Art Glossary [word wall] »

Here are some Art term that every student should know and use in there vocabulary when speaking about art.

painting knife

A painting knife is a springy, shaped, metal spatula used for painting instead of a brush. The painting technique is a bit like putting butter on bread, and is especially useful for creating texture.

Not realistic, though the intention is often based on an actual subject, place, or feeling. Pure abstraction can be interpreted as any art in which the depiction of real objects has been entirely discarded and whose aesthetic content is expressed in a formal pattern or structure of shapes, lines and colors. When the representation of real objects is completely absent, such art may be called non-objective.

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

1940's New York painting movement based on Abstract Art. This type of painting is often referred to as action painting.

ACCENT

Emphasis given to certain elements in a painting which makes them attract more attention. Details that define an object or piece of art.
Read more...

ACRYLIC

A rapid drying paint which is easy to remove with mineral spirits; a plastic substance commonly used as a binder for paints.
Read more...

ACTION PAINTING

Any painting style calling for vigorous physical activity; specifically, Abstract Expressionism. Examples include the New York School art movement and the work of Jackson Pollock.

Jackson Pollock @ The Figge Art Museum 1 of 2 from River Cities' Reader on Vimeo.
Read more...

ADDITIVE TECHNIQUE

ADDITIVE TECHNIQUE joining a smaller piece of clay to a larger piece.

AERIAL PERSPECTIVE

Capturing the earth’s atmosphere by using painting techniques that make distant objects appear to have less color, texture, and distinction.

AESTHETIC

Pertaining to the beautiful, as opposed to the useful, scientific, or emotional. An aesthetic response is an appreciation of such beauty.
Read more...

ALKYD

Synthetic resin used in paints and mediums. As a medium works as a binder that encapsulates the pigment and speeds the drying time.
Read more...

ANALOGOUS COLORS

Colors that are closely related, or near each other on the color spectrum. Especially those in which we can see common hues.

AQUATINT

A print produced by the same technique as an etching, except that the areas between the etched lines are covered with a powdered resin that protects the surface from the biting process of the acid bath. The granular appearance that results in the print aims at approximating the effects and gray tonalities of a watercolor drawing.

ARCHIVAL

Refers to materials that meet certain criteria for permanence such as lignin-free, pH neutral, alkaline-buffered, stable in light, etc.
Read more...

ARMATURE

A rigid framework, often wood or steel, used to support a sculpture or other large work while it is being made.
Read more...

ARTIST’S PROOF

An Artist’s Proof is one outside the regular edition. By custom, the artist retains the A/Ps for his personal use or sale.
Read more...

ASSEMBLAGE

The technique of creating a sculpture by joining together individual pieces or segments, sometimes “found” objects that originally served another purpose

Assemblage blog post
Read more...

ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE

A device for suggesting three – dimensional depth on a two-dimensional surface. Forms meant to be perceived as distant from the viewer are blurred, indistinct, misty and often bluer.

AVANT-GARDE

A group active in the invention and application of new ideas and techniques in an original or experimental way. A group of practitioners and/or advocates of a new art form may also be called avant-garde. Some avant-garde works are intended to shock those who are accustomed to traditional, established styles.
Read more...

BAS RELIEF

Sculpture in which figures project only slightly from a background, as on a coin. Also known as low relief sculpture.

BINDER

A substance in paints that causes particles of pigment to adhere to one another and to a support such as oil or acrylic.
Read more...

BRONZE

An alloy of copper and tin, sometimes containing small proportions of other elements such as zinc or phosphorus. It is stronger, harder, and more durable than brass, and has been used most extensively since antiquity for cast sculpture. Bronze alloys vary in color from a silvery hue to a rich, coppery red. U.S. standard bronze is composed of 90% copper, 7% tin, and 3% zinc.
Read more...

BRUSHWORK

The characteristic way each artist brushes paint onto a support.

BURNISHING

The act of rubbing greenware (clay) with any smooth tool to polish it, and tighten the surface.

CALLIGRAPHY

In printing and drawing a free and rhythmic use of line to accentuate design. It is seen at its best in Japanese wood-block prints and Chinese scrolls. Also, fine, stylized handwriting using quills, brushes or pens with ink.

CANVAS

Closely woven cloth used as a support for paintings.
Read more...

CARTOON

1. A simple drawing with humorous or satirical content. 2. A preliminary drawing for any large work such as a mural or tapestry.
Read more...

CASTING

The process of making a sculpture or other object by pouring liquid material such as clay, metal or plastic into a mold and allowing it to harden, thereby taking on the shape of the confining mold.

CERAMICS

The art of making objects of clay and firing them in a kiln. Wares of earthenware and porcelain, as well as sculpture are made by ceramists. Enamel is also a ceramic technique. Ceramic materials may be decorated with slip, engobe, or glaze, applied by any number of techniques. Sculpture usually made by coil, slab, or other manual technique.

CHIAROSCURO

In drawing, painting, and the graphic arts, chiaroscuro (ke-ära-skooro) refers to the rendering of forms through a balanced contrast between light and dark areas. The technique that was introduced during the Renaissance, is effective in creating an illusion of depth and space around the principal figures in a composition. Leonardo Da Vinci and Rembrandt were painters who excelled in the use of this technique. An excellent article on the web is HERE

COILING

A work of art made by pasting various materials such as bits of paper, cloth, etc. onto a piece of paper, board or canvas.

COLOR FIELD PAINTING

A style of painting prominent from the 1950s through the 1970s, featuring large “fields” or areas of color, meant to evoke an aesthetic or emotional response through the color alone. A good article can be found HERE

COLOR HARMONY:

Harmony can be defined as a pleasing arrangement of parts, whether it be music, poetry, color, or even an ice cream sundae. In visual experiences, harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye. It engages the viewer and it creates an inner sense of order, a balance in the visual experience. When something is not harmonious, it's either boring or chaotic. At one extreme is a visual experience that is so bland that the viewer is not engaged. The human brain will reject under-stimulating information. At the other extreme is a visual experience that is so overdone, so chaotic that the viewer can't stand to look at it. The human brain rejects what it can not organize, what it can not understand. The visual task requires that we present a logical structure. Color harmony delivers visual interest and a sense of order. In summary, extreme unity leads to under-stimulation, extreme complexity leads to over-stimulation. Harmony is a dynamic equilibrium.
Read more...

COLOR THEORY:

Color theory encompasses a multitude of definitions, concepts and design applications. All the information would fill several encyclopedias. As an introduction, here are a few basic concepts.
Read more...

COLOR WHEEL

A circular grid that represents the colors based on color theory. This grid clearly shows the relationships colors have with each other (complimentary, opposite, etc.).

COLOUR WHEEL:

A color circle, based on red, yellow and blue, is traditional in the field of art. Sir Isaac Newton developed the first circular diagram of colors in 1666. Since then scientists and artists have studied and designed numerous variations of this concept. Differences of opinion about the validity of one format over another continue to provoke debate. In reality, any color circle or color wheel which presents a logically arranged sequence of pure hues has merit.
Read more...

COMPLIMENTARY COLORS

Hues directly opposite one another on the color wheel and therefore assumed to be as different from one another as possible. When placed side by side, complementary colors are intensified; when mixed together, they produce a neutral (or gray) color.

COMPOSITION

The organization, design or placement of the individual elements in a work of art. The aim is to achieve balance and proportionality. Usually applied to two-dimensional art. Here is an interesting article . Also see THIS. Realize ther are many diferent ways to compose a picture...
Read more...

CONCEPTUAL ART

An art form in which the underlying idea or concept and the process by which it is achieved are more important than any tangible product.

An interesting article HERE

CONSTRUCTION

An art work that is actually assembled or built on the premises where it is to be shown. Many constructions are meant to be temporary and are disassembled after the exhibition is over.
Read more...

CONTE

Initially it was a trade name for a brand of French crayons made from a unique compound of pigments with a chalk binder. Conte crayons are free from grease, making them acceptable for lithographic drawing.

CONTENT

The message conveyed by a work of art – its subject matter and whatever the artist hopes to convey by that subject matter.
Read more...

CONTOUR

A line that creates a boundary separating an area of space or object from the space around it.

CONTRAPPOSTO

Literally, “counterpoise.” A method of portraying the human figure, especially in sculpture, often achieved by placing the weight on one foot and turning the shoulder so the figure appears relaxed and mobile. The result is often a graceful S-curve.
Read more...

CONTRAST:

This is probably most important when trying to determine the readability of the design. You want to have high contrast color choices for your text areas, where the separation between two colors on the spectrum is high enough to allow for an easy read. If you were to put a purple color on a turquoise background for instance, the readability would be effected negatively.
Read more...

CONVERGING

Lines that go towards the same point.
Read more...

COOL COLORS

Those that suggest a sense of coolness. Blue , Green , Violet
Read more...

CRAFTSMANSHIP

Aptitude, skill, and manual dexterity in the use of tools and materials.
Read more...

CROSS-HATCHING

An area of closely spaced lines intersecting one another, used to create a sense of three-dimensionality on a flat surface, especially in drawing and printmaking. See also hatching, stippling.

An interesting link
Read more...

CURVILINEAR

Stressing the use of curved lines as opposed to rectilinear which stresses straight lines.

DECOUPAGE

The act of cutting out paper designs and applying them to a surface to make an all over collage.

DESIGN

The planned organization of lines, shapes, masses, colors, textures, and space in a work of art. In two-dimensional art, often called composition.
Read more...

DISTORTION

Any change made by an artist in the size, position, or general character of forms based on visual perception, when those forms are organized into a pictorial image. Any personal or subjective interpretation of natural forms must necessarily involve a degree of distortion.
Read more...

DOMINANCE

The principle of visual organization which suggests that certain elements should assume more importance than others in the same composition. It contributes to the organic unity by emphasizing the fact that there is one main feature and that other elements are subordinate to it.
Read more...

Dominant Image

Dominance describes a situation where something dominates (is more important or more noticeable than its surroundings). Information is rarely of uniform interest in art (except in wallpaper). Most art is used to communicate -- to tell a story or present a point of view. There is usually a focal point, a place where the action begins. You should be able to control what will be noticed first, what is dominant in an image, and where the viewer's attention will go from there.
Read more...

DRYPOINT

An intaglio printmaking technique, similar to engraving, in which a sharp needle is used to draw on a metal plate, raising a thin ridge of metal that creates a soft line when the plate is printed. Also, the resultant print.
Read more...

DYNAMIC

Giving an effect of movement, vitality, or energy.
Read more...

EARTHENWARE

Ceramic ware, usually coarse and reddish in color, fired in the lowest temperature ranges. Used for domestic ware, glazed or unglazed.

EDITION

In bronze sculpture and printmaking, the number of pieces/images made from a single mold/plate and authorized by the artist.
Read more...

Elements and Principals of art

Elements of Art: The basic elements that are used by artists in creating works of art; they are what you use to create a good composition. If we want to make art, we need to understand these seven elements of art.

Elements of Art

(building blocks of visual art)

Line

Line is the path of a point moving through space.

Shape / Form

Shape implies spatial form and is usually perceived as two-dimensional. Form has depth, length, and width and resides in space. It is perceived as three-dimensional.

Color

Colors all come from the three primaries and black and white. They have three properties – hue, value, and intensity.

Value

Value refers to relative lightness and darkness and is perceived in terms of varying levels of contrast.

Texture

Texture refers to the tactile qualities of a surface (actual) or to the visual representation of such surface qualities (implied).

Space / Perspective

Space refers to the area in which art is organized. Perspective is representing a volume of space or a 3-dimensional object on a flat surface.

Principles of art

(use or arrangement of the building blocks of visual a

Pattern

Pattern refers to the repetition or reoccurrence of a design element, exact or varied, which establishes a visual beat.

Rhythm / Movement Rhythm or movement refers to the suggestion of motion through the use of various elements

Proportion / Scale

Proportion is the size relationship of parts to a whole and to one another. Scale refers to relating size to a constant, such as a human body.

Balance

Balance is the impression of equilibrium in a pictorial or sculptural composition. Balance is often referred to as symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial.

Unity

Unity is achieved when the components of a work of art are perceived as harmonious, giving the work a sense of completion.

Emphasis

Emphasis refers to the created center of interest, the place in an artwork where your eye first lands.

ENCAUSTIC

Literally, to burn in. A painting technique in which the pigment is mixed with melted wax and resin and then applied to a surface while hot.
Read more...

ENGRAVING

Printmaking method in which a sharp tool (burin) is used to scratch lines into a hard surface such as metal or wood.
Read more...

ENVIRONMENTAL ART

1. Art that is large enough for viewers to enter and move about in. 2. Art designed for display in the outdoor environment. 3. Art that actually transforms the natural landscape.
Read more...

ETCHING

The technique of reproducing a design by coating a metal plate with wax and drawing with a sharp instrument called a stylus through the wax down to the metal. The plate is put in an acid bath, which eats away the incised lines; it is then heated to dissolve the wax and finally inked and printed on paper. The resulting print is called the etching.
Read more...

FIGURE – GROUND

In two-dimensional art, the relationship between the principal forms and the background. Figure-ground ambiguity suggests equal importance for the two.
Read more...

FIGURE/GROUND RELATIONSHIP

The figure always defines the ground and the ground defines the figure. They are inseparable -- you can not have one without the other. If you draw the figure in a composition, you are drawing the ground at the same time (see "S" in red ground above). The edges of one are the edges of the other. The classic face/vase illusion forces the viewer to shift from one figure to the other but not to see both as figure at the same time. When you see the faces as figure, the vase is the ground. When you see the vase as figure, the faces are the ground. The figure/ground relationship is so important that an artist must consider all of the composition when designing. It is a mistake to only plan the figure. The entire area of the format must be given careful consideration or the image will be only partially designed. This is one of the points about design that this chapter and the next attempt to make clear. If the entire area of the format can be made interesting, all of the shapes, spaces and/or objects appear as figure and 100% of the format is working visually. If only the subject matter, or main abstract shapes are carefully designed to look interesting, the designer is giving away the rest of the format space to stay as ground. A composition that is all interesting has an advantage over one that is only partially interesting. Excerp from http://daphne.palomar.edu/design/fandg.html
Read more...

FINE ART

An art form created primarily as an aesthetic expression to be enjoyed for its own sake. The viewer must be prepared to search for the intent of the artist as the all-important first step toward communication and active participation.
Read more...

FIRING

Heating pottery or sculpture in a kiln or open fire to bring the clay to maturity. The temperature needed to mature the clay varies with the type of body used. Also, heating glazed ware to the necessary point to cause the glaze to mature.
Read more...

FIXATIVE

A solution, usually of shellac and alcohol, sprayed onto drawings, to prevent their smudging or crumbling off the support.
Read more...

FOLK ART

Primitive art, by an untrained artist who paints in the common tradition of his community and reflects the life style of the people. Also called ‘Outsider art’ & ‘Art brut’.
Read more...

FORESHORTENING

A method of portraying forms on a two-dimensional surface so that they appear to project or recede from the picture plane.
Read more...

FORGING

Shaping metal with hammers while it is hot; the method for making wrought iron.
Read more...

FORM

1. The physical appearance of a work of art – its materials, style, and composition. 2. Any identifiable shape or mass, as a “geometric form.”
Read more...

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.

GENRE

Art that depicts the casual moments of everyday life and its surroundings.
Read more...

GEOMETRIC SHAPES

Shapes created by exact mathematical law.
Read more...

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.

GLAZE

A very thin, transparent colored paint applied over a previously painted surface to alter the appearance and color of the surface. In ceramics, washes applied to the clay body which, when fired to temperature, vitrify to form a thin, usually colored, glass layer.
Read more...

GREENWARE

Unfired pottery or sculpture.
Read more...

GROUND

1. A substance applied to a painting or drawing support in preparation for the pigmented material. 2. The preparatory substance used as a coating for a printmaking plate. 3. The background in a work of two-dimensional art.
Read more...

HARD-EDGE PAINTING

A recent innovation that originated in New York and was adopted by certain contemporary painters. Forms are depicted with precise, geometric lines and edges.
Read more...

HARMONY

The unity of all the visual elements of a composition achieved by repetition of the same characteristics.
Read more...

HATCHING

A technique of modeling, indicating tone and suggesting light and shade in drawing or tempera painting, using closely set parallel lines.
Read more...

HUE

The perceived color of an object, identified by a common name such as red, orange, blue.
Read more...

HUE:

This defines the specific location on a color wheel or in the color spectrum. If you were to select a red area in the color spectrum, you have chosen a red hue.
Read more...

ICONOGRAPHY

Loosely, the “story” depicted in a work of art; people, places, events, and other images in a work, as well as the symbolism and conventions attached to those images by a particular religion or culture.
Read more...

ILLUMINATION

Hand-drawn decoration or illustration in a manuscript, especially prevalent in medieval art.
Read more...

IMPASTO

A thick, juicy application of paint to canvas or other support; emphasizes texture, as distinguished from a smooth flat surface. a way of applying paint, specifically a thick, textured application of paint where the marks made by the brush or painting knife stay visible
Read more...

India ink

India ink (or Indian ink in British English) is a simple black ink once widely used for writing and printing and now more commonly used for drawing, especially when inking comic books and comic strips.

INTENSITY

The degree of purity or brilliance of a color. Also known as chroma or saturation.
Read more...

KILN

A furnace or oven built of heat-resistant materials for firing pottery, glass and sculpture.
Read more...

KINETIC ART

Kinetic art is art that incorporates movement as part of its expression – either mechanically, by hand, or by natural forces.

LANDSCAPE

A generalization for any artist’s depiction of natural scenery. Figures and other objects should be of secondary importance to the composition and incidental to the content.
Read more...

LINE

A mark made by an instrument as it is drawn across a surface.
Read more...

LINEAR PERSPECTIVE

A method of depicting three-dimensional depth on a flat or two-dimensional surface. Linear perspective has two main precepts: 1. Forms that are meant to be perceived as far away from the viewer are made smaller than those meant to be seen as close 2. Parallel lines receding into the distance converge at a point on the horizon line known as the vanishing point.
Read more...

LITHOGRAPHY – LITHOGRAPH

A printing process in which a surface, as stone or sheet aluminum, is treated so that the ink adheres only to the portions that are to be printed. The resulting image is a lithograph or a lithographic print
Read more...

LOST WAX

A method of creating a wax mold of a sculpture and then heating the mold to melt out the wax and replacing it with a molten metal or resin. (see our page on Bronze Casting).
Read more...

MANIFESTO

In art, a public declaration or exposition in print of the theories and directions of a movement. The manifestos issued by various individual artists or groups of artists, in the first half of the twentieth century served to reveal their motivations and raisons dâetre and stimulated support for or reactions against them.
Read more...

MAQUETTE

In sculpture, a small model in wax or clay, made as a preliminary sketch, presented to the client for approval of the proposed work, or for entry in a competition. The Italian equivalent of the term is bozzetto, meaning small sketch.

MASS

Three-dimensional form, often implying bulk, density and weight.
Read more...

MATTE

Flat, non-glossy; having a dull surface appearance.
Read more...

MEDIUM

1. The material used to create a work of art. 2. The binder for a paint, such as oil. 3. An expressive art form, such as painting, drawing, or sculpture.
Read more...

MIXED MEDIA

Descriptive of art that employs more than one medium – e.g., a work that combines paint, natural materials (wood, pebbles, bones), and man made items (glass, plastic, metals) into a single image or piece of art.
Read more...

MOBILE/STABILE

Terms coined to describe work created by Alexander Calder. The mobile is a hanging, movable sculpture and the stabile rests on the ground but also may have moving parts.
Read more...

MODELLING

1. In sculpture, shaping a form in some plastic material, such as clay, wax, or plaster. 2. In drawing, painting, or printmaking, the illusion of three-dimensionality on a flat surface created by simulating effects of light and shadow.
Read more...

MONOCHROMATIC

Having only one color. Descriptive of work in which one hue – perhaps with variations of value and intensity – predominates.

MONOTYPE

A one-of-a-kind print made by painting on a sheet or slab of glass and transferring the still-wet painting to a sheet of paper held firmly on the glass by rubbing the back of the paper with a smooth implement, such as a large hardwood spoon. The painting may also be done on a polished plate, in which case it may be either printed by hand or transferred to the paper by running the plate and paper through an etching press.

MONTAGE

A picture composed of other existing illustrations, pictures, photographs, newspaper clippings, etc. that are arranged so they combine to create a new or original image. A collage.
Read more...

MOSAIC

An art form in which small pieces of tile, glass, or stone are fitted together and embedded into a background to create a pattern or image.

A history of the Mosaic An Excellent Mosaic Blog!!!
Read more...

MURAL

Any large-scale wall decoration done in painting, fresco, mosaic, or other medium.
Read more...

MUSEUM

A building, place or institution devoted to the acquisition, conservation, study, exhibition and educational interpretation of objects having scientific, historical or artistic value. The word Museum is derived from the Latin muses, meaning “a source of inspiration,” or “to be absorbed in one’s thoughts.”
Read more...

MUTED:

When a person is describing muted colors, they are often referring to colors that have low saturation, or colors that they deem to be of low intensity.
Read more...

NARRATIVE PAINTING

A painting where a story line serves as a dominant feature.
Read more...

NATURALISTIC

Descriptive of an artwork that closely resembles forms in the natural world. Synonymous with representational.
Read more...

NEGATIVE SPACE

The space in a painting around the objects depicted.
Read more...

NEUTRAL

Having no hue – black, white, or gray; sometimes a tannish color achieved by mixing two complementary colours.
Read more...

NON-OBJECTIVE

Completely non-representational; pure design; fully abstract.
Read more...

OPTICAL COLOR MIXTURE

The tendency of the eyes to blend patches of individual colors placed near one another so as to perceive a different, combined color. Also, any art style that exploits this tendency, especially the pointillism of Georges Seurat.
Read more...

ORGANIC

An image that shows a relationship to nature as opposed to man-made images. Any shape that resembles a naturally occurring form or that suggests a natural growing or expanding process.
Read more...

ORGANIC ART

An art form that emphasizes an object alive in its own right and not contrived.
Read more...

OVERLAP EFFECT

Spatial relationships are achieved by placing one object in front of another. The object closest to the viewer blocks out the view of any part of any other object located behind it (or, where the two objects overlap, the one in back is obscured).

PAINTERLY

Descriptive of paintings in which forms are defined principally by color areas, not by lines or edges. Where the artist’s brushstrokes are noticeable. Any image that looks as though it may have been created with the style or techniques used by a painter.
Read more...

Painterly

The term painterly is used to describe a painting done in a style that embraces, shows, and celebrates the medium it's created in (be it oil paint, acrylics, pastels, watercolor, etc.), rather than tries to hide the act of creation.

Papier-mâché

Papier-mâché paste is the substance that holds the paper together. The traditional method of making papier-mâché paste is to use a mixture of water and flour or other starch, mixed to the consistency of heavy cream. While any adhesive can be used if thinned to a similar texture, such as polyvinyl acetate based glues (wood glue or, in the US, white Elmer's glue), the flour and water mixture is the most economical. Adding oil of cloves or other additives to the mixture reduces the chances of the product developing mold. The paper is cut or torn into strips, and soaked in the paste until saturated. The saturated pieces are then placed onto the surface and allowed to dry slowly; drying in an oven can cause warping or other dimensional changes during the drying process. The strips may be placed on an armature, or skeleton, often of wire mesh over a structural frame, or they can be placed on an object to create a cast. Oil or grease can be used as a release agent if needed. Once dried, the resulting material can be cut, sanded and/or painted, and waterproofed by painting with a suitable water repelling paint.^[1]

PASTEL

A colored crayon that consists of pigment mixed with just enough of a aqueous binder to hold it together; a work of art produced by pastel crayons; the technique itself. Pastels vary according to the volume of chalk contained…the deepest in tone are pure pigment. Pastel is the simplest and purest method of painting, since pure color is used without a fluid medium and the crayons are applied directly to the pastel paper.
Read more...

PATINA

A film or an incrustation, often green, that forms on copper and bronze after a certain period of weathering and as a result of the oxidation of the copper. Different chemical treatments will also induce myriad colored patinas on new Bronze works. Bronzes may additionally be painted with acrylic and lacquer.

PERFORMANCE ART

Art in which there is no concrete object, but rather a series of events performed by the artist in front of an audience, possibly including music, sight gags, recitation, audio-visual presentations, or other elements.
Read more...

PERSPECTIVE

The representation of three-dimensional objects on a flat surface so as to produce the same impression of distance and relative size as that received by the human eye. In one-point linear perspective, developed during the fifteenth century, all parallel lines in a given visual field converge at a single vanishing point on the horizon. In aerial or atmospheric perspective, the relative distance of objects is indicated by gradations of tone and color and by variations in the clarity of outlines.
Read more...

PHOTO REALISM

A painting and drawing style of the mid 20th century in which people, objects, and scenes are depicted with such naturalism that the paintings resemble photographs – an almost exact visual duplication of the subject.
Read more...

PICTORIAL SPACE

The illusory space in a painting or other work of two-dimensional art that seems to recede backward into depth from the picture plane, giving the illusion of distance.
Read more...

PICTURE PLANE

An imaginary flat surface that is assumed to be identical to the surface of a painting. Forms in a painting meant to be perceived in deep three-dimensional space are said to be “behind” the picture plane. The picture plane is commonly associated with the foreground of a painting.
Read more...

PIGMENT

A coloring substance made from plants, earth, or minerals and may include other synthetic elements. When mixed with binders it becomes paint, ink or crayon, etc.
Read more...

Placeholder text

Placeholder text or “lorem ipsum” is dummy text used by designers in preliminary designs to highlight the design, colors, and layout of a page. It is a form of scrambled latin text that is designed to mimic the flow of words, sentences, and paragraphs in English and other latin languages.
Read more...

POLYCHROMATIC

Having many colors, as opposed to monochromatic which means only one hue or color.
Read more...

PORCELAIN

A ceramic ware fired to the highest temperature ranges and often used for dinnerware, vases, and smaller sculpture.
Read more...

POSITIVE SPACE

The space in a painting occupied by the object depicted (not the spaces in-between objects)
Read more...

PRIMARY COLORS

Any hue that, in theory, cannot be created by a mixture of any other hues. Varying combinations of the primary hues can be used to create all the other hues of the spectrum. In pigment the primaries are red, yellow, and blue.
Read more...

PRIMARY COLORS:

Red, yellow and blue

In traditional color theory, these are the 3 pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues
Read more...

PRIMITIVE ART

1. Paintings and drawings of and by peoples and races outside the influence of accepted Western styles. 2. Religious portrayals predating scientific studies of perspective and anatomy. 3. Intuitive artists with a “naive” style often due to little, if any, training (or works intentionally made tolook this way).
Read more...

PRINT

An image created from a master wood block, stone, plate, or screen, usually on paper. Prints are referred to as multiples, because as a rule many identical or similar impressions are made from the same printing surface, the number of impressions being called an edition. When an edition is limited to a specified number of prints, it is a limited edition. A print is considered an original work of art and today is customarily signed and numbered by the artist.
Read more...

PROPORTION

Size relationships between parts of a whole, or between two or more objects perceived as a unit.

A good Blog post on the subject
Read more...

REALISM

Any art in which the goal is to portray forms in the natural world in a highly representational manner. Specifically, an art style of the mid 19th century, which fostered the idea that everyday people and events are worthy subjects for important art.
Read more...

RELATIVE APPARENT SIZE

Objects appear smaller as their distance from the viewer increases.
Read more...

RELATIVE POSITION

We view nature from our own eye level. Objects in the foreground appear lower and distant objects appear higher relative to the imaginary line created by our level of sight.
Read more...

RELIEF

1. Sculpture in which figures or other images are attached to a flat background but project out from it to some degree (bas-relief, haut-relief). 2. A printmaking technique in which portions of a block meant to be printed are raised above the surface.
Read more...

REPRESENTATIONAL

Works of art that closely resemble forms in the natural world. Synonymous with naturalistic
Read more...

SALON

1. Fashionable gathering of artists, writers, and intellectuals held in a private home. 2. In France, a state-sponsored exhibition of art, held in Paris, controlled by the Academy of Fine Arts.
Read more...

SATURATION:

This defines the intensity of the color, and can sometimes actually be referred to as intensity.
Read more...

SCALE

Size in relation to some “normal” or constant size. Compare with proportion.
Read more...

SCULPTURE

A three-dimensional form modeled, carved, or assembled.
Read more...

SECONDARY COLORS

A hue created by combining two primary colours, as yellow and blue mixed together yield green. In pigment the secondary colors are orange, green, and violet.

SECONDARY COLORS:

Green, orange and purple These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.
Read more...

SFUMATO

From the Italian work for “smoke,” a technique of painting in thin glazes to achieve a hazy, cloudy atmosphere, often to represent objects or landscape meant to be perceived as distant from the picture plane.
Read more...

SHAPE

A two-dimensional area having identifiable boundaries, created by lines, color, or value changes, or some combination of these; broadly, form.
Read more...

SILHOUETTE

The outer shape of an object. An outline, often filled in with color.
Read more...

SIMULTANEOUS CONTRAST

The tendency of complementary colors to seem brighter and more intense when placed side by side.
Read more...

SKETCH

A preliminary drawing of a composition.
Read more...

SPACE

In painting, space may by defined as the distances between shapes on a flat surface and the illusion of three-dimensions on a two-dimensional surface. Also refers to a physical site where art is displayed for viewing.
Read more...

SPECTRUM:

All the possible colors in a color space. These spaces could include RGB or CMYK.
Read more...

STILL LIFE

A painting or other two-dimensional work in which the subject matter is an arrangement of objects – fruit, flowers, tableware, pottery, and so forth – brought together for their pleasing contrasts of shape, color, and texture, Also the arrangement of the objects itself.
Read more...

STIPPLING

A pattern of closely spaced dots or small marks used to create a sense of three-dimensionally on a flat surface, especially in drawing and printmaking. See also hatching, cross-hatching.
Read more...

STUDY

A detailed drawing or painting made of one or more parts of a final composition, but not the whole work.
Read more...

STYLE

A characteristic, or a number of characteristics that we can identify as constant, recurring, or coherent. In art, the sum of such characteristics associated with a particular artist, group, or culture, or with an artist’s work at a specific time.
Read more...

STYLIZED

Descriptive of works based on forms in the natural world, but simplified or distorted for design purposes. See also abstract.
Read more...

SUBTRACTIVE TECHNIQUE

SUBTRACTIVE TECHNIQUE an example: carving is typically a subtractive process, in which the material, such as wood or plaster or clay is chipped or carved away until the desired sculptural form emerges.

SYMBOL

An image or sign that represents something else, because of convention, association, or resemblance.
Read more...

SYMMETRICAL

Descriptive of a design in which the two halves of a composition on either side of an imaginary central vertical axis correspond to one another in size, shape, and placement.
Read more...

TEMPERA

A painting medium in which the binder is egg yolk.
Read more...

TERTIARY COLORS

Six colors positioned between the primary and secondary colors on the color wheel.
Read more...

TERTIARY COLORS:

Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green and yellow-green. These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green, red-violet, and yellow-orange.
Read more...

TEXTURE

The actual feel (roughness or smoothness) of a surface. In art, texture may refer to the illusion of roughness or smoothness often achieved with contrasting patterns.
Read more...

Thumbnail sketches

Thumbnail sketches are drawing quick, abbreviated drawings. Usually, they are done very rapidly and with no corrections - you can use any medium, though pen or pencil is the most common. Thumbnails sketches are usually very small, often only an inch or two high.