Chiaroscuro (from the Italian chiaro, "light," and scuro, "dark") is the technique of

using light and shadow in painting.

There is some evidence that early Greek and Roman artists employed chiaroscuro
effects, but Leonardo da Vinci developed the technique in European painting to its
fullest extent in the late 15th century with works like his Adoration of the Magi
(1481). Following that, chiaroscuro developed into a popular technique for many
painters, and by the late 17th century, the term was commonly used to refer to any
painting, drawing, or print that relied on a wide range of light and dark to produce
its desired effect (Augustyn, 2023).

The Adorat Le 2.46 m x

The Siesta C

The Element of Texture

Texture refers to the feel of the surface of woven fabrics. It is derived from the Latin
term for "weaving" (Fichner, 2013). While all other elements of art (color, line,
shape, space, and value) dealt with the sense of sight, texture taps into two sensory
systems such as sense of touch and sense of sight.

TYPES OF TEXTURE

1. Actual Texture This refers to the real feel (touch) and look (sight) of the surface of
the object. This can usually be a characteristic of three-dimensional rtworks such as
sculpture and architecture. To the painting, which is a two- dimensional artwork,
texture is an illusion. The painter must make an object look the way it would feel. Or
the painter can present texture in the paintings by putting a thick layer of pigment
on the surface like in impasto paintings, which is a characteristic of Van Gogh's work
like The Siesta.

Examples of Actual Texture:

a. The rough surface of a stone sculpture. If you reach forward to touch the surface,
it will actually feel rough. Just as you expected!

b. The smooth surface of a finely glazed acrylic painting. If you run your (very clean)
fingers on it, it will feel smooth.

2. Simulated Texture. It is when an artwork's appearance looks different to how it

feels. It is an illusion created by the artist to make a surface appear different to how
it actually is. The purpose ose of simulated texture is to "fool the eye", While you
can feel actual textures with your hand, simulated textures can only be seen.

Examples of Simulated Texture

a. A hyper realistic drawing of a dead leaf. It looks so brittle and crunchy, but when
you go to touch it, you only feel the smooth surface of the paper. (You also hear a
voice behind you saying, "Don't touch the artwork!")

b. A photograph of a cute, fluffy puppy. You reach out to pet him, but no matter how
much you stroke the photo, all you feel is a smooth, flat surface.

3. Abstract Texture. This type of texture is created by the artist emphasizing one
part of the genuine texture and concentrating on it, which changes the texture of
the entire piece. This is only enhancing the composition without fooling the eye.
Abstract texture is not a realistic effect, but it will appear real enough for the viewer
to know what they are looking at.

Example of Abstract Texture:

a. A cartoon drawing of a shiny, red balloon. The balloon itself has just a flat, red
color, with a shiny reflection added near the top of it (to give that red surface a e a
shiny, smooth texture!). There are the viewer that they are looking at a balloon. But
at the same time, it is enough visual cues to tell

abstract enough so that nobody would ever think that the balloon is real b. A
drawing of a fishing line in a pond. There are ripples emanating from where the line
entered the water. The viewer can see that the fisherman has disturbed the calm
water with his deep love for fishing. But the viewer also knows that those ripples are
just concentric circles that have been drawn with a pen.

4. Invented Texture. This is a texture on an artwork that has been completely made
up by the artist. It is a product of the artist's imagination. It does not represent
anything in reality and is purely for decoration or visual impact. Take it from the
word invented.

Example of Invented Texture

a. An abstract painting of an orange square with blue dots scattered all over it.
What does this orange square represent? What do those blue dots mean?! We may
never know! But it looks cool.

b. A drawing made up of little arrows that are connected to form a tessellation. The
rows alternate between black and white. This tessellation has produced a texture
that is aesthetically pleasing and intriguing to look at but has no special purpose

…………………………………..

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

The principles of design (or the principles of art) are essentially a set of criteria that
are used to explain how the visual elements are arranged in a work of art. These are
the principles that we may use to set objective criteria in analyzing and judging a
work of art (Scott, 2018).

Art is a notoriously gray area when it comes objectively defining what is great and
what is not. An artist of one era may be mocked during his lifetime, yet revered
after his passing (such as Vincent van Gogh). The principles of design help combat
this gray area to some extent. They help us understand the visual element with
consistency and objectivity.

1. Balance. Balance is concerned with the visual distribution or weight of the

elements in a work of art. A painting could be balanced if one half is of the same
visual weight as the other half (symmetrical). Or, you could have a small area of
heightened significance which is balanced against a much larger area of less
significance (asymmetrical), like in the painting below. Notice how the dark areas
used for the boat and foreground appear balanced against the much larger area of
soft, tinted colors
2. Harmony. It refers to how well all the visual elements work together in a piece of
art. Elements that are in harmony should have some kind of logical progression or
relationship. If there is an element that is not in harmony with the rest of an
artwork, it should stick out and be jarring to look at. It's like an off-note in a song
3. Pattern. It refers to the visual arrangement of elements with a repetitive form or
intelligible sequence. Pattern is not always obvious. It could be a simple underlying
notable design that dances between light and dark in some kind of sequence. Or it
could be the use of similar color patterns throughout your painting

4. Proportion or scale. This is the size relationship of forms and shapes. Good
proportion causes a sense of unity and harmony. Proportion is the relationship
between items in a painting, for example, between the sky and mountains. If the
sky is more than two-thirds of the painting, it looks out of proportion. The scale in
art is similar to proportion, and if something is not to scale, it can look odd. If there
is a person in the picture and their hands are too large for their body, then it will
look out of scale.
However, there are artworks where the artist purposely did not follow proportion.
Take for example, Michelangelo's David. The lower part (from the hips below) are
not proportionate to the upper part. Or there's the famous cartoon Johnny Bravo
and eyes in the anime characters which are extremely large. What could be the
reason behind it?

5. Emphasis can be color, unity, balance, or any other principle or element of art
used to create a focal point. Artists will use emphasis like placing a string of gold in
a field of dark purple. The color contrast between the gold and dark purple causes
the gold lettering to pop out, becoming the focal point. This is often achieved by
contrast..
6. Unity and Variety. In art, unity conveys a sense of completeness, pleasure when
viewing the art, and cohesiveness to the art, and how the patterns work together
brings unity to the picture or object. As the opposite of unity, variety should provoke
changes and awareness in the art piece. Colors can provide unity when they are in
the same color groups, and a splash of red can provide variety.

7. Rhythm/Movement. In design, rhythm is the regular, uniform, or related visual

movement made through the repetition of unit or motif (Ariola, 2014). A unit or
motif is a dominant feature or part repeated in a design or decoration. Repetition of
a unit creates a feeling of movement or rhythm. All structural elements may be
repeated to suggest movement. However, not all movements in a design is
rhythmical. Rhythm can be observed when the units are of the same sizes and
distances from one another. If a unit is repeated in one direction, it produces a
border design, and in two directions, a surface or all- over pattern. To avoid
monotony in the repetition, there must be variety in form or arrangement of units.
For instance, in a painting of waves crashing, a viewer will automatically see the
movement as the wave finishes. The use of bold and directional brushwork will also
provide movement in a painting.

MEDIUM DEFINED

The term medium refers to the materials which an artist uses. According to medium,
the arts are classified into:

1 Visual or Space Arts. Those whose mediums can be seen and which occupy space.
These in turn are grouped into two categories:

a. The two-dimensional arts, such as painting, drawing, printmaking, and

photography, and

b. The three-dimensional arts, such as sculpture, architecture, landscaping,

community planning, industrial design, and the crafts like ceramics, and furniture-
making.

2. Auditory or time arts. Those whose mediums can be heard and which are
expressed in time. These are music and literature.

3. The combined arts. Those whose mediums can be both seen and heard, and
which exist in both space and time. These include the dance, the drama, the opera,
and the movies.
THE ARTIST AND HIS TECHNIQUE

A good artist makes his medium work for him to produce effects he cannot possibly
attain by any other means. An artist's knowledge of his medium and his skill in
making it achieve what he wants it to, make up what is called technique. A poet's
technique is his way of putting words together to express an emotion or narrate a
story. A pianist's technique is his skill in handling the instrument and in interpreting
a musical composition.

Obviously, artists differ from each other in technique even if they work with the
same medium. Each artist, working with the same medium, may employ a different
technique at another time for another purpose. Technique is adapted as the need
arises.

THE MEDIUMS OF THE VISUAL ARTS

Many mediums have been used by painters, but we shall consider only four: fresco,
in which pigment is mixed with water and applied to wet plaster, tempera, in which
pigment is mixed with egg and applied to a very hard smooth surface, usually
several layers of rubbed plaster (gesso); oil on canvas or prepared wood panel; and
water color which is pigment mixed with water and applied to smooth or rough
white paper. Each medium has certain advantages and limitations

1. Fresco. Fresco, the most noble and monumental, is adapted to large wall
surfaces. It is the most exacting because it must be done quickly while the plaster is
wet, and once applied cannot be changed. Only earth colors and certain others like
cobalt blue will mix with the lime in the plaster; hence the colors are never intense
but tend to fuse in a natural harmony. Again, plaster has a tendency to crack or is
often ruined by dampness. The greatest frescoes lie well within the Renaissance like
those of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Leonardo da Vinci painted his "Last
Supper" on the refectory wall on the Santa Maria della Grazie Convent in Milan.
However, his experiment in painting on a drywall with a medium that was not mixed
with water resulted in a work that began to deteriorate not long after he had
finished it. In Asia the paintings are executed on dry wall surfaces - what the Italians
call fresco secco. The technique used hardly differs from painting on paper or silk.

2. Tempera. Tempera painting, popular during the medieval and early Renaissance
periods, requires the meticulous skill of a craftsman. The color is applied with tiny
strokes of pointed brushes and dries immediately. Gold is often applied first as a
background. In the past, tempera was most often used on vellum in the production
of books. Now tempera is normally applied on wooden panels carefully surfaced
with gesso, a combination of gypsum or chalk and gelatin or glue.

3. Oil. Oil is the most popular medium today because the pigment comes ready-
mixed in tubes. It dries slowly, so that if the artist is dissatisfied he can repaint his
errors or scrape all off for a fresh start.

4. Water Color. True water color did not reveal itself until the mid-19th century It is a
very difficult medium but in the lands of a master is both fluid and transparent.
Since the artist must work rapidly and cannot change anything there is a freshness
and spontaneity in water color not felt in oil.

HORROR VACUI

Horror Vacui is an identifying mark of a Filipino painting. Critics contend that Filipino
painters love to fill up all available spaces with shapes and colors, giving Crquaded
effect, asserting further that this is native to the Filipino sensibility whi and ma
filled-space with abundance and generosity, and an empty one with poverty and
misery
PAINTINGS ON CEILINGS

The ceiling paintings of Mt. Carmel Church in Balilihan, Bohol were done by
Raymundo "Ray" Francia from Cebu. Unfortunately, very little information is known
about him in spite his enormous projects. According to Aldor (2013), "At his peak in
the 1920s and 1930s, he painted the church ceilings of Pitalo, Sibonga and Argao in
Cebu, as well as the ceilings of the churches of Dauis, Cortes, Maribojoc, Loon,
Tubigon, Alburquerque, Loay, Loboc, Dimiao, Carmen, Balilihan, Jagna and Anda in
Bohol." The anonymity of the painter reflects the society's attitude towards art at
that time, when the painter was regarded as a craftsman whose work was
significant in so far as it performed its function as claimed by Rosa Maria Magno-
Icagasi from Philippine Painting and Society.