1. TO DEFINE: to give a complete and neutral (non bias)“inventory” of what we see. When art has a subject, recognizable imagery, a dog , a flower, a still-life, a square, a circle...anything, then these things are included in the inventory.
2. TO ANALYZE: observing the “behavior” of what we see. This means listing(when relative) types of colors, types of line, types of shape, types of value, types of space and types of textures. Also use descriptive words like; heavy black line, bold color, crowded space,... aggressive, nervous... etc.
3. TO INTERPRET: This is where you decide what everything means. Why do you think the artist used the colors he/she selected? Why did they use the shapes? How do these things make you feel? You can't be wrong in interpreting!! Art is a form of communication, visual communication. Art is a conversation. The viewer is responsible for viewing and interpreting. It is up to the artist to provide communication.
TALKING and WRITING about art
Artwork often has Subject
Matter like a face, a dog, flowers, trees, an airplane, etc. It
is common for the subject matter to get our attention. All artwork
has elements and principles. The Visual Elements are Line, Color,
Shape, Form (volume), Texture, Value (tone).
Elements (often together with subject matter) create visual effects. When you see a visual effect it means that some sort of organizing Principle is working. By looking at artwork and responding in writing, you are discovering principles that were used by the artist. The Visual Elements and Subject Matter are used separately and together to create all kinds of relationships, motion, transition, contrasts, conflicts, variations, themes, feelings, meanings, depth effects, space effects, and so on. If you can find a relationship that creates a visual effect, you have discovered a principle. For example, repetition (repeating something) tends to insist on being seen and it can give the effect of motion.
When you discover principles, you can use them and you will understand how to make and understand artwork better. For example, a combination of red and orange has a different effect than a combination of red and green. By looking at these color combinations next to each other, you might discover a principle of design. When you see a big shape combined with another big shape it has a different effect than combining a small shape with a big shape. By looking at size examples, you might see another principle of design suggested. There are many general principles that work to produce effects, feelings, and meanings. There is an unlimited number of ways to use the elements, subject matter, and design principles to produce effects, feelings, and meanings. This is why, when we solve problems in art, we are not looking for one correct answer, but we are looking one or more solutions out of many unknown possible solutions.