It may seem difficult to write comments about art for a test or for other situations. However, there is actually a pretty clear pattern for writing them. To begin, you must examine the formal elements of the design that make up the work. Then, in case you are going to write a comment on a piece of art of yours, you should discuss your creative process. If you are going to write a comment on the work of another artist, you should spend some time discussing the context of the work and the theme or message. In any case, to conclude, you need to assess to some extent the strengths of the work and consider how it could have been created differently.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Describe the formal elements of a work
Step 1. Take notes on the use of the lines
These constitute one of the most basic elements, so an excellent starting point is a reflection on them. Here are some things you might consider:
- What types of marking techniques were used? For example, are the lines smooth or irregular?
- Is there a range of thick and thin lines or are they generally the same thickness?
- Do the lines evoke the style of another artist?
Step 2. Write down your opinion regarding the use of tone
When writing an art commentary, "tone" refers to the way the work uses light and dark tones and shading. As you look at the work you are going to comment on, you should pay attention to how it includes highlights, dark parts and shadows between one extreme and the other.
- Does the work have a predominance of light or dark or is it somewhere in between?
- Does any highlight or dark part act as a focal point for the work?
- Are there any smooth gradients in the tone or sudden changes from light to dark?
Step 3. Describe the forms that the work uses
You can see if the artwork contains regular shapes, such as squares or triangles, and take note as to whether they are pure geometric shapes or if it is just a suggestion to them (for example, a house might suggest a square shape). Likewise, it is possible that a work contains organic forms (that is, free), in which case you should describe them in the best possible way and ask yourself questions such as the following:
- Are the shapes rounded or angular?
- Are they solid or are they split?
- Are they flat or do they have depth?
Step 4. Make a list of the colors that have been used
You should examine the entire range of colors that the work has used and try to categorize them. For example, see if they are mostly primary colors (red, yellow, blue) or a set of complementary colors (like red and green or blue and orange). You can also ask yourself the following questions:
- Is the work monochromatic (that is, does it use a single color in various shades)?
- Are the predominant colors warm (yellow, orange, and red) or cool (blue, green, and purple)?
- Does the work use earthy tones?
Step 5. Describe the textures you see
Works of art have real textures; that is, the way the work itself feels, like the smoothness of a polished stone sculpture or the roughness of an oil painting. Also, works can represent textures (for example, the way a painting could represent the softness of the fabric). Either way, you should describe them as follows:
- Are they smooth, rough, or both?
- Do the textures evoke natural or artificial objects?
- Are the textures related in any way to the theme?
Step 6. Look for a pattern on the work
This can refer to a repeated arrangement of colors, shapes, lines, textures, or other elements. If there is a pattern, it could be obvious (for example, a floral print or checkered pattern). Also, the pattern could be subtle, such as the way a work contains alternately blue and red parts.
Step 7. Describe the general composition
How are the elements of the image or work arranged? Is the work more or less "flat" or can you see a foreground, an intermediate plane and a background plane? Are the objects in the image together or separate? Is the work balanced or are the important elements mostly to one side or the other?
Step 8. Get your thoughts in order
Regardless of whether you are going to write a comment about your own work or that of another artist, you should write a little about its formal elements. After collecting your thoughts on lines, shapes, patterns, and other elements, you should write a solid paragraph or two in which you talk about how these aspects are used in the work.
Method 2 of 3: Analyze Your Creative Process
Step 1. Summarize what you have done
A comment on your own work will not be complete without a reflection on what you have created. To begin, you should write a brief description of the work itself that includes the medium, the basic theme, and the style.
For example, you could write: "My work titled Constellation # 3 is an oil painting on a masonite board with embedded nails showing an angel in a night sky. I reproduced the work using a rough impasto painting technique and a cool color palette "
Step 2. Tell the story of your artistic process
When it comes to art commentary, how you've done the work is just as important as what you've done. Therefore, you should spend some time describing your process step by step, which can be a simple narrative of the development of the work:
I started by spreading black plaster over the masonite board. I drove nails into the board at random intervals to give it texture. Then, I blocked the basic shape of the subject of the work with a light coat of gouache paint. Finally, I developed the shape of the subject by successive layers of thick paint.
Step 3. List your sources of inspiration, if any
You may have had other works of art or artists in mind when creating your work, or it may be a reaction to something from the culture, such as a movie, historical event, or presentation. You should be careful to write a short statement explaining how you have incorporated these benchmarks.
You can also mention if the work is related to other of your works. For example, you could have been creating a series of paintings depicting scenes of the night sky
Step 4. Acknowledge what you have learned while creating the work
Comments are often used as part of art education. So even if you're writing the comment just for yourself, take a moment to think about what you've learned from the piece. In this way, you can become a more self-aware artist.
For example, you might have learned intricate details about the fact that oil paint dries at different rates depending on its viscosity
Step 5. Evaluate your work
Being able to critique your own work honestly and accurately is as valuable as evaluating the works of others. When making a comment about your own work, you can ask yourself some simple questions:
- What did I do well in this play? Work on making a list of several specifics.
- What could be improved by doing the work again? Here you should also make a list of some specifics.
Step 6. Write everything down
Once you have considered how you have developed your work, your sources of inspiration and what you have learned from the work, you should focus on these reflections in two more paragraphs of your comment. For example, in one paragraph, you could describe your process and inspiration, and in another, evaluate your work and discuss what you have learned or how you would create the work in a different way if you did it again.
- You can stop here if you are going to comment on your own work.
- You should make sure to carefully review your comment and correct any spelling and grammar errors, if any, as well as refine the style of the sentences so that you are sure that they are clear and flow well.
Method 3 of 3: Write a comment about another artist's work
Step 1. Provide some background information
When writing a comment about another artist's work, you should take the context into consideration. What is the title of the work? Who created it? What do you know about the artist's biography or the background of his work?
Step 2. Describe the work
You should write a report of the work itself based on what you know about the elements of the art. It describes the medium and general composition, as well as other elements, such as the use of color, lines, texture, and shape.
Step 3. Describe in your words the meaning of the work
What is the theme of the play? Does it focus on representing an object or a person? Tells a story? Or is the work rather abstract? Consider for a moment what the artist appears to be saying in the work and then summarize it in the form of a message.
Also, in this part you could mention if it seems that the work is related to something of culture or history or if it refers to other works of art
Step 4. Evaluate the work
You should mention those aspects of the work that seem to be the most competent. Then you must ask yourself what you would have done differently if you had been the one who created the work. You can also mention what you would ask the artist about the work if you could.
Step 5. Write down your thoughts
If you are going to write a comment on the work of another artist instead of reflecting on your own creative process, you should spend a couple of paragraphs analyzing the work you are going to study. For example, to begin with, you could describe the work itself and the artist's background in one paragraph, and then dedicate another paragraph to your interpretation of the meaning of the work and to assessing its strengths and how you would have approached the work of an artist. different way.