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 A

Abstraction – Simplification or alteration of forms, to present the essence of the object people or places.

Acrylic paint – Pigments mixed with an acrylic base.

Active – Expressive movement 

Aesthetic experience – Your personal interaction with a work of art.

Aesthetic judgment – Values used in judging a work of art involving reasons for finding a work of art beautiful or satisfying.

Aesthetics - The philosophy or study of the nature of beauty and art.

Aggressive line – A line that is strongly emphasized

Analogous colors – Colors that are adjacent to one another on the color wheel

Arbitrary color – Color chosen by an artist to express feelings.

Armature - Framework for supporting material used in sculpting.

Asymmetrical balance –Balance using unlike objects have equal visual weight or eye attraction

B

Background – The area of a work of art that appears farthest away

Balance – When elements in a work of art seem to be weighted evenly throughout

Base line – Imaginary line on which an object lies

Binder – A liquid that hold together the grains of pigment.

Blending – A technique of shading through smooth, gradual application of dark values

Blind contour – Line drawing in which the artist never looks at the paper. 

Broad strokes –Wide drawn markings achieved by using the side of a drawing tool like charcoal, graphite, pastels etc.

Brayer – Roller with a handle used to apply ink to a surface

C

Calligraphy - A method of beautiful handwriting.

Canvas – Rough cloth on which a painting is made.

Caricature – Drawing that exaggerates prominent features or characteristics of the subject.

Cartoon -A comic drawing that simplifies of exaggerates a person or event.

Carving – Shaping wood, stone, or marble by cutting and chipping.

Cast shadows – The shadow cast by a form onto a nearby surface.

Central axis – A dividing line that works like the point of balance.

Ceramics – Art of creating pottery and sculpture with clay. Pottery in fired in a kiln to make it stronger.

Chiaroscuro – In drawing or painting, the use of strong contrast between light and dark, and the gradual transition of values, producing the effect of modeling.

Cityscape – Painting or drawing of city streets and building. 

Clay – Earth that is used in ceramics, it is wet and hardens after drying or heating.

Coil – Long roll joined into a circle or spiral.  Clay coils are used to make pottery.

Collage – A work of art in which materials, such as paper, cloth or found materials, are glued onto a surface.

Color – Refers to the character of a surface derived form the response of the vision to the light reflected from that surface.

Color scheme – Plan for organizing colors.

Color spectrum – The effect of light passing through a prism to create a rainbow.

Color triad – Three colors space equally apart on the color wheel.

Color Wheel - A circular arrangement of hues based on a color theory.

Complimentary colors – Colors that are directly opposite each other on the color wheel.

Composition – The organization or arrangement of visual elements such as line, spaces, color in a work of art.

Contour – The outer edges of any three-dimensional form that is defined by line.

Contour lines – Lines that define the edges of shapes

Contrast – Extreme differences in colors, values, textures and other elements.

Cool colors – Colors that suggest coolness and seem to recede from the viewer.

Crayons – Pigments held together with wax and molded into sticks.

Cross-hatching – Using crossed lines to create shading.

Cubism – Art that uses two-dimensional geometric shapes to depict three-dimensional organic forms.

Curvilinear – stresses the use of curved lines.

Curved lines – Lines that are always bending and change directions gradually.

D

Design – The overall conception of a work of art.

Dense – Compact, solid and heavy, the opposite of soft.

Diagonal lines – Lines that slant.

Dimension - Amount of space an object takes up in one direction.

Distortion – To change or deform something from its normal shape and to it make less realistic.

Dominant – A part of a composition appears more important that other parts.

E

Elements of Art – Basic components used by the artist to create works of art.  The elements are line, shape, form, space, color, value and texture.

Elongated - Streaked out in length.

Emphasis – When an artist combines contrasting colors, shapes or sizes to place greater attention on a certain part of the work of art.

Exaggeration – Enlargements or distortions of elements in a work of art.

Expressionism – A movement of art that communicates strong emotional and personal feelings.

Eye level – An imaginary horizontal line that is even with the height of your eyes.

Figure – The human form or any recognizable object or nonrepresentational shape. 

F

Fire – To apply heat to harden pottery. 

Fixative – A chemical that is sprayed over art works to prevent smearing and to help charcoal, graphite or pastels to adhere to the paper. 

Found objects - Any natural or man made object found and used in a work  or art.

Focal Point – The first part of a work to attract the attention of the viewer.

Foreground – Area of a picture that appears nearest to the viewer.

Foreshortening – To shorten an object to make it look as if it extends backwards into space

Form – A three-dimensional shape.

Free-form shape – Irregular and uneven shapes. 

Freestanding – Three-dimensional art that is surrounded on all sides by space.

G

Gallery – A place where art is exhibited and sold.

Geometric shapes – Precise shapes that can be described using mathematic a formulas, like square, triangle, circle etc.

Gesture – An expressive e movement.

Gesture drawing – a quick drawing that captures the gestures and movements of the body. 

Glaze – A thin glossy coating fired into pottery. 

Graphic artist – An artist who designs, illustrates and creates any know of art for printed reproduction.

Ground – Any surface on which a picture is drawn or painted such as canvas, paper, cardboard, etc.

Grattage – Technique of scratching into wet paint with tools to create different textures.

Grid – Pattern of intersecting vertical and horizontal lines.

H

Hard edge – Crisp clean edges created by using flat even values or colors.

Harmony – Principle of art that stresses the similarities of all parts of a composition.

Hatching – A shading techniques using a series of fine parallel lines

Highlights – The area of a form that reflects the most light. 

Horizon line – The line at which the sky and earth meet.

Hue – The name of a color.

I

Implied line – Line that is suggested by a shade in color or value.

Impression – Mark of imprint made by pressure.

Impressionism – A style of painting that emphasized the immediate effects of sunlight.

Intensity – The brightness and dullness of a color.

Intermediate color – A color made by mixing a primary and a secondary color.

 

K

Kiln – Furnace for firing clay

Kinetic sculpture – a sculpture that actually moves in space.

L

Landscape – Painting or drawing in which natural land scenery is the main feature.

Layering – A technique in which art media are used over one another.

Layout – The way items are arranged on the page

Line – An element of art that is a continuous mark made with a tool as it is drawn across a surface.

Linear Perspective – a technique that created the illusion of depth on a flat surface. 

Local color – The natural color of and object as it appears to the naked eye.

Logos - Identifying symbols

Loom – Machine or frame for weaving

Low-key painting - Painting using many shades of the dark values of a color. 

M

Mass – The illusion of weight of density of and object.

Mat - the cardboard boarder that frames a picture

Matte surface – Surface that reflected a soft dull light 

Mechanical drawing – A drawing made by using compasses or other drafting tools

Media – Plural of medium

Medium – Material used to make art

Middle ground – Area in a picture between the foreground and the background

Mobile – Moving sculpture in which shapes are balanced and arranged on wire arms and suspended from the ceiling to move freely in the air current.

Module – A three-dimensional motif

Monochrome – One color

Monochromatic - A color scheme using only one color and its values (tints and shades) of that color

Mosaics – Pictures made with small cubes of colored marble, glass, or tile and set into cement.

Motif – A visual element that dominates and is repeated to unify a work or art.

Movement – A principle of design that creates the illusion of action.

Museum – A place where art is collected for public viewing

Mural – Painting on a wall or ceiling 

N

Narrative art – a Form of art that tells a story

Negative space – The area surrounding positive space

Neutrals – white, gray or black

Nonobjective – Art work without recognizable natural objects.  The images are produced from an artist imagination.

O

Oil paint – A slow drying paint made b y mixing color pigments in an oil basee

One point perspective – Perspective in which all parallel lines converge at a single point on the horizon or eye level line

Opaque – A material that does not let light pass through

Organic – Free and irregular forms that resemble living things

Outline – The line around the outer edge of a form to show its overall shape

Overlapping – Placing one object in front of another to create depth in a work of art.

P

Palette – A tray for mixing paints

Parallel lines – Lines that move to the same direction and always stay the same distance apart

Pastels – Pigment held together with gum and molded into sticks

Pattern –An arranged repetition of forms or design or a combination of both

Perspective - A technique used to create the illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on the two-dimensional surface of a picture plane

Photography – A technique of capturing optical images on film

Picture plane – The actual two dimensional surface that a drawing is made

Pigment – Finely powdered coloring material used in painting and drawing media

Point of view - Angle from which the viewer sees an object

Portfolio – A collection of an artist works for presentation

Portrait – A picture that features a person or group

Positive shape – The shape of an object that is the subject in a work of art

Primary colors – Red, blue, and yellow; colors that cannot be created by mixing together other colors

Primitive art – Art that has imagery of folk art , it places emphasis on form and expression  and often looks child like.

Principles of Design – The rules used by artist to organize the elements of art to create a unified arrangement.  The principles are Balance, harmony, proportion, emphasis, movement, rhythm, unity, and variety.

Printmaking – The process of repeating a original image from one prepared surface to another.

Profile – Side view of a face.

Proportion – Size relationship of one part to another.

R

Radial balance – Balance were the design come out from a center point

Realism – An artist style were scenes are painted as they actually are.

Recede – To move back or become more distant.

Relief – Type of sculpture in which forms project from the background.

Repetition – Using the same element over and over in a composition.

Rhythm – The use of repetition of visual elements in a work of art.

S

Saturation – Intensity of a color

Scale – The relative size or weight of an object compared to a constant size or weight.

Score – To make neat, sharp creases in paper using a cutting tool

Sculpture – A three-dimensional work of art.

Seascape – A painting or drawing with the sea as the subject

Secondary colors – Colors made by mixing two primary colors; orange, green, and violet.

Shade – The dark value of a color made by adding black to it

Shading – Darkening an areas (shadows) to give the illusion of space and depth. 

Shadows – Shaded areas in a drawing

Shape – A two-dimensional enclosed space.  There are two types of shapes, geometric and organic.

Sketch – A quick drawing that may be a reference for later work

Sketchbook – A drawings notebook in which artist record thing they see or imagine

Soft-edge – Art were the edges of shapes have fuzzy or blurred outlines

Solvent – The liquid that controls the thickness or thinness of paint

Space – The area around and within an object. 

Spectrum – the complete range of color presented in a beam of light

Still life – An arrangement of non moving objects that are subject matter for a work of art

Stippling – A technique that used patterns of dots to create values and value gradation.

Structure - The construction element of a work of art’ the foundation of a composition

Style – The unique character contained in a work of art, period of time, or geographical location.  Style also means the artist’s expressive use of media to give their work a unique character. 

Subjective colors – Colors selected by the artist that have no connection with object reality

Subject matter – Things represented in a work of art

Symmetrical balance – A special type of formal balance in which two halves of a balanced composition are identical, mirror images of each other.

T

Tactile – A quality perceived through the sense of touch

Technique - The method skill of system of working with tools and materials

Tertiary colors – Colors created by mixing primary and secondary colors.

Texture – The element that refers to how something feels or how it would look if touched

Three-dimensional shape – A shape that has height, width and dept 

Thumbnail sketches - Small, quick sketches that record ideas and information for a final work of art

Tint – A light value of a color made by mixing the color with white

Tone – The lightness and darkness of a color

Tonality – Arrangement of colors in a painting so that one color dominates the work of art

Tooth – The texture of a sheet of paper

Translucent – Quality if a material that allow light to pass through

Tromp L’oeil – French tern for trick-the –eye. It is a illusion of seeing a three-dimensional object painted on a flat surface.  The viewer often wanders if what the see is real.

Two-dimensional – An area defined by length and width

U

Unity – The wholeness and oneness of a work of art

V

Value – Refers to the darkness or lightness of a color or area

Value scale – The range from white through gray to black

Vanishing point – The point on the horizon or eye level line where all receding parallel lines converge

Variety – The use of many different elements in a composition

Vertical lines – Lines that straight up and down

W

Warm colors – Colors that suggest warmth; and seem to move toward the viewer

Wash – the application of ink or paint thinned with water

Watercolor paint – Transparent pigment mixed with water

Weaving – Art of making fabric by interlacing two sets of parallel thread on a loom

Z

Zigzag lines – lines formed by short sharp turns

GLOSSARY