The Formal Elements

"The formal elements of art, also called the visual elements, are the basic units and the means artists use to create and design works of art. With these simple elements an artist can create whole worlds of visual experience. " The seven formal elements include:

1. Line
2. Colour
3. Form
4. Space
5. Texture
6. Light
7. Space

Line: "has two basic line types: straight and curved."

The line used is straight and symmetrical. The shapes created are geometrical and create shapes with strong boundaries. The formation created is bold and extremely structured.








Colour: "Colour is the most emotional element of art. Our awareness of colour is conditioned by our environment, our culture and our retinal physiology."
Here Williamson has used a combination of block colour in contrast with geometric shapes in an array of colours from the same tones. The colours are vibrant pastels and overall create a fun and exciting atmosphere.









Shape:"Shapes may be either organic, geometric, symmetrical, or non-symmetrical or a combination of both symmetrical and non-symmetrical."
"Unlike form, shape is actually two dimensional, possessing mass but not volume." This Alexander McQueen creation is a symmetrical shape that is reflected on both sides of the dress. The shape of the body is emphasises by the exaggeration of shape.

Form: "The illusionist representation of a three dimensional form on a two dimensional surface."
This Alexander McQueen Gown creates the illusion of being a three dimensional gown using a two dimensional surface. The curve created











Space: "Nothing exists without it. Space can be thought of as the distance or area around, between, above, below or within places."
This Balmain dress uses large amounts of material to create a large span. The train uses much of the space and is the most dominant feature of the dress. Having said this within the picture itself, the dress does leave large margins but uses much of the height.

Texture: "Texture can be both real and imagined"
This Balmain tunic top has used a variety of textures. There is a mixture of sequins, mesh and cotton that has been randomly pieced together. This gown explores many different textures and combines them to create an extremely interesting effect.








Light:"The contrast between dark and light not only describes space and defines forms in art, it also conveys feelings, drama and a psychological as well as an aesthetic dynamic."
The Trousers themselves are made of an extremely reflective material that creates a sense of movement and highlights. This used in combination with the very dark top half helps to define the shapes and forms of the whole outfit.

Jacek Wankowskski

Australian artist Jacek Wankowski exhibits work in both Australia and the UK. His work is inspired by my experiences as a Marine Biologist and builds on the abstract Modernist traditions in international art of the past 80 years. Wankowski is fascinated by the underwater world; the strange, fragile life forms that live there and the huge forces of tide and current that surge around them. He has studied them in depth via his studies in marine biology and his early professional life as a fisheries research scientist in Papua New Guinea and Australia.

I visited the Coningsby Gallery which is currently hosting a collection of his work. I found this painting which I really like as it really show the angular fetaures of a fish's scales and fins.

His work shows elements of marine life as he uses free flowing movement and texture. These painting sbelow specifically resemble the fluidity of water. As well as texture and movemnet he uses deep blues and greens, colours that are commonly asscociated with marine life.

BEARSPACE

When looking for a current exhibition to visit, i came across a print competition run by BEARSPACE.

I saw this image and thought that the repeated subject linked in nicely with my idea of scales and skin.................

MonoPrints: Christine Toh

Born in a small fishing village in France Christine Toh moved and studied in Liverpool. Her work takes its inspiration from nature, landscapes, the urban environment. She works using a mix of medium and techniques: paper, textile, photography, printing, painting, drawing, stitching, cutting.

Here are some of her monoprints that she created as a stimulus to her textiles work she prodices later on.......

Here are some of Toh textiles creations................

The last two designs have an almost scale like resmbelance due to their repeat pattern nature.