It is not just producing art on the same level as Picasso, making you a successful artist. To become a successful artist, you need to have the ability to judge any art. Judging your art to explain to someone who doesn’t know much about art is also a responsibility. You must help him create a connection to your art so that he can appreciate it.
If you want to judge any art, you need the perfect vocabulary to analyze, describe and interpret what you are seeing. Even if you aren’t a successful artist and want to sell your artwork on the marketplace, you will need to describe your piece as best as you can. You need to set yourself aside from every other artist in the marketplace. Now, let’s dive into describing an artwork correctly.
How to Write About Your Artwork?
Writing about your artwork is very important if you want to convert possible buyers into returning customers. To do this, you need to write descriptions. Notice your art and observe it for hours till you get the perfect words that can be used to describe the piece.
Convey your thoughts into the description and elevate your painting to a status of its own. You should prove a line of thinking that could make art unique and different from other artworks that your competitors create.
Elements that Make Art
If you want to describe the art, you need to know the elements you will be using to tell your art. Only if you have a good grasp of these elements can you be considered good enough to describe any art. The elements are as follows:
Color
Color is something that makes every art piece distinct from each other. If you want to describe color, you need to think about how the color blends work together with the composition of the painting to give the painting the contrasting and brilliant look it has.
The color is often used to relay the thought of how the artist has seen the world through their eyes. To describe the color composition of a particular piece, you could use words such as distinctive, natural, clear, lively, stimulating, subtle, sympathetic, compatible, etc.
Tone
A tone is used to set the mood of the painting. If the artist is in a very toxic mood, a clashing and non-harmonious tone on the paint will be shown. If he is happy, the tone of the painting will be giddy and fluffy. All the elements of an artwork are used to set the tone. The tone cannot be used on a single part of the painting.
For the painting to be complete, it must have a set tone that fits. The words used to describe the tone of art is usually dark, light, mid, flat, uniform, unvarying, smooth, plain, varied, broken, constant, changing, monochromatic, etc.
Composition
Think clearly where the setting of the subject of the paint is in. Think carefully about the underlying structures, the subtle details, and any relationship of the objects with a painting. It doesn’t matter what you think.
Other people will think of it as or what the artist thinks it is. The composition of the painting will always be what you interpret them to be. The words used to describe the composition of a painting are structure, arrangement, layout, off-center, lopsided, etc.
Texture
Texture makes you more exotic and unique. It gives details that would be impossible to make otherwise. Most of the time, it is impossible to see the texture of any paint unless the light is shone on top of it from a certain angle. The words that can describe texture include smooth, matte, flat, polished, etc.
Perspective
No matter what art form- paintings, photographs or even sculptures, perspective comes off as an essential element. This is how the artist will decide to present the art to his audience. Every angle or position from which you see the subject of the artwork is a part of the perspective of the artist. The words used to describe the perspective are profile, side, front, three-quarters, static, bending, etc.
Tips You Need to Describe Your Artwork
- If you describe the artwork to someone who has never seen the art, you need to be familiar with the piece yourself. You need to consider all the elements you will be working on and write a short but descriptive review to understand what you are trying to relay.
- If you judge your paint, start by thinking that this piece isn’t something you made. Then ask yourself these questions:
- How does its ambiance feel?
- What undertones does it evoke?
- How does its essence affect your spirit?
The answers you get will be how you need to describe the art piece.
- Always mention the elements of the art that have been discussed above. These elements are what make the art. Always use descriptive words to describe these elements so that everyone can get a clear picture of your thought processes.
Ready to Describe Art Now?
You’re ready to talk about art now that you have a list of descriptive terms to use when critiquing it. It’s the ideal moment to visit the art gallery once more. Examine the same things you’ve seen before and try to describe what you’re seeing with descriptive adjectives.
Now that you can describe the artwork instead of just gazing at it, it will take on new meaning and value. It’s a perfect opportunity to learn how to expand your vocabulary even more if you’ve loved discovering new ways to describe art. You might also want to start looking into well-known artists like Frida Kahlo.
Conclusion
The ability to describe art is an important ability that every artist should have. A final piece of advice- if you are done writing upon the description, recheck them. Think out if they are enough to relay your intentions.
When you are done, rearrange the sentences to make them flow better and check for grammar issues and misspellings. Post the description only when you are sure that the final result would be something very delightful.