Artistic and Design Means

An artist always requires some form of medium to create a work of art. These mediums include the obvious ones like materials (paper, canvas, paint) and tools (pencils, brushes, pens), as well as elements of form and color design (lines, areas, colors and their combinations).

The Point

The point is perhaps the smallest element in art. Alone, it is nothing more than a dot, but when additional points or other elements are added, the point gains context and meaning. In Pointillism, a painting style characterized by dot-based color application, the point is the dominant design element.

The Line

The line is nothing more than a point extended. It does not have to be straight; the line can also be curved or even angular.

The Area

An area is a shaped or displaced line where a contour or boundary is recognizable. An area can form simple shapes such as a circle, triangle, or rectangle. More complex, amorphous shapes are also possible.

Linear Style and Painterly Style

The Swiss art historian Heinrich Wölfflin introduced a distinction between the terms linear style and painterly style. In the linear style, the contours are clearly defined, while in the painterly style, they are unaccentuated or dissolved.