IELTS Speaking Lesson about Art

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Introduction

In IELTS Speaking Art may appear as a topic for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 so it’s a really important one to prepare.

How much technical language do you need? What if you have never been to an art gallery?

No problem, in this lesson, I will answer those questions and give you exactly the language and idioms you need to talk fluently on the topic of art in the IELTS Speaking test.

IELTS Speaking mindset

When you have to talk about IELTS topics like art, you may feel fear!

I think this might be because you believe you need to

be an art expert
speak like an ‘Artist’
give some examples of art 😄

The first 2 are absolutely false!

You do not need to be an expert, nor talk like an artist.

However, you will need to have 1 or 2 examples to talk about. For this topic, having at least 1 picture and 1 exhibition you can talk about is important.

If you have never visited an art exhibition, don’t worry, in this live lesson, (when you watch the video of the lesson), you can experience a virtual art tour and this is something you can talk about.

When it comes to describing a picture or painting, there are 3 things you can talk about:

The Picture
Your Feelings
The Artist

1. The Picture

It’s a painting of a house / cafe / street

There are some tables / a lot of people / some stars in the sky

2. Your Feelings

😁 / 😅 / 😲

It makes feel _______ (adj.)

It makes me feel warm / happy / curious / inspired

It gives me a feeling of __________ (n.)

It gives me a feeling of warmth / happiness / curiosity / inspiration

3. The Artist

It is not necessary to know the name of the painter, the name of the painting in English, nor when it was painted and what it means.

I mean, if you love art and you know all of that, then great, but it is not necessary.

You can just explain that you don’t know that information and then simply describe the painting and / or your feelings.

Look at the two examples below. The first one is fine, but the second one is even better, showing off a wider range of vocabulary and grammar.

FIRST:

I like one painting called Guernica and it’s by Picasso and it was painted in 1937.

SECOND:

I like one painting that has chopped up bodies, I am not sure who it was painted by, nor when , but it gives me a feeling of sadness.

IELTS Speaking vocabulary: Art

Art can include just about anything

Performing arts

Dance
Music
Film

Art Exhibition

Visual arts

Painting
Drawing
Sculpture
Photography
Graffiti

Art (n.) – uncountable

A work of art

A piece of art

Artist (person)
Artistic (adj.)
Arty (adj.) – negative

I am not at all artistically inclined

What are these pieces of art?

A landscape

A seascape

A portraits (actually it is a self-portrait = painted by the artist)

A still life painting

IELTS conversation about art

In this conversation with Mandy and Yumiko we discussed the following questions and here is some of the language we used.

Do you like art?

I like crafting something new = making, creating
I have to admit I am not …
I have an appreciation of art
An art aficionado = an amateur
Mixed media = using different media such as paper, clay and plastic, all together in one piece of art.

Have you ever been to an art exhibition?

I have been to a museum and it had art in it somewhere
I went to a gallery that had some interactive art
I once attended an Art festival
I have used Virtual Realty goggles to visit a gallery virtually
I went to my child’s school art exhibition
I have seen art displayed on the street, a kind of Street art
Not recently, due to COVID restrictions

What pictures or style of art do you like?

I like the pictures on the wall in my home with a scenic view
This picture makes me feel calm
I am not fond of abstract art
As far as art, I like some photographers like….
I’ve always liked ____ = I like …..
I like some graffiti but sometimes it can be seen as a stigma or an eyesore (= an unattractive sight)
I actually like textile art = art using fabrics

Do you think art is an important part of our education?

For sure, art can enhance the learning of other subjects
It’s better to marry art and science = to connect
To pair art with math = to connect
A piece of graffiti = a wall painting
It’s a painting done on the fly = done in the moment
A mural = a wall painting (usually commissioned)
It’s difficult as students may love art and science but they often have to choose one or the other
When governments have to cut budgets, art is often the first subject to go

Idioms to talk about art

The following expressions are used to talk about art

I was bowled over by this piece of art = I was really impressed
It took my breath away = It was impressive
It is jaw-dropping = It was amazing
It blew my mind = It was amazing

There was a lot of buzz (excitement / hype) about this painting, but it left me cold = I felt uninterested

It wasn’t much to write home about = it was normal, nothing special

I didn’t like that painting, I don’t know why, I can’t put my finger on it. (= I can’t explain why)

That painting was as exciting as watching paint dry.

I have cooking pizzas down to a fine art = to master something

Students' questions about art

Keith, what form of art do you prefer? Why?

Well, it’s a very interesting question and I haven’t thought much about it, to be honest, but if I look at some of the paintings in my house,

I think I am probably a fan of impressionism and you know, that’s a style of painting that’s not very realistic but it’s just …, it has really nice smooth colours and vivid colours

You know those kind of paintings just make me feel really relaxed and calm and that’s the kind of atmosphere I like to have in my bedroom or in the lounge where I have those paintings.

What do you think about digital art?

It’s interesting you should ask that because just the other day I was listening to a podcast about digital art. There was a painting sold for something like 40 million dollars and it was digital art.

There’s a lot of controversy around it because some people think that digital art is worthless in a way, because you can just copy it and take copies and put them on your phone or put them on your computer,

But when you think about it, I think it’s the same with any kind of art, you can have copies on your walls of some of the most famous pieces of art.

Actually in contrast to that, the person on the podcast explained that the digital art is far safer and you can keep the authenticity of the art more secure than for a normal piece of art.

So, I think digital art has a very bright future. I think as our world moves online and technology plays a bigger role in our everyday lives.

Well, it will be the same with art, I think a lot of our art will become digital, I think it’s very engaging for the children and that’s a positive thing to get them interested in art.

So, yes, I think, we will see more and more digital art cropping up (=appearing) all of the place in the future.