Abstract Art Test Study Guide

THEORY OF COLOUR Primary Colours

• Red

• Yellow

• Blue

Tip to Remember: Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, what makes them grow? Yellow

Secondary Colours

• Red + Yellow = Orange

• Blue + Red = Violet

• Yellow + Blue = Green

Tertiary Colours

• Yellow + Green = Yellow-Green

• Blue + Green = Blue-Green

• Yellow + Orange = Yellow-Orange

• Red + Orange = Red-Orange

• Blue + Violet = Blue-Violet

• Red + Violet = Red-Violet

Tip to Remember: Primary colour name is first followed by the secondary colour

Complementary Colour

• Red ~ Green

• Violet ~ Yellow

• Blue ~ Orange

Tip to Remember: Relate the pairs!

o Red ~ Green = Christmas o Violet ~ Yellow = Easter o Blue ~ Orange = Sun and Sky

Tint, Tone and Shade

• Tint = Colour + White

• Tone = Colour + Grey

• Shade = Colour + Black

• Monochromatic = Using a tint, tone or shade of a colour o Ex. OOOOOO

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Colour Spectrum

• Warm Colours = Reds, Oranges and Yellows

• Cool Colours = Blues, Greens and Purples

Tip to Remember: Warm Colours = Fire, Cool Colours =Water

Colour Qualities

• Colour = Is defined by having 3 qualities – Hue, Value and Saturation o Hue = Name for a colour you cannot make

▪ Ex. Red, Yellow, Blue, Cyan, Magenta ▪ All hues are colours but not all colours are hues

o Value = The darkness or lightness of a colour ▪ Ex. OOOOOOOOO ▪ Value 1 = Black ▪ Value 10 = White

o Saturation = How bright or dull a colour is (How much pigment is in the colour ▪ Ex. OO,OO,OO ▪ High Saturation = Brighter ▪ Low Saturation = Duller

Colours that Cannot be Made

• Magenta

• Cyan Blue

• White

• Red

• Yellow

• Blue

Mixing Colours

• Red + Brown = Crimson

• Orange + Brown = Sienna Brown

• Red + Yellow + Brown = Ochre Yellow

• Red + White = Pink or Magenta + White = Pink

• Blue + Brown = Black

• Red + Yellow + Blue = Brown

THEORY OF LIGHT

Peak Highlight

Value: 10

Form Shadow

Value: 9-7

Core

Shadow

Value: 4-1

Reflective Light

Value: 7

Cast Shadow

Value: 1

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ART SUPPLIES Paintbrushes

Flat Paintbrush Fan Paintbrush Liner Paintbrush Flat-Fan Paintbrush

Other Supplies

Artistic Knives Paint Thinner Linseed Oil

Palette Canvas

Easel

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Drawing Supplies

Soft Eraser Blending Stump Eraser

• Sketching Pencil = HB

• Shading Pencil = 9B

• Darkest Pencil = 9B

• Lightest Pencil = 6H

ELEMENTS OF ART 1. Line/Direction A path or point moving through space

a. This refers to the direction of an object, line or path that moves throughout the painting.

EX.

2. Shape/Form Shape has depth, length, width and resides in space

a. This means that everything is made up from shapes and with their help we get the correct

proportions.

EX.

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3. Colour Hue, value and saturation

a. These are the characteristics of a colour

i. Hue = Name for a colour you cannot make ii. Saturation = How bright or dull a colour is.

EX.

4. Value Value refers to the relative lightness and darkness of a colour

a. Value = The darkness or lightness of a colour i. Ex. OOOOOOOOO

ii. Value 1 = Black iii. Value 10 = White

EX.

Colour: Blue-Green

High Saturation

Colour: Pink

High Saturation

Hue: Cyan Blue

Low Saturation

White is the

absence of colour

Value: 10

Green Value Scale

Value: 1

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5. Texture Texture refers to the tactile quality of a surface a. There are both Oil and Acrylic textures

i. Oil Textures 1. Knife Techniques 2. Fan Paintbrush Techniques 3. Wax with Oil

ii. Acrylic Textures 1. Mixed Media Techniques (Sawdust, Gesso, Modelling Paste)

iii. Implied Techniques 1. Techniques created through blending in various ways.

EX. 6. Perspective Representing a 3D object on a 2D surface

a. To get 3D objects on a 2D surface we need to use shapes and VP

EX.

7. Space The area in which art is organised

a. Positive Space The area closest to you/ Foreground

b. Negative Space The area furthest from you/ Background

Oil Textures

Fan Paintbrush

Techniques Implied Texture

Blending in

circles for the

sky

Oil Texture

Knife

Techniques

Vanishing Point

Negative Space

Positive Space

Positive Space

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MIXED MEDIA TECHNIQUES • Gesso (Acrylic Texture)

o A primer with a low density and high viscosity

• Modelling Paste (Acrylic Texture)

o A texturing paste with a high density and low viscosity

• Media

o Base of all acrylic colours

o Used in most mixed media techniques

o Low density and very high viscosity

o Transparent, can be glossy or matte

• Sawdust (Acrylic Texture)

o Sawdust + Media

• Glitter (Acrylic Texture)

o Glitter + Media

• Tissue Paper/ News Paper (Acrylic Texture)

o Tissue Paper / News Paper + Media

• Cheese Cloth (Acrylic Texture)

o Cheese Cloth + Media

• Sand (Acrylic Texture)

o Sand + Media

• Aluminium Foil (Acrylic + Watercolour Texture)

o Aluminium + Light tint of water colour

• Saran Wrap Lift (Watercolour + Acrylic Techniques)

o A watered down acrylic or watercolour with saran wrap placed on top

until dry or semi-dry. Saran Wrap is the removed creating a grouping flat

texture.

• Stencilling + Stamping (Acrylic + Watercolour Texture)

o Stencilling Using an object as a stencil or tracer

o Stamping Using an object to imprint or transfer the shape of image

• Alcohol with Acrylic/Watercolour (Acrylic + Watercolour Texture)

o Painting an acrylic base, you add some dots of oil or alcohol which

creates a separation in the paint

• Wax with Oil (Oil Texture)

o Mix wax and oil paint together to make a chunkier oil texture.

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ART MOVEMENTS

• Realism

o Realism was an artistic movement that began in France in the 1850s.

This movement is said to mimic that of a picture as it is the real and

accurate portrayal of a person or scenery.

Mona Lisa – Leonardo Da Vinci American Gothic – Grant Wood The Gleaners – Jean-François Millet

• Impressionism o A style or movement of painting originating in France in the 1860s. This

movement is characterized with depicting the feeling or experience rather

than to achieve an accurate depiction. This is done by capturing the effects

of light through small, obvious brushstrokes.

Bridge over a Pond of Lilies – Claude Monet The Ballet Class – Edgar Degas

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• Post-Impressionism o Post-Impressionism is a movement that began in the early 1900’s. Although

they took inspiration from impressionism they rejected its limitations. They

continued using real-life subject matter, with vivid colours and thick paint.

However, they added other ideas like using geometric forms that would

distort objects for its effect.

Starry Night – Vincent Van Gogh At the Moulin Rouge - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

• Expressionism o Expressionism is an artistic movement from the early 1910’s. It is an

artistic style in which the artist attempts to show not reality but rather

the personal emotions and responses that objects and events make

them feel. This is accomplished through distortion, exaggeration, and

fantasy and through the vivid, violent, or dynamic application of paint.

The Scream – Edvard Munch Lady in a Green Jacket – August Macke

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• Cubism o Cubism is a style of art which aims to show all of the possible viewpoints

of a person or an object all at once. It is called Cubism because the items

represented in the artworks look like they are made out of cubes and

other geometrical shapes.

Houses at La Estaque – Georges Braque The Mandolin – Pablo Picasso

• Surrealism o Surrealism is a movement that began in the early 1920’s. This movement

is a realistic portrayal of an image or scenery with a twist that is

unnatural or not possible in real life.

Melting Clocks – Salvador Dali The Son of Man – Rene Magritte

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• Pop Art o Pop art began in the 1950’s. This was the first movement to brings things

from popular art such as comic books, celebrities, or advertisements.

These paintings often used ben-day dots and were painted with an

element of irony.

M-Maybe – Roy Lichtenstein Shot Marilyn’s by Andy Warhol

• Abstract o Abstract is a movement of art that emerged in the 1940’s. This is a type

of art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but seeks to

achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colours, and textures.

Composition in Red, Blue and Yellow – Piet Mondrain Abstract – Mirza Zupljanin