Sometimes you just have to get back to basics. Beginning Acrylic teaches you the importance of the 7 elements of art, which is a great starting place for beginners and a wonderful refresher for experts.

1.Lines are essentially long marks. Lines vary in length, thickness, and direction. They can be broken, geometric, organic, straight, curved, or zigzag; they can be implied by spaces between objects; and they can be layered until they form masses of value and tone.

2. Shapes are enclosed spaces. The basic shapes are a circle, a triangle, and a square. All other shapes are a variation or combination of these three. Shapes can be geometric, organic, or a combination.

3. As mentioned on page 28, value refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a color. Shapes would remain flat without the gradations of light to dark values.

4. Color refers to the perception of light waves by the brain that reflect into our eyes. A hue is a color in its purest form.

5. Texture is the literal sensation experienced when an object’s surface is touched. Implied texture exists when the visual illusion of that surface quality is created by art elements.

Finally is the Form and space refer to the illusion of 3D objects in drawings or paintings using line, shape, value, and color. The areas around and within shapes are called “negative spaces.