Think of the elements of art as the arrows in your quiver or tools in a
toolbox. You use them individually and in combination for any art making
endeavour.
There are SEVEN Elements of Art.
• COLOR
• FORM
• LINE
• SHAPE
• SPACE
• TEXTURE
• VALUE
1. COLOR:
Color is the element of art that is produced when light, striking an object, is
reflected back to the eye.
The three elements of color: hue, value and intensity.
• Hue is the color itself.
• Value is the hue’s lightness or darkness and changes when white or
black is added to it.
• Intensity is the aspect of brightness and purity of a color. High
intensity colors are bold and bright. Low intensity colors are faint and
duller.
2. FORM:
For Visual artists, form is the element of art that renders a three-
dimensional form in two dimensions. In a lot of ways it is the heart of an art
object - the form itself. It can enclose a volume and includes height, width
and depth. A cube, a sphere, a cylinder and a pyramid are all different
forms. Forms can also be formless - abstracted and free-flowing.
3. LINE:
Marks made on a surface are known as line. They start at a point and move
along, creating space as they go. Lines can be two or three-dimensional,
describing form or the form itself, implied, or abstract. Creating a series of
parallel lines to indicate form is a technique known
as hatching. Crosshatching indicates more than one set of these lines laid
over top of each other at angles to model and indicate tone.
4. SHAPE:
In the visual arts, shape is a flat, enclosed area of an artwork created
through lines, textures, colours or an area enclosed by other shapes such
as triangles, circles, and squares.
5. SPACE:
Space is the element of art through which both positive and negative areas
are defined or a sense of depth is achieved in a work of art.
• Positive Space: Positive space is the area or part of the composition
that an object or subject occupies. It is usually the main focus of the
painting.
• Negative Space: Negative space is that empty or open space that
surrounds an object. It helps to define the object.
6. TEXTURE:
This aspect of art defines the way an art object or an element in a
composition feels or looks as if it would feel if touched, i. e smoothness,
roughness, softness etc.
7. VALUE:
Value is the hue’s lightness or darkness and changes when white or black
is added to it.
DIFFERENT COLORS & THEIR TECHNIQUES
1. PENCIL COLORS: Colored pencils are a wonderfully dynamic medium that is highly beloved
by artists and hobbyists alike because they’re so easy to use, plus they’re a lot cleaner and
require almost no set-up compared to most other art mediums. Colored pencils are capable
of rendering art styles that are expressive and abstract, or detailed and photorealistic. While
they're slow to use compared to wet media like paint (in terms of laying down color), they’re
almost unparalleled when it comes to controlling and detail.
Because colored pencils are partially transparent (also known as "semi-opaque"), you
generally work from light to dark, gradually building up your colors.
2. OIL PASTELS: An oil pastel is a painting and drawing medium formed into a stick that
consists of pigment mixed with a binder mixture of non-drying oil and wax, in contrast to
other pastel sticks which are made with a gum or methyl cellulose binder, and in contrast
to wax crayons which are made without oil. The surface of an oil pastel painting is less
powdery than one made from gum pastels but more difficult to protect with a fixative. Oil
pastels are bold and bright. They can be blended easily but they can break easily too. Pastel
colors are one of the favorite mediums of children when they begin to learn drawing &
painting.
Oil Pastel Techniques:
Interestingly, techniques for oil pastels are very similar to those of colored pencils.
a) Create an Underpainting: It may be a good idea to create a loose underpainting of values
and layer local colors on top.
b) Layer colors: colors should be layered to achieve depth in color and value.
c) Slowly Build Up Applications: Adding large quantities of pastel too quickly can lead to
muddied colors.
d) Clean up the Edges with a Background: You can define the edges of your subject by
drawing in the background and cleaning up the edges.
3. SOFT PASTELS OR DRY PASTELS: This is the most widely used form of pastel. The sticks
have a higher portion of pigment and less binder. The drawing can be readily smudged and
blended, but it results in a higher proportion of dust. Finished drawings made with soft pastels
require protecting, either framing under glass or spraying with a fixative to prevent smudging.
Soft Pastel Techniques: One of the beautiful characteristics of soft pastels is the way they
can be manipulated to create soft, smeared effects when painting.
a) Block in your basic painting: Before you begin your painting, make sure you’re using a surface
suitable for dry pastel. Like any paint medium, pastels can turn to “mud” if you’re not strategic
about blending colors. With that in mind, I like to block in lights, darks, and a few of the
deeper colors separately, and then work over the top of each of them more carefully.
b) Smudging & Blending: You can use your hands (preferably with gloves on) for smudging &
blending. Some people even use brushes for this work.
c) Complete your painting: With the bulk of the smearing done, you can work in your next
layer of pastel for detailed strokes, hard edges, brighter lights, and darker darks.
4. POSTER COLORS: Poster color is a decorative & inexpensive paint that is mostly used for
commercial painting. This color usually uses Starch, Corn-starch, cellulose, gum-water, or
another glue size as its binder. It either comes in bottles or jars or a powdered form. Poster
colors are highly opaque, vibrant & dense but also fade in the light.
Poster color techniques: Poster colors are opaque therefore most watercolor techniques will
not apply to this medium. However, the shading techniques of pencil & pastel work are almost
the same as in poster color.
a) Blending: Colors are applied in thick consistency with very little dilution in water & are
blended into each other by the movement of the brush. The colors should be blended in
a minimum number of layers when still wet.
b) Can work both ways – ‘Dark to light’ or ‘Light to dark’: The poster colors are opaque,
bright & vibrant because of the coarse pigment present in them. Light hues can be used
over dark ones or vice-versa for the desired effect.
c) Dry brushing: The paint which is already in a semi-solid state is loaded on a dry brush &
different textures are created using stippling, hatching, etc.
d) Thick visible strokes: Poster paints can give the effect of a knife with lesser paint when
thick bold patches of color are used & strokes are left unblended.
Once you start using a medium regularly, you start to develop your techniques & shortcuts
in your unique way. It can be used effectively on all kinds of paper. Most of the mistakes
can be corrected by another coat of paint over the previous one.
5. WATERCOLORS: Watercolor is a painting method in which the paints are made
of pigments suspended in a water-based solution. Watercolor refers to both the medium and
the resulting artwork.
Watercolor techniques:
a) Watercolor Washes: There’s more than one way to approach laying a watercolor wash, you
can either do it on a wet surface or a dry one.
Dry Wash: On your palette, mix a generous amount of water with your chosen pigment. Load
your brush with as much paint as it’ll hold. Then, working quickly, make a steady, controlled
horizontal stroke along the top of the paper. You’ll notice the water in the first stroke starts
to pool along the bottom edge. Don’t let this dry. Reload your brush with pigment and paint
another stroke just below the first one, overlapping with the bottom edge. When you reach
the bottom, blot your brush on a paper towel, then use the dry tip to carefully pull up the
excess paint along the bottom of the final stroke to avoid a darker bottom. Let your paper
dry completely at an angle before setting it down flat again.
Wet Wash: First you’ll dip your brush in water and brush it over the whole surface. Be
generous with the water where you want the paper glistening with moisture. Once you’ve
wet the area, dip the brush in paint and apply lines of color within the wet area, just like you
would with a dry wash. The paint will blend into one luminous wash of color.
b) Wet-In-Wet Watercolor Painting: Wet-in-wet painting is one of the most basic techniques.
Start by brushing water (and only water) onto your paper. Then dip your brush in paint and
spread it over the water wash. The paint will feather and diffuse like magic.
c) Preserving the whites: This is a little difficult technique to master but once you get some
practice with this medium, you will realize that the areas that have to be left a light or white
look best when left untouched with color. For this, you need to keep the highlights in mind
at the time of the first drawing only. The parts that separate one form from another can also
be left white. Masking fluid works very well in this technique.
d) Layering or Underpainting: Layering means building up multiple layers of the same color in
darker tones over the previous lighter ones to create depth & details. The previous layer
must be completely dry so that the top layer doesn’t mix into it.
e) Glazing: Unlike layering in which darker shades of the same color are added, in glazing
different colors can also be used over the previously dried layer. The areas where the lower
layer shows through the top layer are a new color.
f) Dry Brush Work: In this technique, paper is dry & the brush is slightly damp with color loaded
generously on it. The brush can be dabbed like stippling or it can also be dragged along the
surface. Fan brushes or Hog hair brushes work well in dry brushing.
g) Sponge painting: A textured sponge can be a very handy tool to paint everything from foliage
in trees to sand on a beach. You can use a sea sponge or a regular new household sponge;
just dip it into your pigment and press it to your paper.
h) Adding texture with Salt: When salt is sprinkled on a wet wash, it starts to gather the
watercolor pigments and makes the coolest texture. The effect will vary depending on the
size of the grains of salt and the wetness of the paper. Once the paint is dry, simply brush
off the excess salt
BODHISATTVA PADMAPANI
Introduction: The Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad district of
Maharashtra, India are about 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave
monuments that date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 or
650 CE. The caves include paintings and sculptures described by
the government Archaeological Survey of India as "the finest
surviving examples of Indian art, particularly painting", which are
masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, with figures of the Buddha
and depictions of the Jataka tales.
● Title: Bodhisattva Padmapani
● Medium & Technique: Fresco Paintings
● Circa: 5th Century AD
● Location: Cave No. 1, Ajanta, Maharastra
● Subject Matter: Painting of Bodhisattva’s in a sublime pose.
Description:
● The Bodhisattva has been shown holding a Padma (Lotus) in
his right hand.
● The painting is in Tribhanga (3-folds) with a large shoulder
& a narrow waist.
● Outlines are merged with the body volume which creates the
softness & 3-D effect.
● Bodhisattva is wearing a big crown with his head slightly
bent to the left.
● A triangular tiara in perfect proportion on an oval face
showing just a thin line of hair on the forehead.
● Downcast lotus-shaped eyes that are half closed.
A full and sensuous lower lip.
● Neat bow-shaped eyebrows.
● Chiselled Nose – White color has been used to show its
shape.
● Arms are a little awkward and two arms look a little
different. This is because as per the canonicals of India
sculpture or Shilpashastras the Mahapurush or the great men
are supposed to have arms that look like elephant trunks.
Arms are also supposed to be long enough to reach their
knees.
● Fingers are long and tapering – making them look very
delicate, especially as they hold the lotus.
● An Ekavali or a single pearl string around the neck with a
blue sapphire in the middle. The pearls become smaller as
they go around – a design that you can still see in practice.
● The thread over the torso is shown with fine lines indicating
its dimension.
● Light red, brown, blue & green colors are basically used.
● Bodhisattva is surrounded by small figures.
Bodhisattva Padmapani, Cave No. 1, Ajanta, Maharastra
LION CAPITAL, SARNATH
Object: Pillar
Medium: Polished Sandstone
Circa: 3rd Century BC
Dynasty: Mauryan
Collection: Sarnath Museum, UP
Subject Matter: A sculpture of four lions standing back to back on an abacus. It was adopted
as the official emblem of India in 1950.
Description:
1. It is one of the finest examples of sculpture from Mauryan period and was built by Ashoka
in commemoration of ‘Dhammachakrapravartana’ or the first sermon of Buddha.
2. Originally it consists of five components:
a) The pillar shaft.
b) The lotus bell or base.
c) A drum on the bell base with four animals proceeding clockwise (abacus).
d) Figure of four majestic addorsed (back to back) lions
e) The crowning element, Dharamchakra/Dharmachakra.
3. Dharamchakra (the fifth componentsaid above), a large wheel was also a part of this pillar.
However, this wheel is lying in broken condition and is displayed in the site museum of
Sarnath.
4. The capital has four Asiatic lions seated back to back and their facial muscularity is very
strong.
5. They symbolize power, courage, pride, and confidence.
6. The surface of the sculpture is heavily polished, which is typical of the Mauryan period.
7. Abacus (drum on the bell base) has the depiction of a chakra (wheel) in all four directions
and a bull, a horse, an elephant, and a lion between every chakra.
8. Each chakra has 24 spokes in it.
9. This 24-spoke chakra is adopted to the National Flag of India.
10. The circular abacus is supported by an inverted lotus capital.
11. The capital without the shaft, the lotus bell, and the crowning wheel have been adopted
as the National Emblem of Independent India.
The Lion Capital of Ashoka in Sarnath
Approximate reconstitution with wheel
KAILASHNATH TEMPLE, ELLORA
Introduction: Kailasha or Kailashanatha temple is the largest of the rock-cut Hindu temples at
the Ellora Caves. The Kailasa Temple is notable for its vertical excavation—carvers started at
the top of the original rock and excavated downward. The traditional methods were rigidly
followed by the master architect which could not have been achieved by excavating from the
front.
Dynasty: Rastrakutas (King Krishna I)
Period: 756-773 CE
Medium: Basalt Rock
Location: Ellora, Maharastra
Description:
1. The Kailashanath temple is the largest of the rock-cut Hindu temples at the Ellora
Caves, Aurangabad District, Maharashtra, India.
2. A megalith carved from a rock cliff face, it is considered one of the most remarkable
cave temples in the world because of its size, architecture, and sculptural treatment.
3. The Kailashnath temple (Cave 16) is the largest of the 34 Buddhist, Jain ,
and Hindu cave temples and are known collectively as the Ellora Caves.
4. The Kailashnath Temple is notable for its vertical excavation - carvers started at the
top of the original rock and excavated downward. The traditional methods were rigidly
followed by the master architect which could not have been achieved by excavating
from the front.
5. The Kailashnath temple architecture is different from the earlier style prevalent in
the Deccan region. The southern influence on the temple architecture can be
attributed to the involvement of Chalukya and Pallava artists in its construction. The
indigenous Deccan artisans appear to have played a subordinate role in the temple's
construction.
6. There are five detached shrines in the temple premises; three of these are dedicated
to the river goddesses: Ganga, Yamuna , and Saraswati.
7. There are two Dwajasthambams (pillars with flagstaff) in the courtyard. A notable
sculpture is that of the Ravana attempting to lift Mount Kailasha.
MADHUBANI ART
Introduction: Madhubani painting is one of the many famous Indian art forms. As it is
practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar and Nepal, it is called Mithila or Madhubani art. Often
characterized by complex geometrical patterns, these paintings are known for representing
ritual content for particular occasions, including festivals, religious rituals, etc. The colors
used in Madhubani paintings are usually derived from plants and other natural sources.
These colors are often bright and pigments like lampblack and ochre are used to create black
and brown respectively. Instead of contemporary brushes, objects like twigs, matchsticks and
even fingers are used to create the paintings.
History & Evolution: Madhubani paintings originated in the Mithila region of Bihar. Some
of the initial references to the Madhubani painting can be found in the Hindu epic
Ramayana when King Janaka, Sita’s father, asks his painters to create Madhubani paintings
for his daughter’s wedding. The knowledge was passed down from generation to generation
and the paintings began to adorn the houses of the region. The women of the village
practiced these paintings on the walls of their respective homes. Their paintings often
illustrated their thoughts, hopes, and dreams.
Over time, Madhubani paintings became a part of festivities and special events like
weddings. Slowly, this art attracted connoisseurs of art as many contemporary Indian artists
took the art on the global stage. The traditional base of plastered mud walls was soon
replaced by handmade paper, cloth, and canvas. Since the paintings have been confined to
a limited geographical range, the themes, as well as the style, are more or less, the same.
Style & Designs: Madhubani paintings were initially practiced by different sects of people
and hence the paintings were categorized into five different styles, such as Tantrik, Kohbar,
Bharni, Godna, Katchni. But today, these five different styles have been merged by
contemporary artists. The themes used in these paintings often revolve around Hindu
deities like Krishna, Rama, Lakshmi, Shiva, Durga, and Saraswati. Also, heavenly bodies like
the Sun and the Moon often form the centerpiece of Madhubani paintings.
One can also find paintings based on the scenes from the royal courts and social events like
weddings. The usage of geometrical patterns is pretty much apparent in these paintings. If
the artists come across empty spaces even after completing the painting, they usually fill up
those empty spaces with the motifs of flowers, animals, birds, and geometrical patterns. A
double line is usually drawn as the border.
Painting materials & tools: These paintings are also known for their simplicity, for the brush
and colors used are often derived from natural sources. While the paintings are largely
made using powdered rice, colors derived from turmeric, pollen, pigments, indigo, various
flowers, sandalwood, and leaves of various plants and trees, etc. Also, many natural sources are combined and are processed to obtain the desired colors. The colors are often prepared
by the artists themselves.
Notable Madhubani Artists: This amazing art form is still kept alive because of the efforts
of many artists who continue to practice Madhubani art. Many notable Madhubani artists
have received national and international recognition. Some of them are Sita Devi, Ganga
Devi, Mahasundari Devi, Bharti Dayal & Jagdamba Devi.
WARLI ART
Introduction: The great Warli folk painting is a form of tribal art mainly created by tribal
people in the northern region of the Sahyadri Range, which comprises cities like Jawhar,
Palghar, Dahanu, Talasari, Mokhada, and Vikramgarh of Palghar district, in India. This warli
tribal painting art form first originated in Maharashtra, which is still practised frequently. It
is believed to be one of the oldest kinds of art forms in history. Warli art is a folk art of
Maharashtra is a set of basic geometric shapes: a circle, a triangle, and a square.
History & Origin: These paintings seem to be nothing more than Warli figures drawn in
whites on rich dark walls to the untrained eye, but a closer inspection shows that Warli is far
more than meets the eye. To many, warli art story may seem like just a simple art form of
India. Still, the Warli tribes located in mountains and coastal regions in and around
Maharashtra and Gujarat's borders are warli painting states. Origin of Warali art can be
traced back to around 3000 BC and seems to have an enigmatic appeal to it. Even though the
tribal art style dates back to the 10th century A.D., the Warli paintings form was not known
until the 1970s. Although the primary way of life and a significant food source for the tribe
was farming, they had great respect for nature and wildlife for the resources they provided
for life. On various occasions, this type of painting was mainly centered around the concept
of mother nature and its elements. Quite often, multiple parts of nature are the focal points
further accentuated in these paintings. A fascinating fact about Warli artists is that they used
their clay huts as the backdrop for their masterpieces, much like how ancient people utilised
their cave walls as canvases.
Designs & Styles: These rudimentary wall paintings use a set of basic geometric shapes: a
circle, a triangle, and a square. These shapes are symbolic of different elements of nature.
The circle and the triangle come from their observation of nature. The circle represents the
sun and the moon, while the triangle depicts mountains and conical trees. In contrast, the
square renders to be a human invention, indicating a sacred enclosure or a piece of
land. Male gods are unusual among the Warli and are frequently related to spirits which have
taken human shape. The central motif in the ritual painting is surrounded by scenes
portraying hunting, fishing, and farming, and trees and animals. Festivals and dances are
common scenes depicted in the ritual paintings. People and animals are represented by two
inverse triangles joined at their tips: the upper triangle depicts the torso and the lower
triangle the pelvis. Their precarious equilibrium symbolizes the balance of the universe. One
of the central aspects depicted in many Warli paintings is the tarpa dance. The tarpa, a
trumpet-like instrument, is played in turns by different village men. Men and women entwine
their hands and move in a circle around the tarpa player. The dancers then follow him,
turning and moving as he turns, never turning their backs to the tarpa. The musician plays
two different notes, which direct the head dancer to either move clockwise or
counterclockwise.
Materials used: The ritual paintings are usually created on the inside walls of village huts.
The walls are made of a mixture of branches, earth, and red brick that make a red
ochre background for the paintings. The Warli only paint with a white pigment made from a
mixture of rice flour and water, with gum as a binder. A bamboo stick is chewed at the end
to give it the texture of a paintbrush. Walls are painted only to mark special occasions such
as weddings, festivals, or harvests. They make it with a sense that it can be seen by future
generations.
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