Meramec Choice Art: Artists Express their Feelings and Emotions

Some humans express their feelings with words, some share their feelings in song, others with their body language-- a hug, a smile or a scowl. Artists EXPRESS how they feel with their artwork. Let's explore COLORS AND EMOTIONS in art.

First let's identify some feelings:

Now, let's find some of these in art.

Artist Bisa Butler creates expressive portraits with the art of quilting. Portraits are pictures of people and can show us facial expressions of how a person is feeling.

Yes, Bisa sews images of people and faces with thread and carefully placed fabric. Often, colors like blue and red help Bisa to express feelings she quilting.

Can you show emotion without people or faces? How?

Color can give your artwork a mood or feeling. What feeling does it look like Pablo Picasso is trying to express in these paintings? What is the main color you are noticing in Pablo's work?

These were painted during what is referred to as Pablo Picasso's Blue Period, a time in his life where he was expressing feelings of loneliness and despair in his art. He was feeling the sadness of a friend who had passed away.

Blue, Green and Purple are COOL COLORS that can create a calm, melancholy or sad feeling in your art.

Color is a powerful tool in art.

So if Blue can express sadness or calm, what feelings do Red, Orange and Yellow make you feel?

Warm Colors such as RED, Yellow and Orange can give a happy, loved, upbeat, energetic or excited feeling. Red can also feel angry or a sense of danger.

Jackson Pollock

With the colors you choose, you have the power to affect how the viewer feels when they look at your art.

Lines can also help an artist to capture our attention and communicate moods. There are so many types of lines an artist can draw, paint or even sew! Lines can be very expressive.

Horizontal lines can feel peaceful and calm.

Martin Johnson Heade

Vertical lines express energy and power.

Curved lines can be relaxing and soft.

Heather Hanson is a dancer and creates symmetrical curved lines using charcoal and her whole body. People often watch her performance as she moves and dances charcoal onto large paper in order to create art .

Angled lines like diagonal lines can feel agitated or active. Does anyone know what agitated means?

Kandinsky

Picasso

Sometimes the subject alone can be expressive of a certain mood or feeling. The subject is the main idea or image the artist is trying to show or get us to notice in their art.

Can you name a feeling for each of these art works?

Vincent Van Gogh