ArtSpeak Terms , Definitions & Questions
- Color - Visual sensation dependent on the reflection or absorption of light from a given surface ("hue," "value," and "intensity" being the primary characteristics).
- How do you think color is used to create special effects?
- Line - An identifiable path of a point moving in space. It can vary in width, direction, and length.
- How do you think line creates a different feel to a work of art?
- Value - Light and dark; the gradations of light and dark on the surface of objects
- How do you think shading and lighting contribute to a work of art?
- Shape & Form - A two-dimensional area or plane that may be organic or inorganic, free-form or geocentric, open or closed, natural or of human origin.
- How do you think the shape or form of the main subjects in a painting contributes to the purpose or feeling?
- Balance - An equilibrium of similar, opposing, or contrasting elements that together create a unity.
- What do you think are the different ways artists use balance?
- Texture - The surface quality of material, either actual (tactile) or visual.
- How do you think the texture painters use contributes to the feeling or sense of an artwork?
- Symmetry - A balance in which elements are alike and will appear to demand one another as a line that falls in one direction demands a line that falls in another direction.
- Asymmetry - A balance achieved through the use of unequal parts or elements.
- How do you think symmetry & asymmetry create different feelings in a painting?
- Contrast - Use of opposites in close proximity (light and dark, rough and smooth).
- How do you think contrast contributes to an artwork?
- Rhythm - The regular repetition of particular forms or stresses; also, the suggestion of motion.
- What special effects do you think rhythm brings to paintings?
- Theme and Variation - Some dominant feature repeated with variations to give the work its dominant character.
- How do you think theme and variation make paintings more interesting?
First Posted December 1995.
Last revised February, 2014
By Tom March, 
tom at ozline dot com