GROUP 1

The Artist and His Medium

This part of Art Appreciation focuses more on the technical aspect of the course which refers
more on the process of creating the art work, the materials and equipment needed, the
techniques applied as well as how to preserve so that it can be appreciated and utilized for a
long period of time.

Learning Outcomes:

After the discussion of the lessons under the unit, students taking the course are expected to:
1.Understand the different processes of art production

2. Learn the variety of visual art media

3. Know the different art forms and their variations

4. Create basic samples of the different art forms

5. Appreciate the value of art and its variety

Lesson 1 - The Process of Art Production

Production is at the heart of making art. Artists and theorists have long acknowledged its
importance as both an artistic action and an idea to be explored. And as the role of production
has shifted in our lives, so have the ways in which artists have responded to it. While some
contemporary artists foreground production as a tool, others use their work to explore ideas
around production we might otherwise overlook. It can refer to the making of something, or to a
final product, like a theatrical performance.

It can be the process of bringing a song or musical to life or honing that work to perfection.
Production might bring out images of factory production lines, or even the theories of scientists
and philosophers after the mind has conceived it through a certain process.

A. Medium- When an artist is ready to express himself in art and to give shape to his vision, his
first thought would be on what medium to use.

B. The Technique -The technique of the artwork shows the level of familiarity with the medium
being manipulated.

C. Curation - Derived from the word “curare” which means to take care. It is a process that
involves managing, overseeing and assembling or putting together a presentation or exhibit for
some type of artistic collection.

Lesson 2 - The Different Media of the Visual Arts I. Graphic or Two-Dimensional Arts

A. Drawing The fundamental skill needed in the visual arts.

1. Pencils- Made of graphite which comes in different hardness from soft to hard or thickness
from thick to needle-like.

i. Shading Techniques:

✔ Hatching- A series of thin parallel lines that run in the same direction.

✔ Cross-hatching- A series of thin parallel lines and criss-crossing it with another set of tin
parallel lines.

✔ Stippling- Uses the sharp point of the pencil to make dot patterns in some parts of the
drawing.

✔ Blending- May be accomplished by using the finger or a paper stump to gradually change the
tone from dark to light.

2. Ink- It is one of the oldest materials for drawing that is still in use. It allows for a great variety
of qualities, depending on the tools and technique used in the application.

3. Pastel- This is composed of dry pigment held together by a gum binder and compressed into
sticks.

i. 3 Kinds of Pastel:

✔ Soft Pastel

✔ Hard Pastel

✔ Oil Pastel

ii. Pastel Techniques:

✔ Stippling- Using pastel of different colors to produce small marks, thus, creating a pattern.

✔ Feathering- Using the point of the pastel to make parallel strokes creating a feather-like
effect.

✔ Scumbling- It is like layering but using pastel. The side of the pastel is lightly drawn on top of
an existing color but still making the color of the first layer visible.

✔ Impasto- The technique of thickly applying the pastel by pressing it hard on the paper
creating an opaque effect.

✔ Sgraffito- Technique that applies a thick deposit of pastel on the support then using a blunt
pen, scrapes it off to reveal the underlying color.

4. Charcoal- An organic medium that comes from burnt wood.

✔ Compressed Charcoal- The vine charcoal which comes in thin sticks that is easy to blend
and erase.

✔ Manufactured Charcoal- Made from loose charcoal mixed with a binder and pressed into
sticks.

5. Paper- The most common surface used in two-dimensional art.

i. 3 Types of Paper:

✔ Hot-pressed Paper- Smooth 60

✔ Cold-pressed Paper- Has moderate texture.

✔ Rough Paper- Has the most texture (tooth).

B. Painting It is the process of applying paint onto a smooth surface (ground/support) like paper,
cloth, canvas, wood or plaster.

a. Pigment- Part of the paint that gives color.

b. Different Media for Painting:

1. Watercolor- Pigments are mixed with water and applied to paper.

2. Gouache- The pigment has been mixed with water and added with a chalk-like material to
give it an opaque effect.

3. Oil Paints- Pigments are mixed with oil as its binder. It is a dense painting medium and gives
rich, beautiful colors. Discovered by a Flemish painter, Jan Van Eyck in the 15th century.

4. Tempera- Pigment is mixed with egg yolk (sometimes with the white) as binder.

5. Fresco- Pigment is mixed with water and applied on a portion of the wall with wet plaster. It is
used for mural paintings.

6. Acrylic- Modern medium with synthetic paint using acrylic emulsion as binder.

C. Mosaic Wall or floor decorations made of small tiles or irregularly cut pieces of colored
stones or glass called tesserae.

D. Collage Derived from a French word “coller” which means to stick. This is a technique of
making art by gluing or pasting on firm support materials or found objects.

E. Printmaking Process used for making reproductions of graphic works. Allows for the repeated
transfer of a master image from a printing plate (matrix) onto a surface.

a. Printmaking Techniques:
1. Relief Painting (Raised)- The oldest method of printmaking. The technique involves cutting
away certain parts of the surface and leaving the ‘raised’ part to produce the image.

2. Intaglio Printing (Depressed)- Instead of the surface of the plate for the image, the lines of the
image are cut or incised to a metal plate.

3. Surface Printing (Flat)- Includes all processes in which printing is done from a flat surface.

II. Plastic or Three-Dimensional Arts

A. Sculpture Originated from the Latin word “sculpere” which means to carve . It is defined as
the art or practice of creating three-dimensional forms or figures.

a. 3 Kinds of Sculptures:

1. Freestanding- Sculptures which can be viewed from all sides.

2. Relief- Sculptures in which the figures project from a background.

Two Variations of Relief Sculpture:

✔ Low Relief (bas relief)- Figures are slightly raised/projected from its background.

✔ High Relief- Almost half of the figures project from its background, more shadows are
created.

4. Kinetic (mobile)- A sculpture that is capable of movement by wind, water or other forms of
energy.

Lesson 3 - The Process of Creating Sculptures

A. Subtractive Process Involves removing or cutting away pieces of the material to form the
figure.

B. Additive Process The process involves the construction of a figure by putting together bits of
the material or by welding together metal parts to create figures.

C. Process of Substitution This process is also known as casting. This method involves using a
mold to produce a 3D figure in another material.

D. Different Media of Sculpture:

a. Stone- A natural medium.Hard and relatively permanent.

b. Wood- Also a natural medium. It varies in hardness and durability depending on the kind of
tree it came from.

c. Metal- It has three unique qualities: tensile strength, ductility and malleability.
d. Plaster- It is finely ground gypsum mixed with water and poured into mold.

e. Terra cotta (cooked earth)- Baked clay or clay fired in a kiln at a relatively high temperature.

f. Glass- Made by heating and cooling a combination of sand and soda lime.

g. Plastic- Synthetic medium made from organic polymers.

Lesson 4 - Architecture

Art of designing buildings and other structures which will serve a definite function

A. Construction Principles

a. Post and Lintel- Makes use of two vertical supports (post) and spanned by a horizontal beam
(lintel). It was invented by the Greeks.

b. Arch- A Roman invention that consists of separate pieces of wedge-shaped blocks called
voussoirs arranged in a semi-circle.

i. Structures that can be Built from the Principle of Arch:

✔ Barrel Vault- A succession of arches.

✔ Groin Vault- A structure that is formed by intersecting arches resulting in four openings.

✔ Dome- Structure with the shape of an inverted cup.

c. Truss- System of triangular forms assembled to form a rigid framework.

d. Cantilever- A structure that makes use of a beam or slab that extends horizontally into space
beyond its supporting post.

e. Buttress- A structure that is built as a support for the wall.

Lesson 5 - Media of Architecture

A. Compressive Strength- Refers to those materials that can support heavy weights without
crumbling or breaking down.

B. Materials that are used for Creating Building and Infrastructures:

a. Stones and Bricks- Stones are favored over other materials for its durability, adaptability to
sculptural treatment and its use for building simple structures in its natural state.

b. Lumber (wood)- All parts of a building can be constructed using wood except the foundations.

c. Iron and Steel- Provide stronger and taller structures with less use of material when
compared to stone or wood.

d. Concrete- Mixture of cement and water, with aggregates of sand and gravel.