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Glossary of Art Terms
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Glossary of Art Terms
Welcome to Rex Art's Glossary of common Art Terms. Here we hope to give you a brief definition of various art terms which might be unfamiliar. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas please e-mail us.
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A
ABSORBENT GROUND
A chalk ground which absorbs oil and is used in oil painting to achieve a matt effect and to speed up drying. Return to top
ACRYLIC EMULSION
A water dispersion of polymers or co-polymers of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, or acrylonitrile. Acrylic emulsions dry by evaporation of the water and film coalescence. Return to top
ACRYLIC SOLUTION
A solution of acrylic resin in a volatile solvent. Paints made with an acrylic solution binder resemble oil paints more than those made with acrylic emulsion binders. Return to top
ADDITIVE COLOR
color that results from the mixture of two or more colored lights, the visual blending of separate spots of transmitted colored light. Return to top
ALKYD
Synthetic resin used in paints and mediums. As a medium Liquin from Winsor and Newton works as a binder that encapsulates the pigment and speeds the drying time. In Paints W&N Griffith paints are good example of alkyd paints. Return to top
ALLA PRIMA
Technique in which the final surface of a painting is completed in one sitting, without under painting. Italian for "at the first". Return to top
ANHYDROUS
ARCHIVAL
Refers to materials that meet certain criteria for permanence such as lignin-free, pH neutral, alkaline-buffered, stable in light, etc. Return to top
ASTM
The American Society for Testing and Materials. An independent standard for certain paint qualities, adopted by most manufacturers. Return to top
BINDER
The nonvolatile adhesive liquid portion of a paint that attaches pigment particles and the paint film as a whole to the support. Return to top
BISTRE
A brown, transparent pigment. Return to top
BLEEDING
In artwork, the effect of a dark color seeping through a lighter color to the surface. Return to top
BLENDING
Smoothing the edges of two colors together so that they have a smooth gradation where they meet. Return to top
BLOOM
A dull, progressively opaque, white effect caused on varnished surfaces by damp conditions. Return to top
BODY COLOR
Opaque paint, such as gouache, which has the covering power to obliterate underlying color. Return to top
BRUSHWORK
The characteristic way each artist brushes paint onto a support.. Return to top
CANVAS
Closely woven cloth used as a support for paintings. Return to top
CARTOON
Other than what we watch on TV it is a planning device in mural painting, often a full-scale line drawing of the design, without color and tone. Return to top
CASEIN
A natural protein obtained from cow's milk. Produces a flat, water-resistant film. Return to top
CHIAROSCURO
Term is used to describe the effect of light and shade in a painting or drawing, especially where strong tonal contrasts are used. Return to top
CROSSHATCHING
More than one set of close parallel lines that crisscross each other at angles, to model and indicate tone. Return to top
CHROMA
The relative intensity or purity of a hue when compared to grayness or lack of hue. Return to top
COCKLING
Wrinkling or puckering in paper supports, caused by applying washes onto a flimsy or improperly stretched surface. Return to top
COLLAGE
A technique of picture making in which the artist uses materials other than the traditional paint, such as cut paper, wood, sand, and so on. Return to top
COMPOSITION
The arrangement of elements by an artist in a painting or drawing. Return to top
CO-POLYMERS
A polymer in which the molecule is of more than one type of structural unit.. Return to top
COPAL
A hard resin used in making varnishes and painting mediums. Return to top
DAMAR
A resin from conifer trees, used in making oil mediums and varnishes. Return to top
DEAD COLOR
A term for colors used in underpainting. Return to top
DECKLE EDGE
The ragged edge found on handmade papers. Return to top
DECOUPAGE
The act of cutting out paper designs and applying them to a surface to make an all over collage. Return to top
DESIGNER COLORS
Best quality Gouache paints, often used in commercial art. Return to top
DILUENTS
Liquids, such as turpentine, used to dilute oil paint, the diluent for waterbased media is water. Return to top
DISPERSION
Applied to paint, a smooth, homogeneous mixture of ingredients; the process of dispersal, in which pigment particles are evenly distributed throughout the vehicle. Return to top
DISTEMPER
A blend of glue, chalk and water-based paint, used mostly for murals and posters. Return to top
DRIER
A material that accelerates or initiates the drying of an oil paint or oil by promoting oxidation. Return to top
DRYING OIL
An oil that, when spread into a thin layer and exposed to air, absorbs oxygen and converts into a tough film. Return to top
EMULSION
A liquid in which small droplets of one liquid are immiscible in, but thoroughly and evenly dispersed throughout, a second liquid. eg. Acrylic Emulsion Return to top
ENCAUSTIC
Literally, to burn in. A painting technique in which the binder is melted wax. Return to top
FAT
A term used to describe paints which have a high oil content. Return to top
FILLER
Inert pigment added to paint to increase its bulk, also called extender. Return to top
FILM
A thin coating or layer of paint, ink, etc. Return to top
FIXATIVE
A solution, usually of shellac and alcohol, sprayed onto drawings, to prevent their smudging or crumbling off the support. Return to top
FRESCO
A painting technique in which the pigments are dispersed in plain water and applied to a damp plaster wall. The wall becomes the binder, as well as the support. Return to top
FUGITIVE COLORS
Pigment or dye colors that fade when exposed to light. Return to top
GESSO
A white ground material for preparing rigid supports for painting. made of a mixture of chalk, white pigment, and glue. Same name applied to acrylic bound chalk and pigment used on flexible supports as well as rigid. Return to top
GLAZE
A very thin, transparent colored paint applied over a previously painted surface to alter the appearance and color of the surface. Return to top
GOUACHE
Opaque watercolors used for illustrations. Return to top
GRISSAILLE
A monochromatic painting, usually in gray, which can be used under colored glazes. Return to top
GROUND
coating material, usually white, applied to a support to make it ready for painting. Return to top
GUM
A plant substance that is soluble in water. Return to top
GUM ARABIC
A gum, extracted fro Acacia trees, used in solution as a medium for watercolor paints. Return to top
HATCHING
A technique of modeling, indicating tone and suggesting light and shade in drawing or tempera panting, using closely set parallel line. Return to top
HUE
The perceived color of an object, identified by a common name such as red, orange, blue. Return to top
HYGROSCOPIC
Absorbing or attracting moisture from the air. Return to top
IMPASTO
A style of painting characterized by thick, juicy color application. Return to top
IMPRIMATURA
A thin, veil of paint, or paint-tinted size, applied to a ground to lessen the ground's absorbency or to tint the ground to a middle value. Return to top
INTENSITY
The purity and brightness of a color. Also called saturation. Return to top
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KEY
Used to describe the prevailing tone of a painting. A predominantly light painting is said to have a high key. In contemporary mural painting, the key is the result of scratching a walls surface to prepare for final layer of plaster - similar to "tooth" Return to top
LAKE
A dye that has been chemically or electrically attached to a particle and does not bleed or migrate. Return to top
LATEX
A dispersion in water of a solid polymeric material. Return to top
LEACHING
The process of drawing out excess liquid through a porous substance. Return to top
LEAN
Used as an adjective to describe paint thinned with a spirit, which therefore has a low oil content. Return to top
LEVIGATING
A method of water-washing pulverized pigments to clear the particles of dissolved salts or organic matter. Return to top
LIGHTFAST
Resistant to fading or other changes due to light. Return to top
LOCAL COLOR
The actual color of an object or surface, unaffected by shadow coloring, light quality or other factors. Return to top
LOOM STATE
Canvas that has not been primed, sized or otherwise prepared beforehand for painting. Return to top
LATEX
A dispersion in water of a solid polymeric material. Return to top
MATIERE
MAROUFLAGE
A technique for attaching, with glue, mural size painting on paper or fabric to a wall. Return to top
MASSTONE
The top tone or body color of a paint seen only by reflected light. Return to top
MAT
A stiff cardboard with a window cut out of the center, attached to a backboard. Return to top
MATTE
Flat, nonglossy; having a dull surface appearance. Variant spelling - matt. Return to top
MEDIUM
The liquid in which pigments are suspended. Also a material chosen by the artist for working. Plural is media. Return to top
MIGRATION
The action of a pigment or dye moving through a dried film above or below it. Return to top
MIXED MEDIA
In drawing and painting this refers to the use of different media in the same picture. Return to top
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A material with low molecular weight that can react with similar or dissimilar materials to form a polymer. Return to top
MOSAIC
Picture making technique using small units of variously colored materials (glass, tile, stone) set in a mortar. Return to top
MURAL
Also referred to as wall painting. this word describes any painting made directly on the wall. Return to top
MUSEUM BOARD
Multi ply board made of cotton rags or buffered cellulose to ensure chemical stability and neutrality. Return to top
PALETTE
The surface which a painter will mix his colors. Also the range of colors used by an artist. Return to top
PATINA
Originally the green brown encrustation on bronze, this now includes the natural effects of age or exposure on a surface. Return to top
PENTIMENTO
A condition of old paintings where lead-containing pigments have become more transparent over time, revealing earlier layers. Return to top
PIGMENTS
particles with inherent color that can be mixed with adhesive binders to form paint. Return to top
PLASTICIZER
Ingredients added to paint to either make it flow or be easily redissolved. Return to top
PLEIN AIR
French for "open air". Term describing paintings done outside directly from the subject. Return to top
POLYMER
A series of monomers strung together in a repeating chainlike form. That really makes it clear ;) Return to top
PRECIPITATE
An inert particle to which dyes can be laked. Return to top
PRESERVATIVE
A material that prevents or inhibits the growth of microorganisms in organic mixtures. Return to top
PRIMER
Coating material, usually white, applied to a support to prepare it for painting. Return to top
PVA
Polyvinyl acetate, a manmade resin used as a paint medium and in varnish. Return to top
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REFRACTION
The bending of light from one course in one medium to a different course through another medium of different refractive index. Return to top
REFRACTIVE INDEX
The numerical ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to its speed in a substance. Return to top
RESINS
A general term for a wide variety of more or less transparent, fusible materials. The term is used to designate any polymer that is a basic material for paints and plastics. Return to top
SANQUINE
SAPONIFICATION
The process in which a paint binder, under moist and alkaline conditions, becomes transparent or discolored. Return to top
SCUMBLING
The technique of applying a thin, semi-opaque or translucent coating of paint over a previously painted surface to alter the color or appearance of the surface without totally obscuring it. Return to top
SECCO
Italian for "dry". A technique of wall-painting onto dry plaster, or lime plaster that is dampened shortly before paint is applied Return to top
SFUMATO
Italian for "shaded off". Gradual, almost imperceptible transitions of color from light to dark. Return to top
SGRAFFITO
Technique in which the surface layer is incised or cut away to reveal a contrasting color. Return to top
SHADE
Term for a color darkened with black. Return to top
SHELLAC
A yellow resin formed from secretions of the LAC insect, used in making varnish. Return to top
SILICATE
Material, such as sand, that is composed of a metal, oxygen, and silicon. Return to top
SILVERPOINT
A drawing method using a piece of metal, usually silver wire, drawn on a ground prepared with Chinese white, sometimes with pigment added. Return to top
SINOPIA
A red-brown chalk used for marking-out frescoes; also the preliminary drawing itself. Return to top
SIZE
Material applied to a surface as a penetrating sealer, to alter or lessen its absorbency and isolate it from subsequent coatings. Return to top
SKETCH
A preliminary drawing of a composition. Return to top
SQUARING UP
A method for transferring an image to a larger or smaller format. Return to top
STRAINER
A wooden chassis for textile supports that has rigid, immovable corners. Return to top
STRETCHER
A wooden chassis for textile supports that has expandable corners. Return to top
SUBTRACTIVE COLOR
Color resulting from the absorption of light. Return to top
STUDY
A detailed drawing or painting made of one or more parts of a final composition, but not the whole work. Return to top
SUPPORT
The basic substrata of the painting; paper, cotton, linen, wall, etc.. Return to top
TEMPERA
Technique of painting in which water and egg yolk or whole egg and oil mixture form the binder for the paint. Used also as a term for cheap opaque paints used in schools. Return to top
THIXOTROPIC
Referring to materials that are thick and viscous while at rest but will flow if brushed, stirred, or shaken. Resumes its viscous state when the agitation stops. Return to top
TINT
Term for a color lightened with white. Also, in a mixture of colors, the tint is the dominant color. Return to top
TONER
An unlaked dye that can bleed or migrate through dried paint films. Return to top
TOOTH
Small grained but even texture. Tooth provides for the attachment of succeeding layers of paint. Return to top
TRACTION
In oils, the movement of one paint layer over another. Return to top
TRAGACANTH
A gum , extracted from certain Astragalus plants, used as a binding agent in watercolor paints and pastels. Return to top
TROMPLE L'OEIL
French for "deceive the eye". A painting with extreme naturalistic details, aiming to persuade the viewer that they are looking at an actual object, not a representation. Return to top
UNDERPAINTING
The traditional stage in oil painting of using a monochrome or dead color as a base for composition. Also known as laying in. Return to top
VALUE
The relative lightness or darkness of a hue. Black is low value. White is a high value. Return to top
VARNISH
Generally, a more or less transparent film-forming liquid that dries into a solid film. Return to top
VEDUTA
Italian for "view". An accurate representation of an urban landscape. Return to top
VEHICLE
The entire liquid contents of a paint. Return to top
VENICE TURPENTINE
An oleo resin - the semisolid mixture of a resin and an essential oil - derived from the larch and used primarily in making mediums and diluents for oil painting. Return to top
VERDACCIO
Old term for green underpainting. Return to top
VOLATILE
Evaporating rapidly or easily. Return to top
VOLUME
The space that a object or figure fills in a drawing or painting. | |
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