A
Aboriginal
art
Aboriginal Art is art created by the indigenous
Australians called Aborigines. Art is a central part of the life of
Australian aborigines and their art is based on their traditional
culture.....More info
Abstract Art
Art in which the depiction of real objects has
been discarded or subordinated in favor of lines, patterns, color and
shapes instead of recognizable images for its compositional
elements
.....More info
Accent
To emphasize something. An
area of color, brush stroke, or detail created in a painting or
artwork that is made for emphasis .....More info
Achromatic Colors
Achromatic colors have
no hue or color ( Most whites, blacks, grays, and some browns )
without any identifiable hue.....More info
Acid Free
Acid free can refer to
paper, cardboard, tissue, foam board, tape, and many other products that
are manufactured without acid (pH). ....More info
Acid-Free Corrugated Cardboard
Acid-free corrugated cardboard that has been
manufactured without acid (pH). Can be lignin free and buffered
to bring up the pH to 7 or above (which is alkaline)..... More info
Acid-free Foam
Board
A board made of foamed plastic (polystyrene) material
sandwiched between coated paper from which the acids have been removed or
have been chemically neutralized. .... More info
Acrylic
Acrylic is a generic term to
describe plastics..... More info
Addition
A sculptural term that means
assembling, building up, or putting on material.....More info
Additive
Color
Color created by
superimposing light rays, superimposing the three physical primaries -
red, green, and blue - will produce white. ....More info
Aesthetic,
Aesthetics
Relating to the artistic or the"beautiful";
traditionally a branch of philosophy, but now a compound of the
philosophy, psychology, and sociology of art.....More info
Alabaster
Alabaster is a slightly
translucent stone, fine-grained, with a smooth milk-white
surface.
Translucent form of gypsum, typically
white, often carved into ornaments.....More info
Alla Prima
Painting directly in one
session with no under-drawing or painting. Usually refers to oil or
acrylic painting. a painting technique in which a canvas is completed in
one session, often having a thickly applied impasto.....More info
Amorphous Shape
A shape without clarity or
definition; formless, indistinct, and of uncertain dimension. An
ill-defined or arbitrary shape.....More info
Analogous
Colors
A grouping of related colors
next to each other on the color wheel.....More info
Aquarelle
The French term for the process and product of
painting in transparent watercolor.
In printing.....More info
Archival
Broadly used to describe materials that have the least
harmful effects on the art being framed or stored and thus preserving such
pieces for the longest period of time.....More info
Archival Paper
Archival watercolor paper is
any pure 100% rag , cotton, linen, or watercolor paper of neutral or
slightly low ph, alkaline (base) vs. acidic, and pure
ingredients.....More
info
Art
The formal expression of a conceived image or imagined
conception in terms of a given medium.....More info
Art Deco
A decorative movement
fashionable during the 1920's and 1930's and characterized by geometric,
streamlined shapes and the use of contrasting, often luxurious,
materials.....More
info
Artists Proof
One of the
proofs in a limited edition of original prints. The artist proof must bear
the artist's signature or mark and, since the early 20th century, is usually
numbered.....More info
Ascender
In Typography, the portion of
a lower case letter that extends above the x-height....More info
Asymmetry
Having unlike, or non
corresponding appearances; without symmetry.....More info
Atmospheric Perspective
Suggesting perspective in a
painting with changes in tone and color between foreground and
background.....More info
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B
Back Runs
When your fresh brush stroke
hits a still damp wash it will force the original wash out in a irregular,
often fractal manner. ....More info
Background
In the
pictorial arts, that part of the composition that appears to be the
farthest away from the viewer.....More info
Balance
A
sense of equilibrium achieved through implied weight, attention, or
attraction, by manipulating the visual elements within an artwork, in
order to accomplish unity....More info
Baroque
An
extremely elaborate and ornate artistic style. This dynamic, theatrical
style dominated art and architecture in Europe during the 17th
Century..... More info
Baseline
In typography, it is the
invisible line that the bottom of type sits on in a line of
type.....More info
Bas-relief
A sculptural relief technique
in which the projection of the forms is relatively shallow.....More info
Batik
Using wax resist designs on dyed fabrics. Colors are
dyed lightest color to darkest color, with new design elements added
before each color bath..... More info
Bevel
Cutting or shaping the edge or end of a material to
form an angle that is not a right angle, such as the bevel cut on the
window edge of a mat..... More info
Binder
That which holds the paint together, such as linseed
oil for oil painting, polymers for acrylics, gum Arabic for watercolors
and gouache..... More info
Biomorphic Shape
Irregular shape that resembles
the naturally developed curves found in living organisms.....More info
Blending
In painting, the gradation of
color so that two hues or values merge imperceptibly.....More info
Blocking In
The simplifying and arranging
of compositional elements using rough shapes, forms, or geometric
equivalents when starting a painting..... More info
Blotting
Using an absorbent material
such as tissues or paper towels, or a squeezed out brush, to pick up and
lighten a wet or damp wash.....
More info
Blow Dryer
For rapid painting production,
these electronic hair drying devices are a necessity at times.....More info
Body Color
The mixing of opaque white
gouache with transparent watercolor; or gouache colors in
general.....More info
Botanical
Having to do with plants, most
often used in reference to artwork depicting plants or
flowers.....More info
Brayer
A printer's hand-inking roller....More info
Buon Fresco
Sometimes called "true
fresco." A painting technique in which pigment suspended in water is
applied to wet plaster.....More info
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C
Calligraphy
Elegant, decorative writing.
Lines used in art works that possess the qualities found in kind of
writing may be called "calligraphic." .... More info
Camera Obscura
An optical contrivance for
projecting the image of an object or scene on a surface, from which it is
traced and thus is more accurately reproduced than by being drawn
freehand..... More info
Canvas
A heavy woven fabric usually of cotton or linen, used
as a support for a painting.....
More info
Canvas Board
Common gray cardboard or pasteboard to which a white
cotton cloth, prepared for painting, has been glued or pasted..... More info
Canvas Pliers
Heavy pliers with elongated
jaws for grasping the edges of a piece of canvas when stretching it onto a
stretcher frame..... More info
Canvas Print
A reproduction in which an
image is printed directly onto canvas..... More info
Canvas Transfer
A process which lifts the
image on a print off the paper support so that it can be transferred to a
canvas mount..... More info
Cap Height
In Typography, the guideline for the top of uppercase
letters..... More info
Caricature
Pictorial ridicule or satire, effected by distortion
of personal physical characteristics or through exaggerated depiction of
the foibles and vices of individuals.....
More info
Carpenter's
Pencil
A graphite pencil that features a flat ovoid wooden
grip surrounding a wide graphite core capable of creating chiseled thick
and thin pencil lines..... More info
Cartoon
A preparatory sketch or design
that is then transferred to the final work surface..... More info
Casein
A water-soluble protein found
in milk that is used as a binder for creating casein paints.....
More info
Cast or Casting
To form into a particular
shape by pouring fluid matter into a mold and allowing it to harden, such
as making a picture frame ornament.....
More info
Cast Paper
Paper made by pressing the
pulp into a die or mold used for casting or shaping, becoming a work of
art in and of itself. ....
More info
Cast Sculpture
A work of art made by pouring
melted liquid, such as bronze, into a mold and then letting it
harden..... More info
Cast Shadow
The dark area that occurs on a surface as a result of
something between the light source and the surface..... More info
Catalogue Raisonné
A catalogue which chronicles all known works of an
artist, along with pertinent details on each piece..... More info
Charcoal
Used for drawing and for
preliminary sketching on primed canvas for oil painting..... More
info
Chiaroscuro
The rendering of light and
shade in painting; the subtle gradations and marked variations of light
and shade for dramatic effect.....
More info
Chroma
The purity of color or it's
freedom from white, black, or gray. (or)The intensity of hues..... More info
Chromatic
Pertaining to the presence of
color..... More info
Cold Pressed
Watercolor paper that is Cold
Pressed or Not Pressed has mildly rough texture..... More info
Collage
A pictorial technique in which the artist creates the
image, or a portion of it by adhering real materials that possess actual
textures to the picture-plane surface, often combining them with painted
or drawn images..... More info
Color
The visual response to the wavelengths of light,
identified as red, blue, green, etc..... More info
Color Tetrad
Three colors spaced an equal
distance apart on the color wheel that form an equilateral triangle.
.... More info
Color Triad
Three colors spaced an equal
distance apart on the color wheel that form an equilateral triangle.
...More info
Color Wheel
A spectrum of colors placed in
a circle including the three primary colors.... More info
Combination Marks
Symbols and Logo used
together, also called signature.....
More info
Complimentary Colors
Two colors directly opposite
each other on the color wheel.....
More info
Composition
An arrangement and/or
structure of all the elements which achieves a unified whole..... More info
Comprehensive
Final sketches or models and
are presented to the client.....
More info
Concept
A comprehensive idea or
generalization. (or) An idea that brings diverse elements into a basic
relationship..... More info
Conceptual Art
Art where the idea or concept
is more important than the seen image. .... More info
Content
The expression, essential
meaning, significance, or aesthetic value of a work of art..... More info
Contrapposto
The principle of weight shift
in the visual arts.....
More info
Contrast
Value contrast; color
intensity; texture, shape, and warm and cool color contrast. .... More info
Counter
In Typography, the white shapes within the
letters.... More
info
Craftsmanship
Aptitude, skill, or manual
dexterity in the use of tools or material. .... More info
Cross-Hatching
Using fine overlapping planes
of parallel lines of color or pencil to achieve texture or
shading..... More info
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D
Deckle
The tapered rough
edges of watercolor and drawing papers, also refered to as
"barbs".....More info
Deckle Edge
The feathery edge of a sheet
of handmade paper, caused by the deckle or frame which confines the pulp
to the mold.....More
info
Découpage
Decoration of a surface by
covering it completely with cut out paper forms.....More info
Design
A framework or scheme of construction on which artists
base the nature of their total work.....More info
Descender
Typographical term referring to the part of a letter
form that dips below the baseline in a line of type.....More info
Dominance
The principle of visual organization that suggests
certain elements should assume more importance than others in the same
composition or design.....More info
Drawing
The act of marking lines on a surface, and the product
of such action. Includes pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, conte crayon,
markers, silver point, and other graphic media on
paper. ....More info
Dry Brush
Any
textured application of paint where your brush is fairly dry (thin or
thick paint) and you rely the hairs of your brush, the angle of attack of
your stroke, and the paper's surface texture to create broken areas of
paint.....More info
Dry Mounting
A method of attaching drawing, print, photograph or
any other work of art done on paper to a cardboard
backing.....More info
Dry Point
A free-hand drawing scratched or engraved on a
metal plate with a sharp tool.....More info
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E
Easel
A stand or resting place for
working on or displaying a painting.....More info
Ebony
Pencil
A drawing pencil that features a thick core of
graphite formulated to be very black and smooth.....More info
Elements of Design
Line, shape, value,
texture and color.....More info
Embellish
To beautify by
ornamentation. .... More info
Emboss
An embellishment raised in relief from the
surface. ....More info
Emphasis
Color dominance, focal areas,
and visual emphasis with shapes......More info
Enamel
A glossy substance, usually opaque, applied by fusion
to the surface or metal, pottery, etc., as an ornament or for
protection.....More info
Encaustic
Encaustic paints a
blend of oil paint and beeswax and must be heated for use....More info
Engraving
Lines cut
into a plate by hand with a steel burin or graver; no acid is used.
.... More info
Etching
A printing process. A metal
plate is covered with an acid-resisting ground. ....More info
Expression
The manisfistation through
artistic form of a thought, emotion, or quality of meaning. (or) In art,
expression is synonymous with the word "content".....More
info
Expressionism
A form of art in which there
is a desire to express what is felt rather than perceived or
reasoned. ....More info
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F
Fabric
Mat
A mat which has been covered with
fabric. .... More
info
Fauves
Fauves means wild
beasts. It was expressionistic art in a general sense, but more
decorative, orderly, and charming than German
expressionism.....More info
Ferrule
The metal cylinder
that surrounds and encloses the hairs on a brush.....More info
Figure
A human or animal form. ....More info
Fixative
A resinous or plastic spray used to affix charcoal,
pencil, or pastel images to the paper.....More info
Flat Color
Any area of a painting that
has an unbroken single hue and value.....More info
Flat Wash
Any area of a
painting where a wash of single color and value is painted in a series of
multiple, overlapping stokes following the flow of the paint......More info
Floater
A molding designed to give the
artwork the appearance of floating within the frame....More info
Foreground
The area of a painting closest
to the viewer. In a landscape this would include the area from the viewer
to the middle distance..... More info
Foreshortening
The technique of representing
a three dimensional image in two dimensions using the laws of
perspective.....More info
Form
The arbitrary
organization or inventive arrangement of all the visual elements according
to the principles that develop unity in the artwork.....More info
Forms of
Art
Type of artwork such as drawing, painting, sculpture
(carving, modeling, assemblage and construction) architecture,
printmaking, electronic media such as computer and digital graphics,
ceramics, Visual Design, Graphic Design, collage, photography and Post
Modern appropriation and recontextualisation....More info
Foxing
The development of patterns of brown or yellow
splotches, or stains on old paper.....More info
Fresco
Fresco painting in
its authentic form is defined as paintings done on wet plaster.
....More info
Fresco Secco
In this technique,
pigment is mixed with a binding agent and painted on dry
plaster.....More info
Frottis
Thin transparent or semi-transparent glazes rubbed
into the ground in the initial phases of an oil painting.....More info
Fugitive Colors
The pigments in the
"fugitive" class of paints have the unfortunate characteristic of looking
beautiful and unique when first painted but show bad side-effects over
time. ....More info
Function
The task, the
job, the purpose of an artwork such as telling stories or narrative, to
inspire magic, to celebrate an event, to decorate, art for religious
instruction and worship, to imitate nature, for personal pleasure or art
for art's sake such as exploring the emotional effects of the
elements or developing visual effects with media or
technology.....More info
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G
Genre
A category of artistic work
marked by a particular specified form, technique, or
content. ....More info
Genre Painting
The depiction of common, everyday life in art, as
opposed to religious or portrait painting for example. ....More info
Geometric
Shape
A shape that obeys the laws of geometry. Geometric
shapes are usually simple, such as triangles, squares, and
circles.....More info
Gesso
Ground plaster, chalk or marble mixed with glue or
acrylic medium, generally white. It provides an absorbent ground for oil,
acrylic, and tempera painting.....More info
Gestalt
A
German word for "form", defined as an organized whole in
experience.....More info
Giclees
Editioned prints made
with high resolution ink jet printers using pigmented inks and archival,
artist-grade papers.....More info
Glassine
A semi-transparent paper. A
smooth, non-abrasive surface makes it ideal for interleaving or overlaying
delicate artwork, such as a fragile etching or pastel painting, and it
will not adhere to the varnish on oil paintings.....More info
Glazed Wash
Any transparent wash of color laid over a dry,
previously painted area. Used to adjust color, value, or intensity of
underlying painting.....More info
Gouache
Watercolor painting technique using white and opaque
colors....More info
Graded Wash
A wash that smoothly
changes in value from dark to light.....More info
Grain
The basic structure of the surface of paper, as in
fine, medium and rough grain.....More info
Graphic
Art
Two-dimensional art forms such as drawing, painting,
making prints,etc.....More info
Graphite
A type of carbon used for
pencils, transfer sheets and as a dry lubricant.....More info
Grisaille
The technique of painting a
highly-modeled, black and white monochromatic base painting and then
glazing it with transparent colors.....More info
Gum Arabic
Gum Arabic is produced from
the sap of the African acacia tree and is available in crystalline form or
an already prepared solution.....More info
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H
Harmony
The
quality of relating the visual elements of a composition.....More info
Hatching
Repeated strokes of an art
tool producing clustered lines (usually parallel) that create
values.....More info
High-Key Color
Any color which has a value level of middle gray or
lighter.....More info
Highlight
The portion of an object that,
from the observer's position, receives the greatest amount of direct
light.....More info
Horizon Line
The line in a perspective drawing where the sky meets
the ground. A drawing inside a room has an eye level line.....More info
Hot
Pressed
Hot pressed watercolor paper
is pressed for an extremely smooth work surface.....More info
Hue
Designates
the common name of a color and indicates it's position in the spectrum or
on the color wheel.....More info
Humanism
Humanism is the movement of
the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries when all branches of learning,
literary, scientific and intellectual, were based on the culture and
literature of classical Greco-Roman antiquity.....More info
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I
Illusionism
The
imitation of visual reality created on the flat surface of the picture
plane by the use of perspective, light and dark shading,
etc.....More info
Illustration
An art practice, usually
commercial in character, that stresses anecdotes or story situations and
stresses subject more than form.....More info
Image
A mentally in visioned thing
or plan given concrete appearance through the vehicle of an art
medium. (or) A likeness or portrait.....More info
Impasto
Thickly applied oil or acrylic paint that leaves
dimensional texture through brush strokes or palette knife
marks.....More info
Imprint
A mark or depression made by
pressure.....More info
India Ink
A black pigment made of
lampblack and glue or size and shaped into cakes or sticks. (or) An
ink made from this pigment.....More info
Inert Pigment
A powdered paint additive that does not change the
shade or hue, but extends or otherwise imparts a special working quality
to the paint.....More info
Intensity
The saturation, strength, or purity of a color. A
vivid color is of high intensity, a dull color, of low
intensity.....More info
Isometric Projection
A
mechanical drawing system in which a three dimensional object is presented
two-dimensionally; starting with the nearest vertical edge, the horizontal
edges of the object are drawn at a thirty-degree angle and all verticals
are projected perpendicularly from a horizontal base.....More info
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J
Japanese Paper
Handmade paper with a web of strong naturally formed
fibers; ideal for hinging purposes.....More info
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K
Key
The lightness (high key) or darkness (low key) of a
painting. ....More info
Kinetic Art
Art that involves an element of random or mechanical
movement.....More info
Kraft Paper
Strong wrapping paper,
usually brown, made from wood chips boiled in an alkaline solution
containing sodium sulfate.....More info
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L
Lacquer
A protective coating consisting of a resin or
cellulose ester or both, which is dissolved in a volatile solvent
sometimes with a pigment added.....More info
Landscape
A painting in which the
subject matter is natural scenery.....More info
Letter Marks
In
Graphic Design, letters that form a name in type. Used to identify a
company, often to shorten a long name or an unpronounceable
name.....More info
Letter Spacing
In Typography, involves the
amount of space between individual letters and punctuation
characters. ....More
info
Lift
Mat
To raise or elevate the window
mat off the artwork by means of spacers made of mat board or foam board
strips attached to the mounting board or the underside of the mat and not
visible.....More info
Light Fast
A pigments resistance to
fading on long exposure to sunlight.....More info
Line
The path of a moving point,
that is, a mark made by a tool or instrument as it is drawn across a
surface.....More info
Linear Perspective
A
system used to develop three-dimensional surface; it develops the optical
phenomenon of diminishing size by treating edges as converging parallel
lines. They extend to a vanishing point or points on the horizon
(eye-level) and recede from the viewer. ....More info
Lithograph
A generic term used to designate a print made by a
planographic process, such as an original lithograph done on a
lithographic stone or a commercial print made by a photo-mechanical
process....More info
Local
Color
The actual color of an object
being painted, unmodified by light or shadow.....More info
Logo
In Graphic design, word or words in type. They
identify a company, brand name, group or project.....More info
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M
Mannerism
A style developed during the Late Renaissance gaining
popularity in much of Europe and northern Italy, Mannerism featured the
use of distorted figures in complex, impossible poses, and strange
artificial colors.....More info
Maquette
In sculpture, a small
scale model.....More info
Masking Fluid
A latex
gum product that is used to cover a surface you wish to protect from
receiving paint.....More info
Medium,
Media
The materials or substance the artist uses to make art
works....More info
Middle Ground
The area of a painting between the foreground and the
background.....More info
Mixed
Media
An artwork combing two or more artistic media - for
example, scratch board and paint, pencil and watercolor - bronze and
wood.....More info
Modeling
Representing color and
lighting effects to make an image appear three-dimensional.....More info
Moiré
A lustrous watermark of wavy
design placed on fabric by passing it through heated ridged rollers under
pressure. ....More info
Molding or
Moulding
Wood or metal which has been refined and shaped and
which includes a rabbet for use in the framing industry as frame
stock.....More info
Monochromatic
Having only one color;
the complete range of value of one color from white to
black.....More info
Motif
A designed unit of pattern
that is repeated often enough in the total composition to make it a
significant or dominant feature.....More info
Movement
Linear movement; visual movement with lines and
shapes, value, and perspective.....More info
Muted
Suppressing the full color value of a particular
color.....More info
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N
Naturalistic
Looks as though it is
from nature. Natural in pose, gesture, setting and imagery....More info
Negative Area
The unoccupied or empty space left after the positive
elements have been created by the artist.....More info
Negative Space
The areas of an artwork that are NOT the primary
subject or object.....More info
Non-objective
In art, not representing any object, figure, or
element in nature, in any way; nonrepresentational.....More info
Non-staining Colors
Pigments that can be lifted cleanly (wet or re-wet)
with little or no discoloration of the underlying paper
fibers......More info
Notan
A Japanese art/compositional
term meaning "Dark-Light". It's the interplay of dark and light, positive
and negative, and the implications of all opposites balancing harmoniously
as one, in creating art. See: Negative Space, Positive Space,
Gestalt ....More info
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O
Objective
That which is based, as
near as possible, on physical actuality or optical perception.....More
info
Oblique Projection
A mechanical drawing system in which a three
dimensional object is presented two dimensionally: the front and back
sides of the object are parallel to the horizontal base; and the other
planes are drawn as parallels coming off the front plane at a forty-five
degree angle.....More info
Oil Paint
Artists colors made by dispersing pigments in linseed
oil or another vegetable drying oil and having the consistency of a smooth
paste.....More info
Opaque
A paint that is not transparent by nature or
intentionally. A dense paint that obscures or totally hides the under
painting in any given artwork.....More info
Open Value Composition
In such a work, values cross
over shape boundaries into adjoining areas.....More info
Ornate
Heavily ornamented, overly adorned, showy.....More info
Orthographic Drawing
Graphic representation of two dimensional views of an
object, showing a plan, vertical elevations, and/or a section.....More info
Overlay
In animation art, a portion of a scene, generally a
foreground element, painted on or applied to a cel and laid over the
action to create the illusion of depth.....More info
Ox Gall
Derived from the bile of domestic cows or other
bovines, ox gall is added to paint as a surfactant or wetting agent to
allow paint to flow more freely.....More info
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P
Palette
Palettes are used
for paint mixing and storing paint.....More info
Palette Knife
A thin flexible blade of
varying flexibility set in a handle; used for mixing paints, scraping,
mixing pigments, or applying them to a surface....More info
Pastels
Ground
pigments, chalk, and binder formed into sticks for colored
drawing.....More info
Patina
A film or
encrustation, usually green, appearing gradually on a surface of copper
and bronze, due to weathering and as a result of oxidation.....More info
Pattern
Any artistic design (sometimes
serving as a model for imitation).....More info
Perspective
Any graphic system used to create the illusion of
three-dimensional images and/or spatial relationships on a two-dimensional
surface.....More info
Pictograph
Public symbols, used to cross
language barriers for directions, safety, transportation, used encouraged
by all.....More info
Picture
Frame
The outermost boundaries of the picture
plane.....More info
Picture Plane
The actual flat surface on which the artist executes a
pictorial image.....More info
Plaques
A small metal plate
mounted on a frame, usually showing the artist's name and name of the
artwork.....More info
Poly Chrome
Poly=many, chrome or chroma= colors. Can refer to
artwork made with bright, multi-colored paint.....More info
Polymath
A person who excels in
multiple fields, particularly in both arts and sciences. Another name for
"Renaissance Man." ....More info
Polyptych
A single work comprised of
multiple sections, panels, or canvas. Diptych= two, triptych=
three....More info
Positive Space
The areas of an artwork that IS the primary subject or
object. Positive Space defines the subjects outline.....More info
Pounce Bag
Used to dust pounced
drawings. To make a pounce bag place a small wad of cotton balls in the
middle of a coarsely woven square rag and add a couple tablespoons of
powdered charcoal before drawing up the edges of the cloth and binding the
contents into a ball with tape or string.....More info
Pounce Wheel
A metal pencil-like
tool that has a toothed wheel that freely rotates on the drawing
end.....More info
Practice
The way that an artwork
is made and studied that is the practice of Art Making.Practice of making art works involves ideas,
beliefs, interpretations, intentions, skills, technology and
actions.....More info
Primary
Color
A fundamental color that cannot be separated into any other colors.
....More info
Principles of Design
Balance, Movement, Rhythm, Contrast, Emphasis, Pattern
and Unity.....More info
Process
Sequence of action, the steps taken when making an art
work usually involving developing ideas by experimentation, exploring
different ways of solving problems, manipulating these ideas and
appropriate media by evaluating success and resolving the work for
presentation. ....More info
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Q
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R
Radial
Refers to compositions that have the major images or
design parts emanating from a central point or location.....More info
Realistic
Looks like a seen
subject. ....More info
Rectilinear Shape
A shape whose boundaries usually consist entirely of
straight lines.....More info
Relief
The apparent or actual (impasto, collage) projection
of three-dimensional forms.....More info
Renaissance
Man
A man who has broad intellectual interests and is
accomplished in areas of both the arts and the sciences.....More info
Repetition
The use of the same visual
effect a number of times in the same composition.....More info
Representational
Looks like something,
represents something even if it is not realistic.....More info
Resist
Any material, usually wax or grease crayons, that
repel paint or dyes.....More info
Rhythm
A continuance, a flow, or a sense of movement achieved
by the repetition of regulated visual units; the use of measured
accents.....More info
Rice Paper
A generic
term for Japanese and other asian forms of paper made for artist's use.
....More
info
Rough
Rough watercolor paper has a coarse rough
texture.....More info
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S
Sculpture
An artwork which has three
dimensions, height, width and depth.....More info
Scumbling
Dragging a
dense or opaque color across another color creating a rough
texture.....More info
Secondary Color
A
color produced by a mixture of two primary colors.....More info
Sepia
A dark brown color. (or) A dark brown pigment, used in
paints and inks.....More info
Sfumato
The term sfumato was coined by
Italian Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci, and refers to a fine art
painting technique of blurring or softening of sharp outlines by subtle
and gradual blending of one tone into another through the use of thin
glazes to give the illusion of depth or three-dimensionality.....More info
Shadow
The darker value on the surface of an object that
gives the illusion that a portion of it is turned away from the source of
light.....More info
Shade
The darker value on the surface of an object that
gives the illusion that a portion of it is turned away from the source of
light.....More info
Shading
The darker
value on the surface of an object that gives the illusion that a portion
of it is turned away from the source of light.....More info
Shape
An area that stands out from the space next to it or
around it because of a defined or implied boundary, or because of
differences of value, color, or texture.....More info
Simultaneous
Contrast
When two different color tones come into direct
contact, the contrast intensifies the difference between
them. ....More info
Sketch
A rough or loose visualization of a subject or
composition.....More info
Space
The distance between points or images.....More info
Spectrum
The band of individual colors
that results when a beam of white light is broken into its component
wavelengths, identifiable as hues.....More info
Split Compliment
A color and the two
colors on either side of its compliment.....More info
Staining Colors
Colors that cannot be
fully removed from your paper.....More info
Still Life
Any work whose subject matter is inanimate
objects.....More info
Study
A comprehensive drawing of a subject or details of a
subject that can be used for reference while painting. ....More info
Style
The specific artistic character and dominant form
trends noted during periods of history and recent art
movements.....More info
Substrate
A term from substratum
meaning a layer lying under another.....More info
Subtractive Color
The
sensation of color that is produced when wavelengths of light are
reflected back to the viewer after all other wavelengths have been
subtracted and/or absorbed.....More info
Support
The
surface on which a painting is made: canvas, paper, wood, parchment,
metal, etc.....More info
Symmetry
The exact duplication of
appearance in mirror like repetition on either side of a (usually
imaginary) straight-lined central axis.....More info
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T
Tactile
Pertaining to the sense of touch.....More info
Technique
The manner
and skill with which artists employ their tools and materials to achieve a
predetermined expressive effect.....More info
Tempera
Pigments mixed with egg yolk and water. Also, a
student-grade liquid gouache.....More info
Tension
The manifested energies and forces of the art elements
as they pull or push in affecting balance or counterbalance.....More info
Terribilita
A term applied
typically to the art of Michelangelo describing the heroic and
awe-inspiring power and grandeur of his work.....More info
Tertiary Color
Color
resulting from the mixture of two secondary colors, characterized by the
neutralization of intensity and hue.....More info
Texture
The surface character of a material that can be
experienced through touch or the illusion of touch.....More info
Three Dimensional
To possess, or to create the
illusion of possessing, the dimension of depth in addition to the
dimensions of height and width.....More info
Thumbnail
Sketch
Small tonal and compositional sketches to try
out design or subject ideas.....More info
Tone
The
value or color character of a surface, determined by the quality of light
reflected from it.....More info
Transparency
A visual quality in which a
distant image or element can be seen through a nearer one.....More info
Triptych
A set of three paintings or
bas relief's, related in subject matter and connected side by
side.....More info
Trompe l'oeil
Literally, a " fool the eye"; a technique that copies
nature with such an exactitude that the subject depicted can be mistaken
for a natural form.....More info
Two - Dimensional
To possess the dimensions of height and width,
especially when considering the flat surface, or picture
plane.....More info
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U
Ultraviolet light
Short, high energy
invisible light waves beyond violet in the spectrum with a length of 250
to 400 nanometers.....More info
Under Painting
The first, thin transparent laying in of color in a
painting.....More info
Unity
The result of bringing the elements of art into
appropriate ratio between harmony and variety to give a sense of oneness.
....More info
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V
Value Key
The
relative level of a color's value, whether referencing an individual
color, or a color scheme seen either in an artwork's entirety or in a
passage within one.....More info
Value Scale
A gray scale, a series of spaces filled with the tints
and shades of one color, starting with white or the lightest tint on one
end, and gradually changing into the darkest shade or black on the
other.....More info
Values
The relative lightness or darkness of colors or of
grays.....More info
Vanishing Point
In linear perspective, a point at an infinite distance
on the Horizon Line at which any two or more lines that represent parallel
lines will converge.....More info
Variegated
Wash
A wet wash created by blending a variety of discrete
colors so that each color retains it's character while also blending
uniquely with the other colors in the wash.....More info
Variety
Differences achieved by opposing, contrasting,
changing, elaborating, or diversifying elements in a composition to add
individuality and interest; the counterweight of harmony in a work of
art.....More info
Vehicle
The
liquid used as a binder in the manufacture of paint.....More info
Vignette
A painting which is shaded off
around the edges leaving a pleasing shape within a border of white or
color.....More info
Volume
A measurable area of occupied space.....More info
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W
Wash
A
transparent layer of diluted color that is brushed
on. ....More info
Watercolor
Painting
in pigments suspended in water and a binder such as gum
Arabic.....More info
Wet-on-Wet
The
technique of painting wet color into a wet surface.....More info
Wood
Engraving
A highly exacting technique involving engraving on a
piece of polished end wood.....More info
Wove Paper
A paper showing even
texture when held up to light.....More info
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