Art terms

Abstract  Art:Not realistic, though the  intention is often based on an actual subject, place, or feeling. Pure  abstraction can be interpreted as any art which contains no recognizable forms from the physical world or that converts forms from nature into  patterns seen mainly as color, lines, shapes and material.When the representation of real objects is completely absent, such art may be called Non-objective.

Achromatic:Black, white and greys. Artwork that is executed without color

Chroma:This is the intensity, or strength, or purity of a color. Squeezing paint directly from the tube to the palette is 'full chroma'.

Contemporary Art: Very loosely defined as art which was produced during the second half of the twentieth century.

Acrylic  Paint: a pigment in a plastic binder medium that is water based and adheres to most surfaces. Acrylic paint is used to mimic the look  of oil paint. The advantages of acrylic over oil is that it is less toxic and it dries more quick.

Complementary Colors:Complementary colors are those which appear opposite to one another on a color wheel. The complimentary colors are red and green, blue and orange, and yellow and purple.

Cubism:  A revolutionary art movement between 1907 and 1914 in which natural forms were changed by geometrical reduction and multiple perspectives. Leading figures were Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.

Dry Brushing:Technique used in paintings using more pigment then water.

Expressionism:  A concept of painting in which traditional adherence to realism and proportion is overridden by the intensity of an artist's emotional (expressive)  response to the subject.

Non-Objective  Art: Not representing any object, figure, or element in nature, in any way; nonrepresentational and often typified by severely geometric works and color fields.

Collage:  A grouping of different textured materials or objects that are glued  together.

Encaustic:  Pigment is mixed with melted wax and resin and then applied to a surface  while hot. The paints must be heated prior to their application but once dry are extremely durable. Encaustic was widely used during the Middle Ages.

Frottage:  Textural rubbing on paper done with crayon, oil or pencil.

Gesso:  An underpainting medium consisting of glue, plaster of Paris, or chalk  and water. Gesso is used to size the canvas and prepare the surface for painting. >

Gouache:  A watercolor medium which is mixed with finely ground white pigment to provide an opaque paint.

Impasto:  The thick textured build up of a picture's surface which is created through the repeated applications of paint.

Mural:  A continuous painting which is designed to fill a wall or other architectural area.

Oil  Paint: A powdered pigment which is held together with oil, usually  linseed oil.

Pen  and Ink: The artist's use, typically of a nibbed pen and India ink, as the medium for drawing on paper. Depending on the artist's motivation and the subject matter, the use of pen and ink will typically result in a richly saturated image that may appear either as a swift and spontaneous sketch or a very deliberate, detailed drawing.

Pentimento:  An underlying image in a painting, as an earlier painting, a part of  a painting, or an original draft, that shows through, usually when the top layer of paint has become transparent with age. 

Tempera:  Pigment which is mixed with water or egg yolk and usually applied to  board or panel.

Watercolor:  A pigment mixed with a binder and applied with water to give a transparent  effect.

Hue:Hue is another word for color. The attribute which describes colors by name, i.e. red, blue, yellow etc.

Impressionism:Impressionism is referred to as the most important art movement of the 19th century. The term impressionism came from a painting by Claude Monet. His painting was titled titled Impression Sunrise. Impressionism is about capturing fast fleeting moments with color, light, and surface.

Intermediate colors:Obtained by mixing adjoining Primary and Secondary colors.

Medium:The art material that is used in a work of art such as clay, paint or pencil. Describing more then one art medium is referred to as media. Any substance added to color to facilitate application or to achieve a desired effect.

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