| Abstract Art—Gernerally implies art that is create so that depicts forms for their own creation.
Acrylic—Acrylic paint is made of synthetic resin mixed with color. The result is a thick, shiny paint. Acrylic is very versatile, and while it can be used to produce many of the same effects as oils, it can be mixed with water and painted in a thin wash.
Action Painting—Spontaneous splashing of colors on a canvas without a preconceived idea of what the outcome will be.
Airbrush—The technique of using compressed air to spray dyes or paints onto a surface of choice by the artist.
Art Brut—Generally refers to the art that children will create, the mentally handicapped, or the naïve artist.
Artist’s Book—The collection of a an artist’s work.
Block—Refers to the hard surface (original) that an image is formed on.
Canvas—This is the plain, natural fibre cloth that stretches over a frame, and becomes the solid surface on which to paint.
Cermaics—Using the principles of pottery, clay is modeled, painted with glazes and fired at ultra-high temperatures in kiln oven.
Charcoal—Carbonized wood—charred coal—and is most commonly used for drawing on paper. Drawing are often less detailed when using charcoal. The artist can smudge and obtain a wide range of grays.
Complementary Colors—These are colors that opposite each other on the color wheel. Example: The three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue,each have an opposite secondary color, orange, green, and purple.
Construcivism—Refers to the art movement that originated in Russia in the early 20th century. The art empahsized space instead of mass, and used metal, glass, plastic etc., as the primary means of creative expression.
Craft—These are works that have a more-practical function, as opposed being defined for their aesthetic qualities.
Digital Imaging—Image are created, manipulated, and produced using computer technology.
Electric—A term that describes that act of producing works or methods that draw on a whole variety of techniques and traditions.
Engrave—the effect of incising a design into a metal plate with a tool known as a burin.
Etching—The use of a copper plate, and producing a work of art that is scratched on the surface.
Fire—The term used with respect to ceramics and pottery art work
Fresco—The technique that uses watercolors to paint onto damp plaster. It’s a general term that describes any work made in this manner. It’s most commonly used for creating murals.
Gesso--A white ground paste made from a mixture of chalk and gypsum. It's applied to board or canvas and sanded for a smooth surface, which serves as the base on which to paint.
Glaze--Very similar to glass, and is used for color and decoration.
Giclee--The word is French, and literally means to "spray". The method of application is electronic.
Grainy--The term is used to generally describe photographs and other images, in which certain areas on the image appear grainy or spotty.
Landscape--Images of the countryside, and can also include cityscapes, seascapes etc. The term usually describes expansive views.
Limited Edtition--Artwork that is produced in limited numbers, and is not unique in the sense of being one-of-a-kind.
Lithography--Based on the incompatibility of oil and water, and the capacity of limestone to absorb and retain water. By drawing onto a treated stone, and inking it with a damp paper and running the process through a printing press, an exact image can be transferred onto paper.
Matrix--An original block, wood, metal, stone, on which the artist can perform a design.
Medium--The artform that the artist chooses to work in: painting, sculpture, photography, and printmaking.
Mixed Media--Many artists will use a variety of different materials, and is mostly appled to modern art.
Monoprint--A print made by any printing technique that the artist can later alter.
Monotype--The artist uses this techniques to paint directly onto a metal plate with inks that are often colored.
Oil--Consists of pigments gound into a powder and mixed with oil. Linseed oil and other oils that maintain their consistency are most commonly used to produce oil paints.
Pastel--Material made out of pigments dissolved in resin or gum, and formed into a crayon.
Pen & Ink--Produces an effect somewhere between painting and drawing
Printmaking--Process allows ink to be transferred onto paper from another source.
Relief Print--Process whereby the print is made from a relief carving on a metal or wooden plate.
Screenprint--Rather complex process in which the artist must prepare a nylon or silk screen, and blocks out the areas where the paper is to be left blank. The ink only reaches the areas that are slotted to make up the image.
Sculpture--The rendering of art, figures or objects, in three dimensional form.
Stencil--A thin sheet of durable, impenetrable material is used with a design cut into it.
Still Life--A group of inanimate objects that are arranged aesthetically.
Support--The original structure or material onto which the intial ground or paint layer is applied. It's usually board, canvas, and paper etc.
Watercolor--A pigment that can readily be mixed with a water-soluable gum.
Woodcut--Makes use of an image being cut into wood, often following the natural grain of the wood.
|