Lessons in Art: Third Element of Art FORM by Texas Art Teacher Laurie Pace

Third Art Lesson

The Seven Elements of ART

Line, Shape, FORM

Form is usually the element my younger students love. Basically form is dimensional. Form is a three-dimensional geometrical figure. Where you normally have a circle, in form it is a sphere. Where you have a square, in form you have a cube.

My images shared will be from a simple project. If you want to get fancy, do some carving, paper mache or anything that dimensionally builds shape. You can actually still do a two dimensional painting and use a palette knife and build up layers, and presto... you have form. You can also do mixed media and have things pasted and gessoed onto the surface and that counts as form as well.

Working with mixed media is always fun. Collaging and using different papers and objects to create art is very exciting. Try and do some different types of art that allow you to use FORM.

I went into the studio to figure out something to share for an exercise besides carving a pumpkin or working with clay. Those are obvious Three Dimensional objects. So how about mixing two D and three D?

First I chose colors...and decided to work with three together on the color wheel: Red, Yellow and Orange

Then I chose one opposite the Orange... which was a blue and I went with a teal type blue that had some green in it to balance the red. Split Analogous Colors.

I rummaged around in my papers... and found these precut small watercolor papers. I pulled out a bunch but after I grabbed a square canvas panel, I realized I only needed four. I still had no concept yet what I was going to do.

As I begin to paint the small pieces colors...like red on one side, orange on the other... I thought cool, I can paint the surface in squares. Originally my brain thought flat black, but I wanted this to build dimensionally with form, shape, line and this would do it.

See the black lines separating the shapes (Squares)?

Then I glued the square forms painting on two sides onto the surface two dimensional square. Note that I matched up the fold to the color on the flat square. Another decision NOT pre-made but discovered as I worked.