Teachtopia teaches THE ARTS

Creating a School Art Gallery

Whether a temporary school art gallery for Open House, or a year round showcase, a school art gallery makes sense.

Art has its own special language. Learning art vocabulary helps students describe colors, shapes, materials, techniques, and ideas.

This guide introduces important art words for elementary students. Each definition is written in clear language, and many include examples of famous artists.

Elements and Principles of Art

Color

What we see when light reflects from an object.

Example: Vincent van Gogh used bright blues and yellows in The Starry Night.

Form

A three-dimensional object with height, width, and depth.

Example: Henry Moore created large sculptures with curved forms.

Line

A mark that can be straight, curved, thick, thin, wavy, or zigzag.

Example: Keith Haring used bold black lines around his figures.

Shape

A flat area such as a circle, square, triangle, or rectangle.

Example: Henri Matisse used colorful paper shapes in his cut-out artwork.

Space

The area around, between, inside, or behind objects.

Example: Georgia O’Keeffe often filled most of the space in her paintings with large flowers.

Texture

The way a surface feels or looks as though it might feel.

Example: Vincent van Gogh applied thick paint to create visible texture.

Value

How light or dark a color appears.

Example: Rembrandt used dark shadows and bright highlights in his portraits.

Balance

The way parts of an artwork are arranged so the picture feels stable.

Example: Leonardo da Vinci carefully balanced the figures in The Last Supper.

Contrast

A strong difference between elements, such as light and dark or large and small.

Example: Kara Walker uses strong black-and-white contrast in her silhouette artwork.

Emphasis

Making one part of an artwork stand out.

Example: Johannes Vermeer used light to emphasize the face in Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Movement

The way an artwork guides the viewer’s eyes or suggests action.

Example: Hokusai created a strong feeling of movement in The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Pattern

A design made by repeating lines, colors, shapes, or objects.

Example: Yayoi Kusama is famous for her repeating polka-dot patterns.

Color Vocabulary

Color Wheel

A circle that shows how colors are related.

Artists use the color wheel to plan color combinations.

Complementary Colors

Colors located opposite each other on the color wheel, such as blue and orange.

Example: Vincent van Gogh often placed blue and orange near each other to create contrast.

Primary Colors

Red, yellow, and blue in traditional painting.

Example: Piet Mondrian often used primary colors in his geometric paintings.

Secondary Colors

Orange, green, and purple. They are made by mixing two primary colors.

Warm Colors

Red, orange, and yellow.

Example: Frida Kahlo often used strong, warm colors in her self-portraits.

Cool Colors

Blue, green, and purple.

Example: Claude Monet used cool colors to paint water, mist, and shadows.

Drawing and Painting Vocabulary

Brushstroke

A mark made by moving a paintbrush across a surface.

Example: Claude Monet used short, visible brushstrokes.

Canvas

A strong fabric often used as a surface for painting.

Palette

A surface used for mixing paint. The word can also describe the colors used in an artwork.

Example: Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period used a palette made mostly of blue.

Shading

Adding light and dark areas to make an object look three-dimensional.

Example: Leonardo da Vinci used careful shading to create realistic faces.

Sketch

A quick drawing used to plan or record an idea.

Example: Leonardo da Vinci filled notebooks with sketches of people, machines, and nature.

Watercolor

A transparent paint mixed with water.

Example: John James Audubon used watercolor to create detailed pictures of birds.

Sculpture and Other Types of Art

Carving

Creating art by cutting material away from wood, stone, or another surface.

Example: Michelangelo carved David from marble.

Clay

A soft natural material that can be shaped and hardened with heat.

Sculpture

A three-dimensional artwork that can be viewed from different sides.

Example: Augusta Savage created sculptures showing important African American people and experiences.

Abstract Art

Art that uses colors, lines, and shapes without showing objects realistically.

Example: Wassily Kandinsky used color and shape to express feelings and music.

Collage

An artwork made by attaching paper, fabric, photographs, or other materials to a surface.

Example: Romare Bearden used cut paper and photographs to create collages.

Landscape

An artwork showing outdoor scenery.

Example: Thomas Cole painted large American landscapes.

Mural

A large artwork painted or attached directly to a wall.

Example: Diego Rivera painted murals showing workers, history, and everyday life.

Portrait

An artwork showing a person or group of people.

Example: Amy Sherald is known for painting large portraits.

Self-Portrait

An artwork an artist creates of themselves.

Example: Frida Kahlo painted many self-portraits.

Still Life

An artwork showing arranged objects such as fruit, flowers, books, or dishes.

Example: Paul Cézanne painted many still lifes featuring apples.

Composition Vocabulary

Background

The part of an artwork that appears farthest away.

Composition

The way the parts of an artwork are arranged.

Example: Leonardo da Vinci carefully arranged the figures in The Last Supper.

Focal Point

The part of an artwork that attracts attention first.

Example: The central figure is the focal point in Edvard Munch’s The Scream.

Foreground

The part of an artwork that appears closest to the viewer.

Perspective

A method artists use to make a flat picture appear to have depth.

Example: Raphael used perspective in The School of Athens.

Talking About Art

Artist

A person who creates art.

Artists may draw, paint, sculpt, photograph, design, build, or work digitally.

Inspiration

A person, place, object, memory, or idea that encourages someone to create.

Example: Georgia O’Keeffe found inspiration in flowers, bones, and the landscape of New Mexico.

Medium

The material an artist uses.

Paint, clay, pencil, fabric, charcoal, and digital software are examples of art media.

Technique

A special method an artist uses to create art.

Example: Georges Seurat used pointillism, a technique that builds pictures from small dots of color.

Theme

The main subject, message, or idea in an artwork.

Family, nature, history, identity, and community are examples of artistic themes.

Questions Students Can Ask About Art

• What colors do I see?
• What kinds of lines and shapes did the artist use?
• What is the focal point?
• What material did the artist use?
• Does the artwork show movement?
• What feeling does the artwork create?
• What story might the artwork tell?
• What do I notice first?

Learning art vocabulary helps students become stronger artists, careful observers, and confident speakers. These words make it easier to describe artwork, understand famous artists, and explain creative choices.

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