Style, Form, and Content
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Style – characteristic elements that we recognize as constant or coherent.
o Naturalistic style – depicts the appearance of things. Represents objects we
recognize from the world of visual reality.
 What you need: Chiaroscuro, Visual textures, techniques of space, correct
space & proportion.
 Trumpel’oei – so naturalistic that it seams real. “Fools the eye”
o Abstract style – departs from the actual appearance of things. It has a resemblance
of what inspired it. Distracts the essence of the object or idea. Need to have a
figure or something there.
o Non-objective style – makes no reference to the world of visual reality. There are
no figures we can point out.
Form – describes the characteristics of works of art. Visual properties.
Content – message or the meaning of the art.
o 1st level of observation – subject matter
o 2nd level of observation – form
o 3rd level of observation – content
Iconography – study of symbols in a work of art. Bring symbols into art work.
Dry Media
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Drawing – base, less expensive of them all
o Sketches – record an idea or something the artists has seen. Includes drawing and
notes.
o Preparatory drawings/studies – drawings done for other projects. Just for the eyes
of the artist.
o Cartoon – full scale. Preliminary study for a project like fresco painting. Drawing
must be same size
o Fully developed drawings – finished works of art. Works of art that are in their
own right (the ones in museums).
Techniques of Drawings
1. Dry Media - pencil, silverpoint, charcoal, conte crayon, chalk, pastel
2. Liquid media – pen and ink, brush and ink, wash
Tools
1. Pencil
a. Made out of: Graphite surrounded by wood
b. Nomenclature: 9H… 2H, 1H, HB (like No.2), 1B, 2B, …6B
i. Hardest  Softest
ii. Thinnest  Thickest
iii. Lightest  Darkest
c. Erase: Yes but artist’s pencils do not have erasers.
d. Characteristics: inexpensive, versatile
e. Uses: Blend, work with line, sketch, write. Produce wide range of effects.
2. Silverpoint
a. Made out of: silver wire with a metal tip.
b. Nomenclature: None
c. Erase: Cannot erase or fix mistakes.
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d. Characteristics: Hard and demanding technique. Artist draws blind. Drawing does
not show up on paper. Must work on a surface of chemically prepared paper.
Friction with wire and paper creates a chemical oxidation with rusting silver.
Everything done with line. Lines are very delicate.
e. Uses: Hatching and cross-hatching.
Charcoal
a. Made out of: Burnt wood.
b. Nomenclature: Remains in B’s. Follows nomenclature of texture.
c. Erase: can be erased but it is meant to leave marks.
d. Characteristics: Soft, powdery, fluffy, black velvet color. Comes in round/square
sticks. Needs fixative.
i. Softfocus effect
1. Can be blurry. Charcoal floats a lot. Must wear mask when
working with charcoal. Charcoal does not fully adhere to the paper.
(Very volatile).
2. Fixative – acts like glue. Keeps particles of charcoal on paper. Not
100% effective.
e. Uses: Blend, smudge, and create chiaroscuro
Conté crayon
a. Made out of: powdered graphite with clay and a greasy binder (keeps it together)
b. Nomenclature: Follows nomenclature of Pencil - 9H… 2H, 1H, HB (like No.2),
1B, 2B, …6B
c. Erase: Impossible to erase
d. Characteristics: Most expensive and weirdest tools. Comes in black, brown, red.
Works with pressure (dark=hard, light=soft). Works in a linear manner. Drawing
ends up being shiny, yet greasy and powdery.
e. Uses: cannot blend.
Chalk
a. Made out of: pulverized stone.
b. Nomenclature: none.
c. Erase: Yes
d. Characteristics: Comes in black, white, red. Soft, dustier, higher quality. Work in
a linear manner. Creates soft tonal effects. Artists working with chalk being to
work on colored paper. Does not fully adhere to painting, needs fixative.
e. Uses: Blend, smudge, chiaroscuro.
Pastel
a. Made out of: pulverized stone and pure pigment
b. Nomenclature: none
c. Erase: Yes
d. Characteristics: Has vibrant colors with pure pigment (high pigment = high
intensity). All the different colors and the way we use them are the main
differences. Does not fully adhere to paper, need fixative.
e. Uses: Blends and smudges.
i. Techniques of Pastel
1. Layers – grab colored paper, must enhance final design. Light
neutral brown shadows (only with cool colors, light warm colors).
a. Local color – color that we think something is.
b. Blending – two colors are put together then smudged.
***Charcoal, pastel, and chalk share similar characteristics***
Liquid Media
Tools
1. Pen and ink
a. Made out of: Ink comes in jar. Pen dipped into ink. Calligraphy pen made out of
handle with a nib at the end. Nib is inserted into handle.
b. Qualities: Thickness of nibs is the thickness of your line (consistent line). Works
in a linear manner. Shadow created by hatching. Cannot erase because you need
to figure out how much ink you need in a nib plus the amount of pressure.
c. Uses: ?*
2. Pen and wash
a. Made out of: same calligraphic pen plus a wash  diluted ink.
i. Need 3 containers of each
ii. creates value scale
b. Qualities: wash is diluted ink, which creates values on each line
c. Uses: ?*
3. Brush and ink
a. Made out of: ink
b. Qualities: line more expressive. No value, just illustration of it.
c. Uses: Can get contrast, not value.
4. Brush and wash
a. Wash is diluted ink applied with a brush to create broad areas of value and on the
line.
Color – drawing technique. Can mix brush, pen & wash.
Painting
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The queen of the arts because of very famous paintings. when someone says art, we
think painting. Painting started with cave paintings 30,000 years ago. Paintings are
usually larger than drawings, more colorful, and take more time to complete.
Pigment – gives you color on everything.
o Natural $$$
 Organic – animals, plants, translucent, most translucent = yellow.
 Inorganic – stones, metals, opaque, most opaque = white (titanium).
o Synthetic $
 Comes from lab, big color variety. Mimics effects of natural pigment.
Binder – created by a number of liquids. Stick and have the consistency of honey. Binder
holds pigment together. Makes sure that pigment adheres to support.
o Binder + Pigment = Paint
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Support – absolutely any surface where you put the paint on.
Techniques
1. Fresco
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Binder: wet plaster
Support: Wall or ceiling
Good: Lasts a long time (forever). Retains vibrant colors
Bad: Demanding and tiring. Fumes created from technique. Need to paint fast
because binder dries fast. Must work in daily sections  work that artist can do in
one single setting. No instructions left behind for technique (no one knows how to
do it).
e. Extra info: Make Plaster  put on support  have cartoon ready  make holes
around outline of cartoon  put cartoon on top of plaster & charcoal on holes for
outline  get pigment and turn it into liquid. Cannot make mistakes. If you make
a mistake  wait until it dries, then chisel it all off. Oldest technique.
f. *Extra credit – Know names Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros. (The Three Grand)
i. Muralism – paint on dry walls. (more political movements)
Encaustic
a. Binder: Melted wax
b. Support: Wood
c. Good: Put objects into paintings. Lasts a long time (forever). Colors stay the
same.
d. Bad: Can’t fix mistakes, no erasing. Must work fast because wax dries fast
(seconds).
e. Extra info: Can get some actual texture (not impasto or implied).
Tempera
a. Binder: Egg yolk
b. Support: Wood
c. Good: Colors stay the same. Can work in layers which create detail. Use crosshatching to build forms. Realistic effects and precise details. Does not darken by
age.
d. Bad: Dries fast (minutes) into a thin film which is translucent and shiny. Cannot
make mistakes or erase.
Water color
a. Binder: Gum Arabic (rosin)
b. Support: Damp cotton paper
c. Good: Gives fresh, atmospheric effects of moisture which is great for seascapes.
Can work in layers. Complimentary colors can create black. White is created
through paper.
d. Bad: Water color bleeds. No erasing or reworking. Mistakes stay.
e. Extra info: Smallest scale for paintings. Water color is transparent.
Oil
a. Binder: Linseed oil
b. Support: Canvas
c. Good: Can make mistakes and fix them. Can blend colors. Can rework because it
takes a long time to dry. Can make oil mimic water colors. Can paint with
anything.
d. Bad: Lasts around 100 years then oil starts to get darker, yellow, duller.
e. Extra info: Need a solvent with oil like a thinner to thin the oil. Most expensive of
them all. Can blend with oil. Invented in 1300’s.
i. Impasto Technique
1. Heavy application of paint
ii. Oil Glazing Technique
a. Gives variations of tones, creates warm atmosphere,
realistic details & visual textures.
b. 1/3 Varnish (shine), 1/3 Linseed oil (shine), 1/3 Turpentine
(dilute)
6. Acrylic: Pigment plus liquid plastic
a. Fast drying and permanent
b. Do not darken or yellow
c. Reduces the time for glazing
d. 20th century invention
e. Can mimic watercolor and oil
f. Support can be canvas, or paper
g. Can be applied with an impasto technique or glazing, diluted like watercolor
h. Can be cleaned with water
i. Creates easy drippings
*Airbrush: Spryer projects a fine, controlled mist of paint.
i. Provides an even application of paint
Printmaking – all processes are indirect
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Printmaking – art of multiples, you may have multiples but they are all originals
Matrix – where we are going to do composition or original. Must destroy it or deface it
once you’re done, so people can’t use it.
Print or impression – actual work of art
Edition – “Title,” Signature, 15/20 (# of print ie 15, Edition)
o Each impression still considered an original work of art
1. Relief
a. Raised areas are ones that will print on paper (i.e. stamp)
i. Woodcut
1. Matrix: wood
2. Tool: No specific tool
3. Oldest of all techniques
4. How we started prints on textiles & books
5. Remove all areas you don’t want on print  quality of wood has
impact on print.
6. No value  can create illusion of value.
7. Hatching and cross-hatching creates light (opposite)
8. If you want color, you need to do one matrix for each color. i.e.
Japanese prints (put paper in same place for colors)
9. Everything is in reverse
ii. Linocut
1. Same as relief
2. Matrix – linoleum
3. Tool: No specific tool
4. Work begins to resemble drawing with curves because material is
soft.
5. Can’t print as many prints, because material is softer
2. Intaglio – to cut
a. Opposite to relief.
b. Matrix: Metal plate (any metal). Copper is common because it is soft.
c. Cut grooves into metal  softer the metal, the better
i. Techniques
1. Engraving
a. Matrix: Metal plate
b. Tool: Burin tool  creates clean and sharp lines +
hatching & cross-hatching. Making grooves deeper will
make it look darker. Must take metal off bur to make it flat.
2. Etching
a. Matrix: Metal plate
b. Tool: Etching needle
c. Metal plate  cover it completely with ground (asphalt,
nail polish, bees wax, anything)  put in acid bath which
protects metal from acid.
d. Do not scratch metal, just remove ground
e. Acid is the one that makes fuzzy lines
f. Less direct technique because acid does all the work
g. The deeper the lines, the darker they will be on print
h. Longer you leave in acid, the longer the lines will be.
i. One matrix for each color
3. Aquatint
a. Matrix: metal plate
b. Tool: powdered resin and acid bath
c. Modern invention from 19th century
d. Can create broad areas of shadow/color without crosshatching and hatching.
e. Can do this because of resin. Shake resin on top  get it
warm  cover plate  drop in bath  longer it is there,
darker it will be.
f. Real value created
g. Granulated texture
4. Drypoint
a. Matrix: Metal plate
b. Tool: drypoint needle
c. Just scratch on metal plate
d. Scratching creates bur  bur graphs more ink  bur
creates fuzzier line (like hair).
e. Bur very delicate  will lose bur after 10 prints.
ii. State (proof of state) – when artist reworks or makes significant changes to
the matrix
3. Lithography
a. Works with fact that grease and water repel each other. Image area holds ink, non
image area repels ink.
b. Matrix: Bavarian limestones (no more of them left)
c. Tool: greasy crayon to draw greasy liquid to paint
d. Lithography called a planographic process because stone must be perfectly flat, if
not it can break under pressure.
e. Lithos resemble drawings  edition will distinguish lithography from drawing
f. Can work chiaroscuros
g. One of the longest processes. Most direct and effortless of all techniques
h. Need assistant for stone.
4. Silkscreen or Screenprinting (Serigraphy)
a. Matrix: synthetic screen
b. Most modern technique.
c. Created for commercial products.
d. Process short. Need frame  screen  make stencil  ink, matrix, paper 
squeegee.
e. Only technique where paper isn’t put on top.
f. Full of color