Elements of Art: Colour

Colour

noun: The property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light.

PrimarySecondaryTertiaryAnalogousComplimentary

WarmCoolContrastingHarmonious

http://www.trixle.com.au/v1/documents/Trixle_Print_Colours_and_their_Meaning.pdf

The meanings of colours vary depending on a number of things including culture, context and personal opinion. Our reaction to colour is instantaneous and has a profound impact on the choices we make whether we realise it or not.

Tutorial Logo Design

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw9j0dHDLMU  

Elements of Art: Shape

Shape

noun: The external form or appearance of someone or something.

OrganicGeometricPositiveNegativeImpliedHardSoftFigure-Ground

It took a while and quite a bit of practice to get used to the pen tool in Illustrator, but now that I have the hang of it I don't find it a problem.  I started to draw this elephant as practice in Illustrator using the pen and pencil tools.

I decided to create an image in Illustrator based on one of the animated characters in my favourite film: My Neighbour Totoro. I drew the basic shape using the Pen tool and then added the fluffy looking texture using the pencil tool.

After I'd finished I created a background for the character.

Elements of Art: Line

Line

noun: A long, narrow mark or band.

ActualImpliedGeometricOrganicHorizontalVerticalDiagonal

DescriptiveExpressiveFlatWideCurvingGestural

Task: Take your sketchbook/journal and record as many kinds of line as you can. Make quick sketches of them and note where you found them.

Task: Experiment with lines. Fill a page with as many kinds of lines as you can, using different colours and different media, i.e. pencil, crayon, watercolour, paint, marker, pastel.

Lines made by fingerprinting. Unique to you.

Create an image from the lines of a fingerprint?

Lines in Nature

Looking closer at flowers I noticed a lot more lines that I had before.

I decided to create a flower entirely made of lines using the brush tool.

Using the 'layer' element of photoshop I was able to have a blown-up copy of the line drawing as a background, reducing the opacity to make sure the flower really stands out.

Locking the layers of the flower in the foreground I was able to use the brush tool to add the thicker, dark lines, making the colours where they cross the flower more vibrant. I also reduced the opacity of the black lines so that you can see the exploded image of the flower in the background through them.

Theodor Seuss Geisel

Theodor Seuss Geisel, more commonly known as Dr Seuss, was born in 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925 and then went on to study at Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature.  It was here that he decided he no longer wanted to be a scholar, but that he wanted to draw.  He returned to the States in 1927 and began working for the humour magazine 'Judge', submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them.

His first novel 'And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street' was rejected by countless publishers before it was eventually published by a friend. 'The Cat in the Hat' was the thirteenth children's book by Dr Seuss, and perhaps the book that defined his career.  At 82 years old he published his last book; 'You're Only Old Once' and told reporters "Age has no effect on me. I surf as much as I ever have. I climb Mount Everest as much as I ever have..."

"And then he was gone with a tip of his hat"

Theodor Seuss Geisel died on September 24th in 1991.

Seuss wrote books that make people think and imagine. From creating new animals to creating new alphabets, Seuss teaches us that the imagination can lead to discoveries that are literally beyond words.

"Think left and think right/ think low and think high/ Oh the THINKS you can think up if only you try!"

Dr Seuss was not only a great author, but a great artist too. For over 60 years his illustrations brought a visual realisation to his fantastic and imaginary worlds. Throughout his lifetime, Seuss created a number of paintings and sculptures, these Secret Art works he rarely exhibited whilst he was alive, but asked for his wife to share these works with his fans once he was gone.

In 1997 the Art of Dr Seuss project was launched, for the first time collectors were able to see and purchase lithographs, serigraphs and sculptures reproduced from Geisel’s original drawings and paintings.  Now these artworks have toured leading galleries and museums across the world, establishing Seuss as a significant artist of the 20th century, his work can be found alongside works by Picasso and Rembrandt.

"Surly Cat Being Ejected" 

Mixed Media Pigment Print on Canvas.

"Green Cat With Lights"

Mixed Media on Canvas.

Hayao Miyazaki

Japanese film director, animator, manga artist and screenwriter Hayao Miyazaki was born in Tokyo on January 5, 1941.  He began his career in animation when he joined Toei Animation in 1961, then going on to work as an 'in-between artist' where he began his journey to directing his first feature film - Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro and not long after - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

With the success of his first ventures, Miyazaki went on to co-found Studio Ghibli (Ghibli coming from the Arabic word for Meditiranian Wind, with the idea that the studio would "blow a new wind through the Japanese anime industry") where the majority of the films were those by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

Nick Gentry

Nick Gentry, born the 29th of May 1980, is a British artist from London who studied at the Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design. 

His biography states: Much of his artistic output has been generated with the use of contributed artefacts and materials. He states that through this process "contributor, artist and viewer come closer together". His art is influenced by the development of consumerism, technology, identity and cyberculture in society, with a distinctive focus on obsolete media.

He is best known for his floppy disk paintings and film negative artworks, placing an emphasis on recycling obsolete media and the reuse of personal objects as a central theme. Such artistic works of social commentary have been featured in galleries in the UK, USA and in cities throughout the world. His work has been exhibited alongside established street artists and as such has been linked to the urban art scene in London.

"LostMoments"

Created using vintage film negatives, xrays and oil on acrylic sheets.

"The Unidentified #2"

Mixed paint on used computer disks and VHS tape.

Kandinsky

Vasily Kandinsky

Born in Moscow, 4th December 1866

Died December 13th 1944

Studied Law and Economics at the University of Moscow from 1866 to 1892 and then later went on to study art in 1900 at the Munich Academy of Arts, after failing to gain entry the year before.

Kandinsky was credited with painting the first ever purely abstract works, his fascination with colour started at a young age, and this fascination with colour symbolism and psychology continued as he grew.  His studies of Moscow region's folk art, particularly the use of bright colour on dark background, was reflected in his earlier works.  A few years later he first likened painting to composing  music in the manner for which he would become noted - "Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul". Colours are used to express Kandinsky's experience of subject matter, not to describe objective nature.

He was also spiritually influenced by H. P. Blavatsky and 'theosophy' - the idea that creation is a geometrical progression, beginning with a single point. The creative aspect of the form is expressed by a descending series of circles, triangles and squares.

"Kochel - Waterfall II"

His forms evolved from fluid and organic,

"Fixed Points"

to geometric, and finally 

"Tempered Elan"

to pictographic.