Art paintings are delimitated as graphic art comprised of an artistic make up followed by application of paints on the surface. According to an artist’s point of view paintings are expressions of emotions, feelings, ideas or situation. By looking at an art painting one can easily figure out the time period in which the artist has painted, the prevailing situation and the way artist felt about that situation.
Artists use a variety of ways to paint each differs to the other. They express their feelings using different types of media. The most commonly used media include watercolor, poster color, oil paints and acrylic. Other media are also used such as spray paints, enamels, water miscible oil paints, tempera, ink, hot wax, fresco, pastel and gouache.
Similarly they adopt different styles of painting. Style can either denote the method which an artist uses to epitomize his work or it has to do with the ism or school of thought he is affiliated with. Methods or techniques include action painting, pop art, abstract painting and outsider art whereas doctrines are categorized as photorealism, modernism, surrealism and impressionism.
Painters use different surfaces as a support of their paintings. They may include paper, canvas, lacquer, glass, walls, wood, clay, copper and leaf. Other materials can also be incorporated like sand, glitter, stones and other objects. Paintings also differ in their nature. They range from mimetic to political or realistic or they can be related to Mother Nature.
Likewise, there are different elements of art paintings. Color and tone, rhythm, non- traditional elements and intensity constitute the elements of painting. Color and tone are the heart and soul of any painting. Different colors depict different things in different parts of the world. Rhythm is the arrangement of colors alternating stressed and unstressed shades. It depicts the sequence of shades.
Non-traditional elements imply assortment of diverse things to create a new whole. For example; use of straw, cement, sand, clay, gravel or wood for the texture. Another example is collage work which makes uses of magazines, newspaper clippings, pieces of a cloth and ribbons which are glued to any surface to make a fine piece of art. Intensity refers here to the strength of a particular color. It implies which shade should be more vivid and which should be more on the cloudy side and vice versa