Visual+Arts+Glossary

=Visual Arts Glossary=

color schemes—grouping of colors that are related on the color wheel, such as complimentary, analogous, warm, and cool
 * alternating rhythm**—created by repeating two or more of an element of art, such as red-blue, red-blue, red-blue. Rhythm is a principle of organization
 * analogous**—colors that appear next to each other on the color wheel and have one color in common, such as blue-green, blue, blue-violet
 * asymmetrical**—not having balance; different appearance on opposites sides of a dividing plane or line
 * asymmetrical**—the type of balance that results when two sides of an artwork are equally important but one side looks different from the other
 * asymmetrical balance (informal balance)**—the type of balance that results when two sides of an artwork are equally important but one side looks different from the other.
 * atmospheric perspective—**the effect on the appearance of an object by air/space between it and a viewer. Details on the object decrease, tones become less saturated (colors shift towards blue).
 * background**—the area of an artwork that appears farthest away: a way of showing space
 * balance**—a principle of organization of visual arts; an arrangement of elements that makes individual parts of artwork appear equally important
 * balance**—a principle of organization of visual arts; the arrangement of elements that makes individual parts of a composition appear equally important. Balance is an arrangement of the elements to create an equal distribution of visual weight throughout the format or composition. If a composition appears top or bottom heavy and/or anchored with weight to one side, it is not visually balanced.
 * collage**—a way of making a work of art by gluing different objects, materials, and textures to a surface
 * color**—an element of visual arts; the visual arts utilize the twelve basic hues of the color wheel
 * primary**—red, yellow, blue
 * secondary**—orange, green, violet
 * intermediate**—red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-violet, and red-violet
 * color**—an element of visual art; the visible range of reflected light. Color has three properties – hue, value, and intensity (brightness or dullness).
 * analogous**—colors that appear next to each other on the color wheel and have one color in common, such as blue-green, blue, blue-violet
 * complementary colors**—colors that are opposite on the color wheel, such as yellow/violet, blue/orange, and red/green
 * cool colors**—group of colors on the color wheel that includes blues, greens, and violets. They appear to look further away from the viewer in an artwork
 * warm**—a group of colors in the color wheel associated with warmth, such as red, yellow, and orange. They appear to advance toward the viewer in an artwork.

expressionism—a twentieth century style of painting expressing a definite or strong mood or feeling with simplified designs and brilliant colors flowing rhythm—rhythm is a principle of organization of visual arts: created by the repetition of wavy lines or curved shapes. Flowing rhythm suggests movement or motion.
 * color value**—the lightness or darkness of a color.
 * color wheel**—colors arranged in a circle to show color relationships
 * complementary colors**—colors that are opposite on the color wheel, such as yellow/violet, blue/orange, and red/green
 * composition**—arranging elements of visual arts using the principles of organization of visual arts to create a piece of artwork
 * composition**—arranging of art elements (line, shape, form, value, texture, space, color) using the principles of organization (balance, contrast, rhythm, pattern) to create an artwork
 * construction techniques**-different ways to put materials together (e.g. stapling, cutting, gluing, taping, etc)
 * contrast**—a principle of organization of visual arts; using opposite visual arts qualities side by side (e.g., light against dark, heavy against light, textured against smooth, etc.)
 * contrast**—a principle of organization of visual arts; a technique in an artwork which shows differences in art elements such as smooth/rough textures, light/dark colors, or thick/thin lines
 * cool colors**—group of colors on the color wheel that includes blues, greens, and violets. They appear to look further away from the viewer in an artwork
 * cubism**—a twentieth century style of art that emphasizes the separation of the subject into cubes and other geometric forms from multiple viewpoints
 * design**—another word for composition
 * dominance**—the way an artwork shows emphasis in which one element or object in the composition is the strongest or most important part of the work
 * drawing-techniques**—different ways of drawing, such as hatching, stippling, contour, blending, or shading
 * hatching**—drawing thin parallel or crossed lines
 * contour**—drawing the outline of a shape
 * blending**—
 * shading**—drawing different grades of a color
 * elements of art**—the basic ingredients that make up a work of art: line, shape form value, texture, space, color (see **visual arts elements**)
 * emphasis/dominance**—a principle of organization of visual arts; importance given to certain objects or areas in an artwork; color, texture, shape, space, and size can be used to create importance
 * emphasis**—a principle of organization of visual arts; importance given to certain objects or areas in an artwork. Color, texture, shape, space, and size can be used to create importance.
 * exaggeration**—showing something in a way that makes it seem larger or more important than it is
 * expression**—showing an emotion or feeling in a work of art
 * focal point**—the part of an artwork that attracts the eye of the viewer
 * foreground**—the area of an artwork that appears closest
 * foreshortening**—the illusion that an object that is closer to the viewer is larger than one far away
 * form**—an element of visual arts; a three-dimensional object that has height, and depth
 * Free form**—having a flowing shape that is asymmetrical
 * Freestanding**—stands on its own
 * geometric shapes**—a defined form; circle, square, triangle
 * geometric**—any shapes that are based on math principles, such as a square, circle, and triangle hatching, cross hatching, scribbling, broken lines, repeating lines and shapes
 * ground line**—a line that defines the plane on which the subject in an artwork sits
 * harmony**—a principle of organization of visual arts; the creation of unity through the use of stressing similarities of separate but related parts of the artwork
 * horizon/ground line**—based on an artist’s eye level; a line where sky meets earth
 * hue**—another name for color
 * implied line**—lines that are suggested by the placement of other lines, shapes, and colors but are not actually seen in the artwork
 * impressionism**—a style of painting popular in the late 1800s and 1900s that featured everyday subjects showing the changing effects of color and light
 * intensity**—the brightness or dullness of a color
 * intermediate color**—a color mixed from a primary and the secondary color next to it. It is also called a “tertiary” color
 * line**—an element of art: the flat path of a dot through space used by artists to control the viewer’s eye movement; a thin mark made by a pencil, pen, or brush
 * line quality**—the width or appearance of any line, such as thick or thin, smooth or rough, continuous or broken
 * line types**—the variety of directions and shapes that a line may have; vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved, zigzag
 * line types**—there are five (5) types of lines: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved, zigzag
 * medium (media)**—the material chosen by the artist to create a work of art, such as paint, pencil, or clay
 * middle ground**—the area between the foreground and background
 * monochromatic**—having or appearing to have only one color
 * motif**—a repeated shape or design in a work of art
 * motif**—a design unit that may be repeated in a visual rhythm
 * movement**- a principle of organization of visual arts; the use of art elements to draw a viewer’s eye through an artwork
 * negative space**—a shape or space surrounding a line, shape, or form
 * neutral color**—color that has no chromatic qualities-black, white, grays, browns
 * non-color value** – lightness and darkness of a line, shape, or form utilizing a neutral scale (blacks, grays, and whites).
 * non-representational**—an artwork with few or no recognizable subjects
 * organic shape**—resembling a living thing such as a plant or animal
 * organic shapes—**shapes found in nature
 * originality**—a unique and personal expression of art knowledge and skills
 * pattern**—a principle of organization-the repetition of art elements in an organized way.
 * perspective**—a way to create the appearance of depth on a two-dimensional surface, such as one-point perspective or two-point perspective
 * point of view**—the angle from which a viewer sees an object
 * pointillism**—a technique using dots to create the artwork
 * positive space**—the actual space taken up by the line, shape, or form
 * primary colors**—the basic colors from which all other colors are made: red, yellow, blue: no other colors can be mixed to make them
 * principles of organization of visual arts**—means of organizing the elements in a work of art: balance, contrast, emphasis/dominance, harmony, movement, pattern, proportion, repetition, rhythm, unity, variety
 * progressive rhythm**—visual rhythm that changes in motif every time it repeats
 * proportion**—a principle of organization of visual arts; the relationship of parts to a whole or parts to one another, referring to size and placement
 * radial balance**—types of balance in which art elements come out from the center of the artwork
 * random rhythm—**a type of visual rhythm in which the same elements are repeated with order, such as stars in the sky
 * realism**—a style of art that portrays objects or scenes as they might appear in everyday life. A recognizable subject is portrayed using lifelike colors, textures, and proportion.


 * reflected light—**light that is bounced back from a source
 * regular rhythm**—visual rhythm using the same elements repeated again and again
 * relief**—a type of sculpture in which forms project from a flat background
 * resist**—an art process using two or more materials that do not mix, such as, crayon and watercolor or wax and ceramic glaze
 * repetition**—the repeated use of art elements to create pattern/movement/ rhythm/unity
 * rhythm (visual rhythm)—**the use of repeated arts elements to create movement in an artwork; random, regular, alternating, flowing progressive
 * alternating rhythm**—created by repeating two or more of an element of art, such as red-blue, red-blue, red-blue. Rhythm is a principle of organization
 * random rhythm—**a type of visual rhythm in which the same elements are repeated with order, such as stars in the sky
 * regular rhythm**—visual rhythm using the same elements repeated again and again
 * sculpture**—a three-dimensional work of art
 * sculptural techniques**- different ways to create 3-D forms (e.g. cutting, folding, rolling, twisting, curling, scoring, bending, etc)
 * secondary color**—a color created by mixing two primary colors together in equal parts: green, violet, orange
 * shade**—a value created by adding black to a color
 * shape**—an element of visual arts; a closed space made when a line connects to itself
 * sketch**—a drawing without much detail, usually completed in a short amount of time; sometimes used as a rough draft for later work
 * space**—an element of visual arts; the area above, below, around, and within a work of art
 * space**—an element of visual arts; the area above, below, around, and within a piece of artwork. The illusion of depth or space on a flat surface is created through the use of the following techniques: overlapping shapes and forms, use of size, detail, value, color, and linear perspective.
 * spatial** **devices**—methods used to create the appearance of space in an artwork; foreground/middle ground/background, overlap, placement, size, detail, color, value
 * foreground**—the area of an artwork that appears closest
 * middle ground**—the area between the foreground and background
 * background**—the area of an artwork that appears farthest away: a way of showing space
 * color value**—the lightness or darkness of a color
 * horizon line**—based on the artist’s eye level, a line where sky meets earth
 * overlap**—partly cover another part
 * still** **life**—an artwork featuring a collection of nonmoving objects
 * Still life**—a piece of artwork featuring a collection of nonmoving subject matter
 * style**—the distinctive use of art elements and principles, forming characteristics or techniques unique to an individual artist, group or period
 * subtractive/additive process**—the process of taking away or adding materials to produce an artwork
 * surreal**—the use of fantastic imagery to combine the dreamlike with the realistic
 * symbol**—an image representing something else
 * symmetrical/formal balance**—a type of balance that results when both sides of an artwork are the same or mirror one another
 * symmetrical**—having balance; exact appearance on opposite sides of a dividing line or plane
 * technique**—methods of working with art materials to create artwork
 * tertiary color**—see intermediate color
 * texture—**an element of the visual arts
 * actual**—how something feels
 * visual**—how something appears to feel; simulated
 * texture**—an element of visual arts; how something feels (actual) or appears to feel (implied);
 * texture**—an element of visual arts; how something feels or appears to feel; stippling, hatching, cross hatching, scribbling, broken lines, repeating lines and shapes
 * tint**—a value created by adding white to a color
 * three-dimensional or 3-D**—relating, having, appearing to have, or existing in three dimensions (length, width, and depth)
 * tone**—a color created by adding gray
 * unity**—a principle of art; a successful combination of arts elements to create a sense of wholeness and visual completion in an artwork
 * value/shading**—an element of visual arts; the lightness and darkness of a line, shape, or form
 * value**—an element of visual arts; the lightness and darkness of a line, shape, or form
 * vanishing point**—a spatial device used in art where two or more parallel lines appear to come together at one point
 * variety**—the use of art elements to create differences in an artwork for visual interest
 * vertical**—the up and down orientation of a line, shape, or form
 * visual arts—**creative expression s using imagery to satisfy the human need to communicate thoughts, ideas, feelings and beliefs
 * visual arts elements**—the basic components that make up a work of art: color, form, line, shape, space, texture, and value/shading
 * color**—an element of visual arts; the visible range of reflected light. Color has three properties – hue, value, and intensity (brightness or dullness).
 * form**—an element of visual arts; a three-dimensional object that has length, width, and depth
 * line**—an element of art; the one-dimensional path of a dot through space used by artists to control the viewer’s eye movement; a thin mark made by a pencil, pen, or brush
 * shape**—an element of visual arts; a closed space made when a line connects to itself
 * texture**
 * actual**—how something feels
 * visual**—how something appears to feel; simulated
 * value/shading**—an element of visual arts; the lightness and darkness of a line, shape, or form
 * visual rhythm**—see rhythm
 * warm**—a group of colors in the color wheel associated with warmth, such as red, yellow, and orange. They appear to advance toward the viewer in an artwork