File
Media
What artists use to create
Media
Artists rely on a wide variety of media and tools to create their work
Some materials have been used for centuries, while others are still fairly new innovations
More media
What the artist is trying to get across can be helped to determine by their use of media
For example, a baseball player wouldn’t need the same type of equipment as a sous chef to be successful
Main types of media
Drawing
Painting
Printmaking
Sculpture
Crafts
Drawing media
Pencil
Charcoal
Conte
Pen
Ink
Pastel
Pencil
The pencil is widely used, due in part to its versatility
Modern pencils date back to the roman stylus, a pointed tool that made delicate lines
Artists using this medium can use a variety of lines to create
charcoal
The soft, grainy quality of charcoal lends itself to the artist for help with blending and subtle shading.
Can be compressed, or vine
Conte
Conte crayons, or pastels, are a versatile tool for creating bold, bright marks
Conte goes on smoother than charcoal, but seems a lot easier than its close relative oil pastels
Ink
For Chinese and
Japanese artists, ink was the preferred medium.
Ink can be used neat, or diluted. The more water, the less dark to create areas of soft shades
Shading is not necessary for a lot of ink drawings, however, bc lines typically have a lot of strength
Pen
Pen is a preferred medium for cartoonists and draftsmen.
Pen is a type of ink, but applied in a solid form of a handheld pen rather than with a brush
Pastel
Pastels are the grown up version of sidewalk chalk
Pastels can be made of chalk or oil based
Chalk pastels are similar to charcoal, whereas oil pastels are very vibrant and textured
Painting Media
Fresco
Tempera
Oil
Watercolor
Acrylic
Collage
Fresco
Fresco is one of the oldest, and most difficult, types of painting media to master
Used to decorate walls and ceilings
Surface covered with plaster, then pigment is added and the pigment bonds with the lime in the plaster
No oopsies!
Tempera
Tempera is like kinder-paint
Very versatile, easy to use and blend
Egg yolk as binder
layering
Oil
The dominant medium of
European art
Very vibrant/ rich
Colors bound with linseed oil and pigment
Very long to dry
Watercolor
Used since ancient
Egypt, only recently did watercolors make it big
Used to be used as a sketching medium before a finished painting
Excellent coverage
Acrylic
Latter part of the 20 th century, popularity increased
Uses polymer emulsions that stick to almost any surface, not relegated to canvas only
Easy to use, quick cleanup
Can be used heavy like oils, or in a wash to create watercolor effect
Collage
Collage begun by
Picasso and
Braque in France
Newest form of the painting medias
Pasting papers to a ground
Shape based
Printmaking Media
Woodcut
Intaglio
Linocut
Lithograph
Serigraph
**** began as a way to furnish art to the masses at reasonable prices
Woodcut
Relief print
Drawn image on block of wood, then cut away the negative space.
Roll the wood with ink, and voila!
Intaglio
Basically, opposite of woodcut
Made from lines or crevices within a plate
To produce design, the printmaker would scratch into a metal plate either by etching
(using acid) or scratching (drypoint tool) or burin tool.
Image filled with ink, wiped clean, then transferred on damp paper
Linocut
Relief printmaking but with linoleum, not wood
Ink rolled over the linoleum with a brayer, then transferred to paper
Lithograph
Difficulty level- max
Design drawn on limestone slab with a greasy crayon or ink
Water will not adhere to the crayon or ink put down
Ink spread over the surface, sticking to the greasy crayon put down
Image ready to be reproduced on paper
Serigraph
Silkscreen printing
Screen stretched on frame
Make stencil, then set stencil on surface to be printed
Ink is then spread on the screen that is over the stencil, leaving only the image left on the surface once the print is complete
Mechanical, commercial
Sculpture Media
Bronze
Steel
Wood
Marble
Plastic
Sculpture can be created a multitude of ways, additive, subtractive, modeling (forming with hands) or casting (producing from mold)
Bronze
Ancient Egyptians,
Chinese, Greeks,
Ife and Benin peoples were experts at bronze casting
The molten metal is poured into a cast bearing its impression
Steel
Sheet steel can be cut and welded to create sculpture
Can be polished, painted or rusted for effect
Wood
Wood is very versatile
Can be carved, nailed, filed, drilled, sanded, glued, painted, burned….etc
Warm feeling, low cost
Marble
Excellent sculpting material bc it can be polished to high gloss or left rough
Greek ideals of perfection
Elegance, richness
Plastic
Can be melted and casted, or heated and added together
More of a new concept
Can be painted and added to
Craft Media
Fibers
Glass
Clay
Furniture
Mosaics
Metalwork
Art as utility
Fibers
Early process of twining developed from a need for containers, clothing and household objects
Art as utility
Glass
Glass being so common today, its hard to think of it as being a precious material!
Egyptians used glass in jewelry, important part of King Tuts burial mask
Held perfume or other valuable oils in ancient times
Clay
Formed on potters wheel, hand sculpted or pinched
Art as utility
Furniture
Like glass, usually taken for granted!
Shaker chairs, antique furniture worth a lot
Veneer- intricate designs made with thin slices of wood
Mosaics
Bits of glass, marble, ceramic tile, pieces of wood or even seeds
Walls of churches lined with mosaics
Metalwork
Working in gold, silver, copper, bronze, iron, steel and aluminum
Evidence of competence of craftspersons
Review
Jeopardy!
Writing prompt:
What is a portrait?
Does it have to look real to be considered good?
Provide me with two examples from famous artists.
Find and critique an artwork that has interesting balance.
Include title, year, and artist name.
