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Art Smart — Arts
Art Smart

Art is for everyone, but sometimes, the way we talk about art doesn’t make sense to anyone. Art Smart breaks through the confusing artspeak to help everyone understand and enjoy art a little bit more. Every episode is short and to the point giving you a quick overview of the topic in just a few minutes.
In Season 1, Art Smart focused on the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design. The elements of art are the building blocks of art and the principles of design focus on how artists arrange those building blocks. Understanding the Elements and Principles can help you become a better creator whether you aspire to be the next Leonardo da Vinci, or you just want your family photos to look good on social media.
For Season 2, Art Smart is focusing on different eras and movements in art. What is the difference between modern and post-modern? How were the Post-Impressionists and Impressionists similar and different? Learn all about these and other movements in season 2. Each episode will cover a movement or era in broad strokes, then give you five specific artists/works to look at for a better understanding.

Copyright: © Kyle Wood

Latest Episodes:

The Principles of Design - Unity Mar 02, 2022

Show notes

This is the final episode in this series about the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. In this episode, I talked briefly about unity and making sure that all of the elements seem to fit together. Unity is what makes a work of art look and feel complete. The key to a unified design is making sure that every element, every technique is done for a purpose and that everything in the work of art is working toward the same goal.

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The Principles of Design - Scale and Proportion Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

This episode is about the design principles of scale and proportion. You can find more helpful resources at www.artsmartpodcast.com

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The Principles of Design - Rhythm & Movement Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

Much like scale and proportion, Rhythm and movement are related and I am going to lump them together for this episode. To start with, let’s define the terms. Movement is traveling from one location to another. Most works of art are not physically moving which can lead to confusion when people are told to consider movement in an artwork. While the artwork may not be moving, the viewer’s eye does move around the composition. That is the movement an artist must be mindful of. Line can be particularly helpful in controlling movement around a composition. The human eye naturally follows lines so artists will often create their work with leading lines that act as a pathway for the eye to follow around the work.

Rhythm is often discussed in music but visual artists are fond of appropriation and have thus coopted that term to describe a design principle that is felt but hard to express in words. This is a podcast dedicated to explaining these concepts though, so I will do my best to explain it. When we think of rhythm in music, we are talking about long and short notes and rests. In art, we might think of it as a combination of a couple of design principles affecting the way the eye moves around the composition. I have heard rhythm described as a repeated visual movement. While the central focus of rhythm is the experience of the movement, the pacing and all of that, I think it is important to be mindful that just as some notes move quickly and others are held, within our composition, some elements have greater weight and the eye will linger on those longer while others are not emphasized so much, and the eye will move more quickly past those. If we think of movement as the path the eye follows around the composition, rhythm is all about how the eye navigates that path. To labor this analogy, think of a road trip. The movement is the path marked on the map, but the rhythm is all about how fast you travel that path, and where you stop along the way. You might slow down briefly as you pass by the world’s largest ball of twine, but you would get out and take your time to explore a national park. So as you create those leading lines, think not only about where you are guiding the viewer’s eye to travel, but also how the eye will linger on pieces of different visual weight. You want to have some areas that are important where the eye can focus intensely and discover important details, but you also want to provide some rest areas to make it a more pleasant journey.

As always, you can find more at www.artsmartpodcast.com

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The Principles of Design - Pattern Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

This is part of my series of episodes on the Principles of Design. For this episode, we focused a bit on repetition and pattern. Repeating an element can help with balance and unity. Patterns generally incorporate both a bit of repetition and some variety. Patterns can add some excitement to a composition, but artists must be careful in using patterns so as not to make something that becomes cluttered and overwhelming.

To learn more about the Elements of Art and Principles of Design, check out the website www.artsmartpodcast.com

If you enjoyed Art Smart, check out my other podcast. Who ARTed focuses on a different artist every week telling the stories that make up art history in a way that is accessible and appropriate for listeners of all ages.

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The Principles of Design - Emphasis Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

Emphasis is drawing attention and making something stand out. A lot of the elements and principles are somewhat related. Contrast can be a great means of creating emphasis. Making the focal point stand out from its surroundings using color, texture, value, and so on can help to emphasize that piece. Similarly, scale and proportion can help with emphasis. Making something larger, giving it more visual weight will emphasize it.

You can find more including tons of resources for my fellow art teachers at www.artsmartpodcast.com

If you enjoy the show, please follow, rate it and leave a review on your favorite podcast app.

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The Principles of Design - Contrast Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Contrast is one of the Principles of Design. Basically contrast is a difference between things. Artists will manipulate different elements to create contrast which makes their artwork easier for a viewer to process.

If you would like to find more information and resources, check out the website www.artsmartpodcast.com

Also, as this is a new podcast, please help spread the word about the show. Share it with a friend, follow, rate and leave a review on your favorite podcast app.

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The Principles of Design - Balance Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

This episode is a part of my series on the Principles of Design. Specifically, I focused on balance in this episode. Balance is the distribution of elements with visual weight. Generally, the weight might be thought of as the degree to which something pulls in the viewer's attention. Heavier items such as thicker lines or bigger shapes will be more noticeable and have more visual weight. An artist might distribute the items evenly for symmetrical balance, or an artist may choose asymmetrical balance to have things seem a little more active and unsettled.

As always, I hope you find this podcast and this information helpful. If so, please help me out by following and rating the show on your favorite podcast app.

You can find more art education resources all available for free at my website www.artsmartpodcast.com

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The Principles of Design Jan 12, 2022

Show notes

This episode is a quick overview of the Principles of Design. While not everyone is in agreement about what they are or even how many there are, I covered a little bit about how they have been developed, why the Principles of Design matter and briefly defined some of the most commonly agreed upon principles.

As always, if you enjoyed the show, please follow and rate it on your favorite podcast app. This is a new show, so please help me find an audience and tell your friends if you think they might be interested in knowing a little bit more about art and design.

You can find all the episodes of Art Smart and Who ARTed on the website www.whoartedpodcast.com

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Elements of Art: Space Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

This episode is about the Element of Art, Space. In addition to the depth created in the foreground, middle ground and background, artist think about the positive and negative space in a composition. In this episode I referenced a classic illusion playing with positive and negative space. You can find the image reference here.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow and rate it on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to learn more about art and art history, check out my other podcast, Who ARTed, where each week I cover a different artist and their work along with fun fact mini-episodes every Friday to give you an interesting story that isn't covered in the standard art history survey course.

You can also find more information and resources at www.whoartedpodcast.com

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Elements of Art: Texture Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

This episode is about the Element of Art, Texture. The texture of a piece is referring to its surface quality. Texture has to do with the sense of touch. Artworks can have either real physical texture or an implied texture meaning it looks as if it might feel a certain way.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow and rate it on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to learn more about art and art history, check out my other podcast, Who ARTed, where each week I cover a different artist and their work along with fun fact mini-episodes every Friday to give you an interesting story that isn't covered in the standard art history survey course.

You can also find more information and resources at www.whoartedpodcast.com

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