Belton’s growing and evolving list of art terms worth knowing
Abstract Art - Currently abstract art is generally used to describe art that does not depict objects
recognisable as being in the physical world.
Abstract Expressionism - A post World War II art movement, abstract expressionism was the first
specifically an American art movement to achieve world wide influence .
Acrylic Paint - Acrylic paint is a much faster drying paint compared to more traditional paints such as oil
paint .
Aesthetics- The study of beauty.
Airbrush - An airbrush is an air-operated tool that sprays various media including ink, dye and paint by a
process called atomization
Alla Prima - Alla prima is term that specifically applies to oil painting and it describes the method of
working of wet paint into wet paint
Aquatint - Aquatint is an Intaglio printmaking technique where marks are made on a copper or zinc plate
capable of holding ink
Armature - The armature is the internal support of modelled sculpture usually made out of wood or metal
Art Restoration - Art restoration is the process where an attempt is made to bring a work of art to a
previous state that the art restorer imagines to be its original state.
Assemblage - Assemblage is an art term used to describe an art work that is assembled rather than painted,
drawn, modelled or carved . Often using found objects.
Asymmetry - Asymmetry is the relation of two qualities which have no common measure
Atelier - Atelier is the French term for studio and is often used to describe an artist studio, especially in
earlier eras
Automatism - Automatism is an activity, faculty and quality that is automatic, involuntary spontaneous,
unthinking and without conscious control.
Balance - In art balance is the visual equilibrium between two contrasting or opposing elements in a design
Brushwork - Brushwork in art refers to a special textured surface and quality of handling .
Burnish - The word burnish means to make something smooth and glossy through rubbing .
Calligraphy - Drawn from the Greek origin of the word, calligraphy can be described simply as the art of
beautiful writing
Canvas - In relation to art, canvas is a heavy-duty fabric that is usually primed and stretched so that it can
be used as a painting surface .
Caricature - A portrait that exaggerates or distorts the features of a person is called a caricature .
Cartoon - Traditionally a cartoon is a drawing of the composition of the final work.
Ceramics - Ceramics in the art world refers to artwork moulded out of clay.
Charcoal - Artists use charcoal for finished drawings or as rough sketches for paintings .
Chiaroscuro - Chiaroscuro applies to the brightness and darkness in paintings when tone rather than colour
is the dominant characteristic .
Clay - Clay is the most widely used modelling material in sculpture and has universally been available
since the beginning of time .
Collage - Collage is the technique of sticking or attaching pieces of paper and other materials to a flat
ground .
Colour - The study of colour falls into three field: physics, physiology and psychology .
Colour Wheel - The colours of light can be arranged in a circle, called the colour wheel .
Composition - In art, composition refers to the structure, organisation and arrangement of the art work .
Complementary Colours - Two colours are seen to be complementary colours if when they are mixed
together they produce a shade of gray or brown .
Conceptual Art - Art in which the concept behind the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and
material concerns is called conceptual art .
Conté - Conté is a synthetic black, red, brown or white chalk .
Contrapposto - Contrapposto is an Italian word that describes a pose in which one part of the body is
twisted in the opposite direction from that of the other . One leg bent.
Convention - Convention in art is a term used to describe an accepted way of representing something .
Design - Design is the composition, organization, or the manipulation of the visual vocabulary in the art
work .
Digital Art - Digital art can be broadly defined as art created by a computer and stored in a digital format .
Drawing - The word 'drawing' is defined as the act of making marks on a surface to create an image, form
or shape .
Eclectic - In art, eclectic refers to a person or style that borrows freely and obviously from other
contemporary and influential sources .
Egg Tempera - Egg tempera is artist paint made by binding pigment in an egg medium .
Encaustic Painting - Also known as hot wax painting, encaustic painting involves the use of colour
pigments added to heated beeswax .
Engraving - Unlike etching the ink-retaining grooves in engraving are made by hand, being forced out of
the metal by scratching .
Environment - Environment refers to the space around, or the surround .
Emotionalism- In Aesthetic theory, emotionalism refers to the expression of emotion or feeling as the
priority in a piece of art. See Formalism and Immitationalism.
Etching - Etching is an Intaglio method of printing in which the ink-retaining grooves in the plate are
produced by the actual biting of acid on the plate .
Expressionism - Expressionism is an art in which the emotions of an artist are paramount and take
precedence over a rational or true to life rendering of subject matter .
Eye Level - Eye level is a term used in linear perspective where it is the same as the horizon line.
Fat Paint - Fat paint is a mixture of oil paint and linseed oil so that the mixture is very oily
Firgurative Art - Artwork, including paintings, are usually referred to as figurative art when they are
clearly derived from real objects and are representational .
Figure Drawing - The process of drawing the human body in its various shapes and positions, usually
from a live model, is called figure drawing .
Figura Serpintina - Figura serpentina is an Italian term used to charecterise the twisted, convoluted figures
of Mannerist sculpture .
Form - Form is the physical manifestation of anything. In art it refers to the reality or illusion of reality in
the work of art; the visible aspect of the body .
Formal / Formalism - In art, formal describes those works which are concerned with an order and a
conscious organisation of the elements .
Found Object – An object used in a piece of work that is stumbled upon— see assemblage.
Fresco Paintings - Painting done on wet plaster .
Genre - Genre is a term used in art history and art criticism for paintings depicting scenes from daily life .
Gesso - Gesso was traditionally a powdered form of calcium carbonate and is commonly used in art . It is
now acrylic paint used to prepare or prime a surface.
Glaze - Glaze is a technical term for a translucent and transparent film or layer of colour or paint applied to
a completely dry underlayer of colour or paint.
Graffito - Graffito is a technique whereby a layer of paint or plaster is laid over a dry underlayer, and while
it is still wet, lines are incised so that the contrasting coloured underlayer is exposed .
Harmony - In art, harmony is the combination or adptation of parts, elements or related things, so as to
form a consistent and orderly whole. A principle of design.
Hatching - In art, hatching is a drawing or etching process in which tonal effects are achieved by using
closely placed parallel lines .
Highlight - In art, the term highlight refers the area of an object where the light effects is most intense .
Horizon Line - Horizon line is the line at which earth and sky appear to meet .
Hue - Hue is one the three main attributes of perceived colour and is the aspect of colour described as red,
yellow, blue etc.
Immitationalism: In Aesthetic theory, immitationalism refers to rendering as close to a perfect likeness as
possible. See also Formalism and Emotionalism.
Impasto Painting Technique - Impasto is a painting technique where the paint is laid very thick on the
painting surface .
Intaglio Graphics - The essence of this form of graphics ( as against relief graphics ) is that the block does
Kinetic Sculpture- A sculpture that moves.
Kitsch - Maudlin, overdone work. Over sentimental, designed to appeal to unsophisticated tastes. The word
kitsch applies to many mass-produced works . Almost cool again (lava lamps and smoking jackets).
Line - In art line is one of the pictorial elements. Line is a stroke or mark long in proportion to its width,
made with a pen, a tool, etc. upon a surface .
Linocut - Linocut is a printmaking technique in art where a sheet of linoleum is used as the relief surface .
Linseed Oil - Linseed oil is oil from flax seed. It is the most common medium for oil painting.
Mannerism - Historically the word mannerism refers to a style in Italian art during the sixteenth century .
Maquette -, A maquette is a small preliminary model for a work of sculpture .
Medium - In art, medium is the means in which a painting or sculpture is executed, for example, oil, water,
bronze .
Mixed Media - Mixed media in art refers to a work of art which was created by using a combination of
more than one medium .
Model - In art, the word model refers to the object that is observed and painted. Model usually refers to the
nude human figure .
Modelling - 3-D Modelling in art is a process by which the forms of a sculpture are built up piece by piece
out of a plastic material like clay, wax or plaster .
Montage - Montage is a pictorial technique in which a picture is formed by applying separate images in
parts or in layers to form a total image .
Monochromatic : a single color and it's tints and shades
Monumental - Monumental refers to something that is massive, permanent or vast .
Mosaic - Mosaic is a technique of arranging fragments ( glass, marble etc. ) called tesserae in a bed of fine
cement .
Movement - In sculpture, movement refers to the internal tensions existing among the parts of a sculpture
.Narrative Painting and Sculpture - Narrative painting and sculpture refers to art in which storytelling is
the chief reason for the work's existence .
Naturalism - By definition naturalism means aspiring to be like a natural object . See Caravaggio.
Negative Space- The space around objects. A good tool when establishing proportions while drawing.
Optical Painting - Optical painting is painting that is concerned with illusionism, perception, and the
physiological effects of colour . Op Art.
Outline - In art, the term outline refers to the lines real or apparent by which a figure (or shape) is defined
in or bounded by the plane of vision; the sum of these lines forming the contour of the figure .
Painterly - Painterly paintings rely on brush strokes and impasto .
Pointillism - Pointillism is an art term coined by art critics in the 1880's and describes a painting created by
small distinct points of primary colour placed in a such a manner as to create the impression of a wide
selection of secondary colours .
Palette - Palette is a surface on which an artist sets out and mixes colours .
Palette Knife - A Palette knife is a flexible blade used for mixing oil paints on the palette .
Pastel - Pastel is a stick of powdered pigment mixed with a binder such as gum .
Pattern - Pattern describes a unit that repeats itself without variation . Principle of Design.
Perspective - Representing the three dimensionality and depth on a two-dimensional surface .
Pigment - Pigment gives colour to paint. Pigment is a coloured substance either mineral, vegetable, or
synthetic .
Positive Form - Positive form in art relates to the solid pieces of material that displace or inhabit space .
Priming - Priming is the term used to describe any method which insulates fibres of canvas or board from
oil or oil pigment .
Proportion - Proportion is the relation of one part to another and the relation of these parts to the whole
.Ready Mades - Ready Mades are associated with the Dada movement and can be manufactured objects or
found objects .
Realism - In the visual arts the term realism is used to describe art work that depict subjects as they appear
in everyday life .
Relief - Relief is a carving, moulding or stamping in which the design projects from the background plane .
Rhythm - In art, rhythm is allied to movement and relies on repeating units, patterns, shapes, curves etc
.Principle of Design.
Rule of Thirds- A design concept, also important in photography, which considers areas 1/3 of the way
across a picture plane(in both directions) more visually pleasing (a picture is worth a thousand words for
this one).
Schema - Schema is a synopsis, outline, diagram, general type, essential form, conception of what is
common to all members of a class .
Scumble - Scumble is a painting technique whereby opaque colours are dragged over an underpainting
deliberately allowing parts of the underlayer to show through . Rembrandt.
Shape - In art, shape is any area on a flat two-dimensional surface .Element of Art.
Silhouette - In art, silhouette is a profile of form showing outline only, all inside being black or obscure .
Sketch - In art a sketch is a quick note of the essential features of a picture or a sculpture or drawing to be
carried out later with the missing details supplied .
Space - Can be actual or an illusion. In painting it is usually the latter .
Stretcher - In painting, a stretcher is a wooden frame on which the canvas support for a painting is
stretched .
Structure - In art, the term structure pertains to the arrangement and mutual relation of the part of the
body, object or composition .
Study - In art, a study is a carefully worked out drawing, painting or maquette of the proposed art work .
Symbol - A symbol is something that stands for, represents, or denotes something else .
Terracotta - Terracotta is an italian word, meaning baked earth .
Tertiary Colour - In painting a tertiary colour is created by mixing a primary colour with a secondary
colour .
Texture - In practical art work the term texture has at least three possible meanings .
Thumbnail Sketch: a small, quick drawing used to get your ideas on paper
Three-dimensional - Three-dimensional refers to something having depth, or composed of elements
arrange at various distances from the spectator .
Tonal Range - In art, tonal range is the range from light through to dark of an object or of an entire
painting .
Tromp L'oeil - Tromp L'oeil refers to a painting in which every device is used to create the illusion of total
reality .
Underpainting - Underpainting refers to any painting on the ground or support which is of significance in
the build-up of the painting .
Value- The lightness or darkness of an color.
Varnish - Varnish is an oil-soluble or spirit-soluble resin that will harden into a transparent and colourless
film (used to yellow with age).
Wash – Wash is similar to a glaze but using a water based medium (acrylic, watercolour).
Watercolour Painting - Watercolour painting uses paints made of colourants suspended in water .
Adjectives for the Elements of Art and Principles of Design
Line
path of movement
active - passive
bold - delicate
flowing - light
straight - curved
thick - thin
dark - light
broken continuous
geometric organic
implied - actual
precise - irregular
contour - outline
calligraphy
caricature
Shape/Form
2D-3D
solid - void
concave - convex
positive - negative
figure - ground
ambiguous complete
organic geometric - freeform
circle - sphere
square - cube
triangle - pyramidcone
Space
2D-3D
positive – negative
open – closed
filled – empty
actual – implied
interior – exterior
scale
orientation
spacing
illusion of space
systems of
perspective
Balance
symmetrical
asymmetrical
radial
Rhythm,
Movement
types
regular
alternating
progressive
flowing
jazzy
dominant path of
movement
vertical
horizontal
diagonal
curving
Proportion
life-size
monumental
miniature
Golden Section or
Mean
scale
caricature
normal –
exaggerated –
idealized
Emphasis
by dominance
by focal point
by center of
interest
by isolation
by size
by contrast
by converging
lines
Light/Color/Value
Visible color
spectrum
Color wheel
shading
contrast
chiaroscuro
tint
shade
hue
pigment
primary
secondary
intermediate
neutral
color interactions
simultaneous
contrast
color schemes
warm
cool
neutral
monochromatic
analogous
complementary
split complementary
triad
intensity
bright – dull
high key – low key
optical (or
atmospheric)
symbolic
Pattern
repetition
motif (2D)
module (3D)
allover
Texture
actual (tactual) –
visual
simulated –
invented
matte – semi-gloss
– glossy
techniques
impasto
rubbings
frottage
tromp l’oeil
Unity and
Variety
by repetition
by simplicity
by harmony
by theme and
variation
by proximity
by continuity
by contrast
Colour:
SECONDARY : green, orange & violet ( mix primary colors)
TERTIARY (INTERMEDIATE) : red-orange, yellow-orange, blue green, etc.
ADVANCING COLORS : colors that appear to come towards you (warm colors)
WARM COLORS : red, orange & yellow
COOL COLORS : blue ,violet & green
RECEDING COLORS : colors that appear to be in the background
TRIADIC : colors that create a triangle on the color wheel
ANALOGOUS (Harmony) :colors that are next to each other on the color wheel
COMPLEMENTARY : colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel
INTENSITY : brightness or dullness of a color
OPAQUE : colors that you can't see through
TRANSPARENT : colors that you can see through
VALUE : darkness or a lightness of a color
TINT : color and white
TONE : color and grey
SHADE : color and black
MONOCHROMATIC : a single color and it's tints and shades
PALETTE : colors you paint with or the thing that you put the colors on
MOOD : emotion portrayed within an artwork