Art, and especially visual arts, is the topic that requires both background knowledge and imagination. Most teachers are afraid of it, the same as most students are bored with it. However, with the concept maps and cause-and-effect sentences it may become a source of fun in the English classroom. So, to make teaching of art more effective, I suggest a couple of ideas, which will also be the key points for the workshop: 1) Basic history of art - it gives us not just facts but useful vocabulary for describing works of art. 2) Elements of design and what they mean. 3) How to describe a picture or a photograph.

1. Teaching about
Art
Maryna Tsehelska
Kryvyi Rih Pedagogical
University
Educational Centre “Interclass”
Kryvyi Rih

2. Key points for the workshop:
1)Basic history of art - it gives us not just facts but
useful vocabulary for describing works of art.
2)Elements of design and what they mean.
3)How to describe a picture or a photograph.

3. 4 Steps for CRITIQUING art
Description
Analysis
Interpretation
Evaluation
What objective
facts can you
list?
How is the
work
constructed or
composed?
How does the
work makes
you feel?
Is the work
successful?

4. Step 1 DESCRIPTION
Artist
Title
Media & Medium
Date
Dimensions
Art Movement
Subject
What basic
information do
you know
about the
work of art?

5. Step 1 DESCRIPTION
http://www.artchive.com/ftp_site.htm
Example
ARTIST: Paul Cezanne
TITLE: Pyramid of Skulls
DATE: c. 1901
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas
DIMENSIONS: 14 5/8 x 17 7/8"
(37 x 45.5 cm)
SUBJECT: Still life of skulls
ART MOVEMENT:
Post-Impressionism

6. Step 2 ANALYSIS
Describe the work using the elements of
art and principles of design. How is the
work composed?

7. Step 2 ANALYSIS
Elements of Art Principles of Design
Form Balance
Line Emphasis
Color Contrast
Texture Proportion
Space Pattern
Value Rhythm
Shape Unity
Variety

8. Step 3 INTERPRETATION
Describe how the work makes you
feel. Apply your own experiences or
insight to try and determine what the
artist is saying.

9. Step 4 EVALUATION
What is your final opinion?

10. However, usually we start not
with this.
With younger students it is better to
start with:
-equipment
-surface
-media
______ is applied on _____ with
_____
(Medium) (surface)
(equipment)

12. Then take painting
genres and artists
(word-building)
Note:
the genres are
divided into high
and low.
How?

13. Division into high and low
genres brings us to the
comparison:
Painting may be compared to
literary genres because they use the
same elements – setting, characters
and plot.

14. These elements define the hierarchy of genres:
The highest genre tells us a story – it contains setting,
characters and plot. It is historical painting – it tells a
story.
Two lower genres usually have two elements –
characters and setting. They are portrait and genre
painting.
Two lowest genres have only one element – setting.
These are landscape and still life.

15. Let’s practice:
Jacques-Louis David's Oath of the
Horatii
Courtyard of a House in Delft (1658)
By Pieter de Hooch.

16. Periodization of
Art – though fan
and educating, it
usually seems
boring for both
teachers and
students.
I’ve tried to
simplify for the
purpose of
teaching English.
(Another PPT)

17. Periodization may be
combined with the elements
of art for vocabulary
recycling. So we’ll continue
with the elements of art.
The Elements of Art are the “tools” that artists
use to make art. There are 7 of them:
Line Value Texture
Shape FormSpace Color

18. Lines – convey certain meaning
A line is a path that a point takes through
space. Lines can be thick, thin, dotted or
solid. They can make straight movements,
zig-zags, waves or curls.
They may be horizontal
vertical
diagonal

19. Directional Lines
• Horizontal
• quiet, stable
• Vertical
• uplifting, spiritual, strong
• Diagonal
• dynamic, moving, can also
create tension

20. Horizontal Lines are generally restful, like the
horizon, where the sky meets land

21. Vertical lines seem to be reaching, so they may
seem inspirational like tall majestic trees or
church steeples

22. Diagonal lines tend to be disturbing. They
suggest decay or chaos like lightening or
falling trees

23. • Lines can convey emotion as well. They
may show excitement, anger, calmness,
tension, happiness and many other
feelings.Because of this, some are said to
be expressive.

24. Shapes – there are 2 types of
shapes
Geometric shapes have smooth even
edges and are measurable. The include
the square, the circle, the triangle and
the rectangle.
Organic shapes have more complicated
edges and are usually found in nature.
Leaves, flowers, ameba, etc.

25. Value
Value is the lightness or darkness of a color.
Value makes objects appear more real
because it imitates natural light. When
showing value in a work of art, you will
need a LIGHT SOURCE.
A light source is the
place where the light is
coming from, the
darkest areas are
always on the opposite
side of the light.

26. Value
In order to have a successful drawing, you will need
to show a full value range, which means that
there are very light areas, middle tones, and very
dark areas. This is a way of giving a work of art
Contrast.

27. Color - Color Wheel
A long time ago, artists decided that these
colors would be more useful to them if they
were placed in a wheel fashion. This
became known as the color wheel

28. Color Temperatures
Warm colors are those that have Reds,
Yellows and Oranges. Warm colors
seem to advance (or come forward) in
an artwork.
Cool colors are those that have Blues,
Greens and Violets. Cool colors seem
to recede (or go back into) an artwork.

29. • When used correctly, color
can change the mood of the
image, or impact the story. It
can also draw the viewers
eyes to a focal element.
Here, digital colors are used
effectively to focus your
attention on the tube. And
the controlled color palette
also helps keep the image
calm.

30. • Saturation is about intensity, and Value about
Brightness/Darkness.

31. By forcing strong saturated colors on the viewer,
you attract their attention:

32. And in this image, saturation is used to make
Jesus look powerful amongst a group
desaturated onlookers.

33. Saturation can even alter your mood. At the
start of Pixar’s UP, the colors are vibrant and
alive to signify their joyous life. But when
tragedy strikes, the colors are immediately
desaturated.

34. • Color Harmonies (= Color Schemes)
Everyone knows that some colors look better
together than others, but it can get confusing
if you try to remember which ones.

35. 1. Monochromatic. This
one is the easiest to
remember, because it’s
just one color. Due to
the absence of other
colors, the viewer is left
to focus on the
differing values and
saturation. Making it
great for single subject
shots or dramatic
atmospheric scenes.

36. Analogous
harmonies use colors
that are adjacent to
each other on the
color wheel. It’s
frequently seen in
nature, making it
great for creating a
calm, comfortable
and peaceful mood.

37. TriadicThis one is
probably one of
the hardest to
pull off well. It’s
three colors that
are equally
distant to each
other. It’s best
used for cartoon
style scenes
since the colors
can look almost
childish.

39. Complimentary
• This one is definitely the most popular: colors
on opposing sides of the wheel. They just
naturally go well together.
Choose one color as the predominant one
(usually the cooler color) and use the other to
create splashes of interest.

41. Complementary colors accentuate
each other.

42. Texture
Texture is the way the surface of an object
actually feels.
In the artistic world, we refer to two types of
texture---tactile and implied

43. Tactile (or Real) Texture
Tactile (or Real) Texture is the way the
surface of an object actually feels.
Examples would be sandpaper, cotton
balls, tree bark, puppy fur, etc.

44. Implied Texture
Implied Texture is the way the surface of an
object looks like it feels. This is the type of
texture that artists use when they draw and
paint. Textures may look rough, fuzzy,
gritty, or scruffy, but can’t actually be felt.

45. Space
Space is basically divided into 3 parts: Foreground, Middle Ground
and Background
Generally, the background area is considered to be the upper 1/3
of the picture plane. The middle ground area is considered to
be the middle 1/3 of the picture plane. The foreground area is
considered to be the lower 1/3 of the picture plane.

46. Space
Space can be shallow or deep depending on
what the artist wants to use. Shallow space
is used when the artist has objects very
close to the viewer.

47. Space
Deep Space
may show
objects up
close but
objects are
shown far
away
too.

48. Space
Positive space is the
actual object(s) within
the artwork
Negative Space is the
area in and around the
objects. It is the
“background” and it
contributes to the
work of art---you can’t
have positive space
without negative space

49. Space
Perspective is also a way of showing space in a work
of art. Perspective is when the artist uses a
vanishing point on the horizon and then creates a
sense of deep space by showing objects getting
progressively smaller as they get closer to the
vanishing point.

50. Space
Objects may overlap as well. When objects are
overlapped it is obvious that enough space had to
be in the picture to contain all the objects that
have been included.
When objects are distant from each other they are
excluded.

51. The 5 Basic Rules of Space
Creating Depth
1. Overlapping
2. Position
Objects rise on the picture plane
3. Size
Objects gets smaller as they rise on the picture plane
4. Converging Lines (Linear Perspective)
Converging lines meet at the vanishing point on the
horizon line
5. Aerial Perspective
Atmospheric effects on color, value and detail

52. Ways to establish CONTRAST
1. Large vs. small
2. Warm vs. cool
3. Textured vs. smooth
4. Geometric vs. organic
5. Hard edges vs. soft edges
6. Pattern vs. no pattern
7. Complementary colors
8. Dark vs. light

53. Ways to establish UNITY
1. Proximity – cluster objects closer together.
2. Overlapping
3. Repetition of an element style (any of the
elements or brush stroke style)
4. Line up with an edge or contour
5. Developing and using a consistent style
6. Feeling of space receding

54. Other elements to describe
people:
Appearance = Character Traits
Body Movements = Emotions

57. Artist Karl Bryullov
Year 1830–1833
Medium Oil-on-canvas
Dimensions 465.5 cm × 651 cm (183.3 in × 256 in)
Location State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg