Shading and tinting allow for the limitless transitions in surface rendering, and when executed skillfully, they evoke the natural appearance of things. Therefore, surfaces in a painting must be rendered in different values, even if the subject is all of the same nuance. It’s irreversibly connected to light, just like color, but its purpose is to depict an illusion of light. Sometimes named “tone”, value can be achieved by adding gray to the base – pure color. It refers to the lightness and darkness of a piece, regardless of its hue. Value is the element of art responsible for the dramatic and emotional impression of an artwork, right next to color. Each hue comes in a span of shades, tinted with white to become lighter or shaded with black to turn darker. Value is the third characteristic of color, defining its lightness or darkness. Intensity often refers to saturation or its purity. Intensity is the next trait of this pictorial element, describing the clarity of the hue, in the range from bright, deep and vivid to dull or pastel. First characteristic of color is therefore nuance or hue, defining the color, in terms we define as red, green, yellow, orange and so on. When mixed, these three colors produce all other nuances of the spectrum. Color hues come in a scale, but there are three basic colors – blue, red and yellow. Note the light nuances of Monet’s piece and the vibrant colors of Van Gogh’s landscape.Ĭolor is the direct consequence of reflection of light and one of the most important elements of art. Color sets the atmosphere in a painting, it describes emotions best, while styles such as Impressionism are based almost solely on color. On other side, cubism of Georges Braque leans onto these geometric shapes, but it uses them as foundation to build recognizable objects. See how the basic geometry is used as such in De Stijl paintings of Piet Mondrian. They are also in charge of creating the subject matter, whether it is figurative or abstract art. Shape cannot exist without other basic elements of art. At the same time, it can emulate any of the outlines found in nature, depicting silhouettes of different animals, objects, people or plants. It is often related to simple geometric figures such as triangle, square, rectangle, circle or various polygons. Shape refers to area defined by edges – lines, which is two dimensional. The drawing of a dog by David Hockney belongs to a different style, but it is simply executed with the line as the essential pictorial item. It reminds of a children’s piece, completed quickly with the use of clean lines. See the over-simplified Jean Dubuffet drawing. Some of techniques, such as printmaking, are based on line, and some of drawing types are defined by simple lines alone, such as croquis. Thick or thin, line helps form shape and form, create a drawing and consequently it’s the most basic component of figural and many abstract artistic styles. It is the crucial element in design and the necessary constituent of marks and signs. Width, direction and length of the line often define stroke of an individual artist. It connects a certain distance between two points and it can be straight, curvy, angular or free. The moon is seen as a representation of emotion since its cycles are always changing and create an effect on the tides, or intangible qualities of life.Line is the simplest visual expressive means. The sun is known as a metaphor for existence and its consistency, best depicted by the rising and setting of the sun every morning and night.
The sun and moon tattoo can also be viewed as representing existence and emotions. In magical and alchemical circles the joining of these two forces of the mind, represented by the sun and moon, is seen as the necessary process in manifesting one’s will into the material realm. These symbols when used together can also work to signify the separate arenas of the mind, with consciousness, or that which is “in the light” being portrayed by the sun, while sub consciousness, or that which is “in the dark” is portrayed by the moon. In mystical and spiritual teachings across the world, the sun and moon typically work to symbolize the juxtaposition of masculine and feminine energy.
A small sun and moon tattoo can hold a great deal of spiritual significance.