art - The formal expression of a conceived image or imagined conception in terms of a given medium.

asymmetry - Having unlike, or noncorresponding appearances; without symmetry. An example; a two-dimensional color work which, without any necessarily visible or implied axis, displays an uneven distribution of parts throughout the composition.

background - In the pictorial arts, that part of the composition that appears to be the farthest away from the viewer. The background is one of the three zones of recession in linear perspective. Lotains and offscape are little-used terms for the most distant parts of the landscape.

balance - a sense of equilibrium achieved through implied weight, attention, or attraction, by manipulating the visual elements within an artwork, in order to accomplish unity. Balance: symmetrical and asymmetrical balance; radial balance; value, shape, color, and texture balance. Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight in a work of art. In painting, it is the visual equilibrium of the elements that causes the total image to appear balanced. Balance can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical in a work of art.

aast shadow - The dark area that occurs on a surface as a result of something between the light source and the surface.

collage - A pictorial technique in which the artist creates the image, or a portion of it by adhering real materials that possess actual textures to the picture-plane surface, often combining them with painted or drawn images.

color - The visual response to the wavelengths of light, identified as red, blue, green, etc. Color: primary and secondary colors; warm, cool, and neutral colors, color value; hue; and intensity. Color depends on light because it is made of light. There must be light for us to see color. A red shirt will not look red in the dark, where there is no light. The whiter the light, the more true the colors will be. A yellow light on a full color painting will change the appearance of all the colors.

composition - An arrangement and/or structure of all the elements which achieves a unified whole. Often used interchangeably with the term design.

dominance - The principle of visual organization that suggests certain elements should assume more importance than others in the same composition or design. Some feature emphasized and others are subordinated. syn. Emphasis and center of interest.

elements of Design - Line, shape, value, texture and color. These are the basic ingredients that the artist uses separately or in combination to produce artistic imagery. Their use produces the visual language of art.

expression - 1. The manisfistation through artistic form of a thought, emotion, or quality of meaning. 2. In art, expression is synonymous with the word "content".

form - 1. the arbitrary organization or inventive arrangement of all the visual elements according to the principles that develop unity in the artwork. 2. The total appearance or organization. Form: geometric, organic, and natural forms; realistic, abstract, and nonobjective forms. Form describes volume and mass, or the three-dimensional aspects of objects that take up space. Forms can and should be viewed from many angles. Curves, angles, indentations, extensions, and edges are elements of form.

highlight - The portion of an object that, from the observer's position, receives the greatest amount of direct light.

illusionism - The imitation of visual reality created on the flat surface of the picture plane by the use of perspective, light and dark shading, etc.

motif - A designed unit of pattern that is repeated often enough in the total composition to make it a significant or dominant feature. Motif is similar to theme or melody in a musical composition.

objective - That which is based, as near as possible, on physical actuality or optical perception. Such art tends to appear natural or real.

radial - Refers to compositions that have the major images or design parts emanating from a central point or location.

symmetry - The exact duplication of appearance in mirror like repetition on either side of a (usually imaginary) straight-lined central axis.

technique - The manner and skill with which artists employ their tools and materials to achieve a predetermined expressive effect. The ways of using media can have an effect on the aesthetic quality of an artist's total concept.