A Level Fine Art OCR

Drawing and Painting

Section: The Elements of Drawing and Painting

• Line: fundamental to drawing; links our ideas, thoughts, and observations.

• Shape: created when a line encloses an area; crucial to the organisation of a drawing.

• Form: a 3D object or the representation of 3D object on a two-dimensional surface.

• Colour: can create mood, evoke emotions, depict light and space. Understanding colour theory — primary, secondary, complementary, analogous, and tertiary colours — is essential.

• Texture: can make a two-dimensional drawing feel like it has three dimensions.

Section: Techniques of Drawing

• Observational Drawing: based on real-life observation, fostering critical thinking and awareness.

• Perspective Drawing: used to represent three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface.

• Conceptual Drawing: expresses the ideas and emotions of the artist, rather than physical reality.

• Contour Drawing: involves building up the image using only lines, enables an artist to focus on the mass and volume of the subject, rather than its detail.

Section: Painting Styles and Techniques

• Impasto: thickly applying paint to canvas creating texture; typically with a palette knife or brush.

• Glazing: applying thin layers of transparent paint, allowing colours underneath to shine through.

• Graining: a faux finish imitating wood grain; useful for understanding texture and depth in painting.

• Sgraffito: scratching into wet paint to reveal lower layers; a technique for creating texture and detail.

Section: Major Art Movements and Influences

• Renaissance: marked by an emphasis on humanism, science, exploration and a renewed focus on representation of the natural world.

• Impressionism: captures the fleeting effects of nature, centred on capturing light and colour.

• Expressionism: prioritises the artist's inner feelings or ideas over replication of external visual reality.

• Cubism: abandons perspective and instead presents objects from multiple viewpoints at once.

• Pop Art: derived from popular and commercial culture such as advertising, comic books, and everyday objects.

• Abstract Expressionism: abstract art intended to evoke emotion through colour, shape and mark making.

Section: Analysing Artworks

• Contextual Analysis: Understanding the culture, history, and personal background that inform a work of art.

• Visual Analysis: Determining what formal elements (line, shape, colour, space, etc.) the artist used and how.

• Interpretive Analysis: Identifying the artist's intentions and the work's significance or impact.

Section: Presenting and Evaluating Your Own Work

• Critique and Revision: Engage in a process of critique and revision to refine your work; learn to accept and use constructive criticism.

• Contextualising Your Work: Understand how your work fits in the broader context of art history and contemporary art practice.

• Presentation and Exhibition: Learn how to professionally display your work; consider the impact of presentation choices on how your work is received.

• Reflection and Evaluation: Reflect on your learning and creative process; evaluate the success of your final work in relation to your initial objectives.