Create a Mindmap

 

Once you have selected a theme you need to consider all the different pathways in which your project can go, along with all its different interpretations.
 
Create an attractive title in the centre of the page; ensure that it is visually well presented and neat. You can use a computer if you would prefer, along with traditional art techniques. Think about the following points and create a mind map exploring your theme:
 
•    What does the theme make you think of in terms of objects and places? 
 
•    What does the theme make you think of in terms of how it feels (physically and emotionally)? 
 
•    What does the theme make you think of in terms of different locations or environments?

 

 

Analyse Artists

 

Use the websites link to search and discover artists and craftspeople that are relevant to your chosen theme and your interpretation of it, make sure to:
 
•    Record the name of the artist, date of birth/death and nationality.
 
•    The name and date of the piece.
 
•    The name and date of any pieces you analyse.
 
 Here is a guide to analysing artists, answer the following questions about each artist and their images to ensure the best possible success in AO1.

 

 

Content, Form, Process, Mood and Context

Content – looking at the subject of the work
        What is it?  What is it about?  What is happening?
        What does the artist call the work?
        Does the title change the way we see the work?
        Is the artwork a realistic depiction?
        Have any parts been exaggerated or distorted?  If so why?
        What is the theme of the work?
        What message does the work communicate?
            landscape, portrait, still life, journey, moment, memory, event, surreal, fantasy, abstract, message

 

Form – looking at the formal elements
        What colours does the artist use?  Why?  How is the colour organised?
        What kind of shapes can you find?
        What kind of marks does the artist use?
        What is the surface like?
        What kind of textures can you see?
        How big is the work?
            light, delicate, layered, strong, rough, dark, peaceful, dripped, textured, scale

Process – how the work has been developed and made
        What materials and tools have been used?
        What is the evidence for this?
        Do sketchbooks provide any clues as to how the work developed?
        How has the work been made?
            painted, woven, printed, drawn, cast, stitched, layered, assimilated, collage

 

Mood – looking at the communication of moods and feelings
        How does the work make you feel?
        Why do you feel like this?
        Does the colour, texture, form or theme of the work affect your mood?
            quiet, contemplative, thoughtful, hopeful, peaceful, elated, joyful, celebratory, reflective

Context – taking a wider view
        When was it made?  Where was it made?  Who made it?  Who was the work made for?
        What do you know about the artist?
        Does the work relate to the social or political history of the time?
        How does the work relate to the works around it?  (inside and outside of the gallery setting)
        Can you link the work to other arts of the period such as film, music or literature?    
        Does the work link to any other areas of knowledge?

 

 

Use Keywords

GLOSSARY of ART TERMS

abstract/abstraction - Abstract means the modification of a (usually) natural form by simplification
or distortion. Abstraction is the category of such modified images.

 

collage - (pronounced col-laj) - French word for cut and pasted scraps of materials, such as
paper, cardboard, chair caning, playing cards, etc., to a painting or drawing surface; sometimes
also combined with painting or drawing.

 

complementary colours - Colours which are located opposite one another on the colour wheel
(e.g., red and green, yellow and purple, blue and orange); colours which when mixed together
will (in colour theory) produce a neutral colour (a colour which is neither warm nor cool). In the
case of the three primary colours (red, yellow and blue), the complementary of one primary will
be the mixture of the other two primaries (complementary of red will be a mixture of yellow and
blue, or green). When placed next to one another, complementary colours will make one another
appear much more intense, sometimes in an “eye-popping” sense, which was utilized by Op
artists of the 1960’s to create optical effects. Also in colour theory, an object’s primary colour has
its complementary colour in its shadows (e.g., the shadows on and around a painted yellow apple
will contain some purple).

 

composition - The process of arranging the forms of two- and three-dimensional visual art into
a unified whole, by means of elements and principles of design, such as line, shape, colour,
balance, contrast, space, etc., for purposes of formal clarity and artistic expression.

 

conceptual - Pertaining to the process involved in the initial stages of art-making (i.e., the
initial conception, or idea). Also, the name of a contemporary art movement which is mainly
concerned with this process of conceiving of and developing the initial idea, as opposed to the
carrying-out of the idea into concrete form.

 

contemporary art - The term contemporary describes the most recent art, in this case as
distinguished from modern art, which is generally considered to have lost its dominance in the
mid-1950’s.

 

cross-hatching - The practice of overlapping parallel sets of lines in drawing to indicate lights
and darks, or shading. (Hatching is one set of parallel lines, cross-hatching is one set going in one
direction, with another overlapped set going in a different, often perpendicular, direction.)

 

drawing - Pencil, pen, ink, charcoal or other similar mediums on paper or other support, tending
toward a linear quality rather than mass, and also with a tendency toward black-and-white,
rather than colour (one exception being pastel).

 

engraving - A general term used to describe traditional printing processes, such as etching,
aquatint, drypoint, etc., where an image is made by the use of metal plates and engraving tools,
and printed, usually through a printing press. The image can be incised into the plate, or drawn
with fluid and then dipped in acid to etch the uncovered areas. These processes are still used
by artists, but of course have been supplanted by more modern processes for general printing
purposes.

 

expressionistic - A characteristic of some art, generally since the mid-19th century, leaning toward
the expression of emotion over objective description. There are still many artists whose work
has expressionistic tendencies; in the 1980’s there was a period of art called Neo-Expressionist.
(The word ‘neo’ before an art label means that there is a reprise of work similar to the original
movement.)

 

figurative - A term used to describe art which is based on the figure, usually in realistic or semi-realistic
terms; also loosely used to describe an artist who paints or sculpts representationally, as
opposed to painting or sculpting in an abstract or non-objective manner.

focal point - In two-dimensional images, the centre of interest visually and/or subject-wise; tends to
be used more in traditional, representational art than in modern and contemporary art, where the
picture surface tends to have more of an overall importance, rather than one important area.

 

formal - A term used by artists to describe the visual elements of a work of art, such as
composition, space, colour, etc., i.e., formal elements.

 

gesture/gestural - The concept of gesture in drawing is twofold: it describes the action of a figure;
and it embodies the intangible “essence” of a figure or object. The action line of a figure is often
a graphic undulating line, which follows the movement of the entire body of the figure being
drawn or painted. The term gestural is an extension of this idea to describe a type of painting
which is characterized by brushstrokes with a gestural quality, that is, flowing, curved, undulating
lines or forms. Gestural composition means a type of composition based on gestural directional
movements. The work of Arshile Gorky, the Abstract Expressionist, is an example of gestural
painting, which often connotes a spiritual or emotional content.

 

graphic/graphic arts - The graphic arts (drawing and engraving) are said to depend for their
effect on drawing, as opposed to colour. The term graphic describes drawings or prints which lean
more toward drawing (line) than colour (mass). I think that this division is less pertinent in modern
and contemporary art than in traditional art or art of the past.

 

hatching - A technique used in drawing to indicate light and shade, or form, consisting of parallel
lines of varying width, darkness and spacing. Cross-hatching is simply two or more overlapping sets
of these parallel sets of lines, at a perpendicular or other angle to the first set of lines.

 

hue - Referring to the actual colour of a form or object, e.g., a red car.

 

iconography - Knowledge of the meanings to be attached to pictorial representations; perhaps
the visual equivalent of symbols or metaphors in literature. An artist may be aware of his/her
iconography and use it consciously; probably just as often, the iconography is used in a semiconscious
way. An artist will intuitively choose images because of meanings they have for him/her,
and over the course of time a pattern can often be found, as a logical progression or repeating
images. An artist can be said to have a personal iconography, which is often noted and analyzed
by others, including art historians, critics, writers and the public. Often, the meanings seen in an
artist’s work by others differs, somewhat or considerably, from what the artist has intended.

 

impasto - An Italian term for oil paint applied very thickly onto the canvas or other support,
resulting in evident brushstrokes (visible).

 

installation - A type of art, usually sculptural, which is often large enough to fill an entire space,
such as a gallery, and consists of a number and variety of components.

 

linear - Describing a quality related to the use of line in painting or sculpture; can refer to
directional movement in composition, or the actual use of the element of line in the image or
sculpture, as contrasted with the use of mass or shape forms.

 

medium - Material or technique an artist works in; also, the (usually liquid or semi-liquid) vehicle in
which pigments are carried or mixed (e.g., oil, egg yolk, water, refined linseed oil).

modern art - Generally considered to be the period from about 1905 to the mid-1950’s, when
Pop art ushered in what is referred to as the postmodern period in art. Modern art is generally
characterised by formal experimentation and exploration, and mostly seriousness of purpose.

oil - Oil paint was developed in the late 18th century and used by many of the French Impressionist
painters. It is a stable, colour-fast paint, which can be bought in ready mixed colour tubes,
that dries slowly, allowing re-working and blending. Before oil paint, the paint colours were less
stable and lightfast and had to be laboriously pre-mixed before use, with a limited colour range
available.

 

painterly - An adjective used to describe a style of painting which is based not on linear or outline
drawing, but rather patches or areas of colour. In painterly two-dimensional images, the edges
of forms tend to merge into one another, or into the background, rather than be separated by
outlines or contours. Titian and Rembrandt are two artists with painterly approaches; Botticelli’s
work is not painterly, but more linear/drawing oriented.

 

pastel - A drawing stick made of pigments ground with chalk and mixed with gum water; also, a
drawing executed with these pastel sticks; also, a soft, subdued tint (light shade) of a colour.

 

perspective - A semi-mathematical technique for representing spatial relationships and three-dimensional
objects on a flat surface.

 

postmodern - A term used to describe the period of art which followed the modern period, i.e.,
from the 1950’s until recently. The term implies a shift away from the formal rigors of the modernists,
toward the less formally and emotionally stringent Pop artists, and other art movements which
followed.

 

printmaking - The category of fine art printing processes, including etching, lithography, woodcut,
and silkscreen, in which multiple images are made from the same metal plate, heavy stone, wood
or linoleum block, or silkscreen, with black-and-white or colour printing inks.

 

proportion - The relation of one part to the whole, or to other parts (for example, of the human
body). For example, the human body is approximately 7 to 7-1/2 times the height of the head; the
vertical halfway point of the body is the groin; the legs are halved at the knees, etc. Proportion
also refers to the relative sizes of the visual elements in a composition, and their optimum
relationships for good design.

 

representational art - Art which is based on images which can be found in the objective world, or
at least in the artist’s imagination; i.e., images which can perhaps be named or recognized. For
instance, an objectively faithful depiction of a person is representational art; also, a depiction of
an alien from outer space can also be considered a representational image.

 

tone - The lightness or darkness of an area in terms of black to white; also called value, i.e., a light
or dark red, or light or dark grey.

 

triptych - A painting which consists of one centre panel, with two paintings attached on either
side by means of hinges or other means, as “wings.”

 

wash - A transparent layer of diluted colour that is brushed on.

 

watercolour - Painting in pigments suspended in water and a binder such as gum arabic.
Traditionally used in a light to dark manner, using the white of the paper to determine values.

 

wet-on-wet - The technique of painting wet colour into a wet surface (paper saturated with water) to give a blurred, wash appearance. Utilised often for sky or seascape.

 

 

Plan and create a design idea.

When creating a final design idea you must consider the following points:
 

• How will your piece link with your researched artists? Through a similar concept, visual effect etc?

 

• How will you create the very best design idea? Ensure you consider: 

  • Composition: This is how your design is arranged and is a major aspect in art. Not only can it be a visual aspect but also create narrative, express emotion or highlight a part of your image as more important.

  • How can you approach your subject in different ways, different compositions, different techniques and different visual effects?

 

 

Annotate

 

 

 

What is annotation and why is it such an important part of your art and design work?
You annotate your work to explain and describe to your teachers and examiners the thinking behind your work. It is also used to evaluate and make judgements about your work, to justify your opinions with reasons.
So how do I annotate my work so that I communicate effectively?

1.    Build up your artistic vocabulary
It is important that you use the right terms in your writing. Show your knowledge and understanding by describing a wide range of visual elements, materials and techniques. It is important that you use the correct technical terms when discussing your work. You will find a list of these in your handbook to help you.

2.    What sort of things should I say?
It is important when annotating your work you do not state the obvious. It is a common mistake to only use sentences like; “This is a picture of a fish in watercolour. I think this is a successful piece of work.” For this piece of work it would be more beneficial to say why you chose a fish, how it relates to your project and whether watercolour was a good choice of material or not.

Example 1;
“I decided to draw this fish because of the strong visual link with the theme of sealife. Having produced successful drawings in pencil I wanted to challenge myself and develop skills using a material I was not so confident with. I am considering using paint for my final piece so I need to experiment with different kinds. The watercolour paint has given a delicate and translucent quality, which I feel is effective. I do however need to practice using this media further."

Example 2;
“I have completed two observational drawings of my cat asleep on the rug-the first one in pencil I found difficult, the proportion was wrong because her head was too big. For the second study I moved to a different position and it was easier to get the shape right-this was good because I used a black fine liner and couldn’t rub it out. I also found this good to draw fur in short strokes following the shape of the cat’s body. I will use this technique on the drawing of the lion I am doing next lesson.” 

3.    Do I always need to write this much?
No. You don’t need to always write a paragraph, sometimes a short sentence will say enough. You don’t need to keep repeating yourself on every piece of work! On a double page full of sketches you may write a paragraph to sum up the range of work and then a few words on every piece to give a little more detail if needed. What you need to do is ensure that throughout the sketchbook you have made your thoughts and opinions clear to understand and that you have demonstrated your knowledge and understanding of the subject.

4.    What if I’m not confident with writing?
Remember it is fine to write your annotations in rough first and ask a teacher to check it with you. If your handwriting or spelling is a weak point use a computer. You can then print the annotations and stick them to your work.