and too

expensive. The difficulty in
casting bronze is one of its
disadvantages.
KINDS OF SCULPTURE
1. RELIEF SCULPTURE

• Relief Sculpture is a kind of sculpture that does

not have a flat horizontal base. It is usually
attached to a surface or a background.
1. RELIEF SCULPTURE

• Low Relief or Bas Relief – is slightly

higher from the flat surface. The
lowest reliefs are likened to the
figures carved on coins. The figure
has clear contour lines that are
noticeably attached to any surface.
An example is the relief sculpture of
the Malolos Congress as shown on the
right
1. RELIEF SCULPTURE

• High Relief - is when the form of the

sculpted figure is clearly visible
because many elements are
completely detached from the
background. In fact, looking at high
relief scupture is like looking at free-
standing statues because it projects
at least half or more of the depth of
the figure.
2. FREE-STANDING

• Free-standing or full-round is a kind

of sculpture that can independently
stand in space. With its flat
horizontal base, a free-standing
sculpture can be seen from all sides.
An example of this is the Blood
Compact sculpture in Bohol.
3. KINETIC AND MOBILES

• Kinetic and Mobiles are moving

three-dimensional figures. These are
those that are suspended on air. This
kind of sculpture is either moving
with the wind or is vibrating with the
surrounding air. An example of
kinetic sculpture is the one seen in
City of Dreams in Pasay City.
LITERATURE
LITERATURE

• composed of written works that hold a lasting

importance in the culture of a particular people are
considered to be very good and to have lasting
importance.
• The first book printed in the Philippines is the Doctrina
Christiana, which was published in 1593 in Manila.
• Among the examples of literature are prose and poetry.
1. POETRY

• refers to the type of literature that expresses one’s

emotions or ideas using figurative or symbolic language,
usually written in a group of lines or stanzas.
ELEMENTS OF POETRY
A. Meaning

• the use of allusion, connotations, idioms, or any new

words in portraying the poet’s feelings or ideas.
B. Figurative Language

• the use of simile, metaphor, and other figures of speech

in conveying a message without directly stating the
literal meaning.
• This element allows the artist to use an ordinary
sentence that expresses a more impactful meaning,
which gives the readers new insights.
C. Imagery

• the use of descriptions and details on objects, actions,

and ideas that appeal to the readers’ physical senses in
order to give them a clearer picture of the scene as if it
was real.
D. Sound and Rhythm

• the use of emphasis on words is sound while the position

of beats or the sound pattern of the work is rhythm.
 Fire and Ice
By Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
By Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
2. PROSE

• uses sentences and paragraphs, and sounds like ordinary

speech or writing used to inform and persuade the
readers.
ELEMENTS OF PROSE
A. Theme

• or content is the general idea or central thought of the

composition.
B. Language and Style

• refer to the writer’s choice of words that affect the

mood of the story.
• This includes the use of sentence structures and
figurative language in conveying the message.
C. Form and Structure

• are the sequence of topic and transitions that make up

the whole essay.
D. Plot

• or story line is the sequence of events in the story that

gives the flow of the narrative.
E. Character

• can be a person, an animal or even thing who takes part

in the story.
F. Setting

• is the time and place where the story took place.

G. Point of View

• is the method and perspective that the writer uses in the

story in order for the readers to see how the story
unfolds.
• It is used to connect with and impact the experience of
the reader.
First Person Point of View

• is when the main character is also the narrator of the

story, as told from his/her own perspective. Generally,
this is revealed by the “I” sentence construction and
relies on first-person pronouns like “I went to school
today.” Oftentimes, the reader assumes that this
character is closely related to the story’s action –
someone close to the protagonist. Using this point of
view provides intimacy and a deeper look into a
character’s mind.
Second Person Point of View

• is structured around the “you” pronoun, which allows

you to draw the reader into the story and make them
feel like they are part of the action because the narrator
is speaking directly to them.
• This type is less common in novel-length work.
Third Person Point of View

• is when the writer narrates the story about the

characters and refers to them with the third person
pronouns such as “he/she.” This perspective is further
divided into three:
• Third-person omniscient
• Third-person limited omniscient
• Third-person objective