Artist Terminology

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Types of art

Abstract - Abstract art is art that has no recognizable realistic form, often presenting objects changed, simplified or exaggerated. Abstract art emphasizes color, line, or shapes.

Collage - Artwork produced by adhering materials to canvas or other surfaces.

Contemporary - Contemporary art is art produced at the present point in time or since WWII.

Expressionism - This is an artistic style of the artist, to depict subjective emotion that objects and events arouse, not objective reality.

Grisaille - A method of painting in which a highly detailed drawing is developed into a white, gray, and black under-painting. Transparent glazes (thin layers of color) are then applied to develop the color.

Impasto - The application of thick layers of pigment creating a textured surface.

Impressionism - A loose spontaneous style of painting, characterized by concentration of the general impression of a scene, often times landscapes, by using color in strokes to simulate actual reflected light.

Mixed media - Artwork produced by incorporating more than one medium in a single piece.

Mosaic - A picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces onto a surface.

Plein Air - A painting done outside, not in a studio. Plein Air means open air.

Realism - The presentation of forms and materials that are simply themselves.

Types of Paint

Acrylic paint - Acrylic is a fast drying water based paint.

Alkyds - A type of oil paint that dries much faster than the traditional types of oil paint.

Colored Pencil - A waxy crayon like pencil that is available in an array of colors used for artwork.

Fluid Acrylics - Type of acrylic paint that is more liquid or runny than normal acrylic paints. These paints are highly concentrated in color and can produce many effects.

Gouache - A painting medium similar to watercolor but heavier and more opaque (not transparent).

Oil paint - Paint made from pigment (color particles) and linseed oil that dries slowly and can be applied thin or thick.

Pastel Media - A medium which is applied in a dry form from a stick, block or pencil. Pastels include soft pastels, hard pastels, pastel pencils, oil pastels and water soluble pastels.

Watercolors - A water based, translucent paint that can produce many different effects.

Canvas Board - Canvas that is mounted on a wood panel or paper board use for painting.

Hardboard- A high density wood support engineered for stability and used for painting. Formaldehyde free. Typically this board if sealed before painting.

Museum Wrapped Canvas - Canvas stretched over and around the wood stretcher frame. No staples show on the sides of these canvases , so these pieces can be hung without a conventional frame. These vary in depth.

Pastel support - These provide a "tooth" or an abrasive or ribbed texture for the pastel to adhere and hold the pastel in place.

Composition - The arrangement of parts (lines, shapes, etc.) in relation to each other and to the whole.

Limited palette - The artist limits their color choice for a painting to a few select colors or color.

Palette - a thin piece of glass, wood, or other material used to hold the paints while painting.

Palette knife - A metal or plastic tool used to apply paint instead of a brush, usually in a heavy application. Palette knives may also be used to mix paint.

Perspective - Picturing objects on a flat surface so as to give the appearance of distance or depth.

Types of Supports

Misc.terms