Acrylic paint
A transparent or opaque paint made from three basic ingredients – pigment, water and a synthetic resin that acts as the binder – along with other ingredients that improve the paint’s performance. They may be mixed with other acrylics, and when laid over other dried acrylic color, the top coat will not blend and, if thick enough, the bottom under layer will not show.
Analogous Colors
Colors next to each other on the color wheel
Art Criticism
A systematic analysis of a work of art
Background
The distant part of a scene; the part that is subordinate
Balance
Principle of art concerned with arranging elements so that no one part of the work overpowers, or seems heavier than any other part
Burnishing
Forcefully rubbing over a colored area with a light-colored pigment to create a satiny, pearly finish
Calligraphy
Handwriting or penmanship, especially elegant or “beautiful” writing as a decorative art
Chiaroscuro
In painting or drawing, the treatment and use of light and dark, especially the gradations of light that produce the effect of modeling
Collage
A composition made by pasting together on a flat surface various materials such as newspaper, wallpaper, printed text and illustrations, photographs and cloth
Collagraph
A print that is usually both inked and textured, made by building up then inking a three-dimensional surface with a variety of materials
Color
Pigment that makes a hue. Sensation produced by the effect of waves of light striking the retina of the eye. The visual sensation dependent on the reflection or absorption of light from a given surface. Different colors are produced by rays of light having different wavelengths
Color Wheel
A conventional way to show the relationships of paint colors to one another by arranging them in a circle
Colored Pencil
A thin core of colored material usually clad in wood. The core contains colorant, a gum binder, a chalk or clay filler and wax. Once a drawing material for children’s use, colored pencils have become a serious artist’s tool
Complementary Colors
Colors across from each other on the color wheel (Red and green; blue and orange; yellow and violet)
Composition
How a work of art is put together; the total content of a work of art
Content
What the art says; the message communicated; subject matter
Contour drawing
The outline of a shape as opposed to the details within the shape
Contrast
Opposites, such as light and dark, rough and smooth, soft and hard, in close proximity
Deckle
Part of the mold, but is has an open frame and goes on top of the mold (for paper-making)
Design
A comprehensive plan; the arrangement of independent parts to form a coordinated whole
Direction
The general path or orientation of a line in a drawing or painting
Elements of Design
The building blocks of design - shape, size, color, texture, line, direction and value
Elements of Shape
Line, Curve, Angle, Circle, Dot
Emphasis
Making an element or an object in a work stand out
Foreground
The part of the scene nearest the viewer
Form
Three-dimensional shape and structure of an object
Formal balance
One half of a work is a mirror image of the other half
Gargoyle
From the old French word gargouille, which means “throat,” Gargoyles served as rain spouts while also illustrating stories or scaring away evil spirits.
Glossolalia
Term used to identify the tongue’s movement is “glossolalia,” made up of two Greek words, glossa (language or tongue) and lalia (speech). It means speaking in languages or tongues. Glossology is that department of anthropology which has to do with the study and classification of languages and dialects
Gouache
An opaque watercolor used traditionally by designers and graphic artists to created posters and other advertising materials. Because of their strong, opaque colors and versatility, they have become extremely popular with artists. Gouache requires no solvents, is diluted with water, and can be cleaned with soap and water.
Gradation
Gradation makes transitions in art smooth. For example, intermediate textures help smooth the way from an area of coarse texture to one of fine texture and gray tones ease the way from bright areas to dark.
Harmony
Combining the elements of art to accent their similarities
Horizon Line
An actual or imaginary line in a work of art that represents the place where the sky and earth/land object appear to meet. The horizon line always appears to be at a person’s eye level
Hue
Characteristic of color that gives it a name
Informal balance
Balance solved through the use of color and other elements, such as size and placement
Intensity
Brightness or dullness of a color
Landscape
A picture that looks like a natural scenery
Line
Boundary between two areas that varies in width, direction and length. A point moving in space; can vary in width, length, and direction. -Boundary between two areas or shapes; varies in width, direction and length
Linear perspective
Lines of buildings, roads, and similar objects are slanted. They appear to come together or meet in the distance
Linoleum cut
A print image made by inking a block of carved linoleum (made of a backing of burlap or canvas coated with linoxyn) and pressing it to paper or other surfaces
Linoxyn
An elastic solid made by combining linseed oil, cork and other materials
Liquid Watercolor
Fluid, brilliant transparent paint consisting of pigment and a binder of gum Arabic, along with other materials: glycerin to improve moistness and brushability and to prevent excessive caking; sugars and wetting agents to improve the paint’s smoothness; a preservative, and water. Liquid watercolor is ideal for use with different techniques, such as paper marbling, as well as when one wants to cover large areas.
Marbled Paper
Paper that has been painted in a manner to suggest the appearance of marble.
Medium
In art, a basic kind of art, such as painting, drawing, etching, and sculpting; the basic material used by the artist, such as watercolor paint, oil pastel, clay, graphite
Mobile
Hanging sculptures that move freely with the breeze or with the touch of your hands
Mold
Two-piece wooden frame with a screen attached
Monochromatic
Different tints and shades of the same hue
Montage
Artwork created from parts of photographs or other pictures
Mood
A predominant feeling or spirit
Motif
Unit of repetition in a visual pattern
Movement
This principle leads the viewer to sense action in a work, or it can be the path the viewer’s eye follows through a work
Negative Space
The space around an object in a picture
Oil Pastel
Color in stick form, similar to pastels but with oil and wax ingredients in place of the gum found in regular pastels
Papyrus
The plant from which paper was made until the Middle Ages
Pattern
Two-dimensional, decorative visual repetition
Perspective
The representation of three-dimensional objects on a flat surface
Positive Space
The subject area in a drawing or a painting
Primary Colors
In painting, the three basic colors red, blue and yellow, that cannot be made by mixing any other colors together
Principles of Design
Balance, variety, harmony, rhythm, pattern, emphasis, proportion and movement govern the way the elements are put together to build an effective design
Proportion
How parts of a work relate to each other and to the whole
Radial balance
Shapes or forms are arranged around a central point
Radial Design
Design created by making a circle with a compass and then using the same radius to repeat a pattern around the circle
Realism
The representation of things according to nature
Repetition
Visual art needs recurring themes, which appear in the form of size, shape, line direction and so on to contribute to the unity of the picture.
Representational
Images in art that look very much like images in the natural world
Rhythm
The principle that indicates movement through the repetition of elements and objects
Scratchboard
A picture created by cutting through a dark, usually black, surface to expose a colored layer underneath
Sculpture
Materials formed into a three-dimensional work of art, either representational or abstract and either functional or non-functional
Secondary Colors
The colors one gets by blending two primary colors (i.e., red + blue = violet); green; orange
Shade
Color plus black to change value
Shading
Surface shadows on an object used to indicate form
Shape
The surface configuration of a closed drawing. A two-dimensional area that may be open or closed, free-form or geometric, found in nature or made by humans. Surface configuration of a thing; form. The form that objects look like; flat, two-dimensional form of an object
Space
The distance or area between, around, above, below and within things
Still life
Pictorial arrangement of inanimate objects
Style
A characteristic or group of characteristics that we can identify as recurring, constant, or coherent, such as brush stroke, colors used, the way forms are handled, subject matter, degree of resemblance to the natural world, etc
Symmetry
A pictorial arrangement in which the left side is a mirror image of the right side
Tertiary Colors
A color derived by mixing a primary color with a secondary color next to it on the color wheel (i.e., red + orange = red-orange); yellow-orange; red-violet; blue-violet; blue-green; yellow-green
Tessellation
Any repeating pattern of interlocking shapes
Texture
Surface quality of materials by tactile or visual. The way something feels or looks like it would feel: smooth, bumpy, soft, hard, etc
Theme
Unifying or dominant idea
Three dimensional
Having length, width, and depth
Tint
A lighter shade of a color, attained by diluting the color with some medium or by mixing white paint with the color
Two dimensional
Having only length and width, as in a drawing
Unity
The arrangement of elements and principles of art to create a feeling of completeness or wholeness
Value
The relative lightness or darkness of a color; tone; shade
Variety
Combining one or more elements of art to create interest
Wash
Layer of paint, usually soft and fluid
Watercolor
An incredibly versatile medium, watercolor’s popularity can be attributed to the wonderful effects of light and texture that can be achieved with use. It requires no toxic solvents, and is diluted with water. Getting the desired effect when using watercolor is all about the ratio of water to paint (the less water, the richer the hue; the more water, the lighter the hue), how you hold the brush, and the size of the brush. Because it is transparent, colors will blend when they touch other colors. It is available in three varieties – pan, liquid, and pencil.
Watercolor Pencil
Pencils are applied in the same way as a standard colored pencil. However, marks made with watercolor pencils are soluble in water. Certain areas can be blended with a thin brush for very fine lines, or a wider brush can be used to blend colors in larger areas.
Graphite pencils
Artist’s pencils range from 8B, the softest, to 10H, the hardest. There are at least 18 different hardnesses. The softer pencils make a darker line that is easy to erase, but also smudges easily. The harder leads hold a sharp point better, so they are good for detailed work. They make a grayer line that doesn’t erase easily, especially when you press down hard when you’re drawing. Soft and hard pencils used in combination, can create a variety of effects. For instance, a landscape might work well using soft pencils for the foreground and hard ones for the distant background, creating perspective.
Watercolor Pans
Pans come in hard or semi-soft, multi-colored palettes and are used by wetting the desired color with a brush.
Water-soluble Oil Pastels
Water-soluble oil pastels are thick and creamy in consistency which makes them very easy to apply and blend. They can be used dry or wet. When used dry, they can be applied to most papers (80 lb. or heavier is ideal), any type of canvas, cardboard, cork, wood, masonite, ceramic, plaster, metal, plastic, glass and photographic prints. When blended with water, water-soluble oil pastels will produce a watercolor effect much denser than most watercolor pans, pencils or liquid watercolors. They can be applied to all of the above surfaces mentions, but papers should be 140 lb. or heavier and of a type intended for use with wet media.