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Glossary of Painting and Drawing Terms

Learn basic terms describing fine wall-hung art

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Acrylic A clear plastic used as a vehicle in paints and as a casting material in sculpture. Noted for its quick drying and luminosity.

Charcoal A drawing pencil or crayon made from a black, porous carbonaceous material. Also, charred twigs of willow or vine used by artists because of the various degrees of value achieved when the charcoal is smudged. Collage A picture built up wholly or partly from pieces of paper, cloth, or other material stuck on to the canvas or other ground.

Conté A proprietary name for synthetic black, red or brown chalk. Nicolas Conté invented the modern lead pencil.

Egg tempera A water-base paint made with egg yolk binder.

Encaustic Paint made from pigment mixed with melted wax and fixed by heat after application on the surface.

Fresco (Ital. fresh) Wall-painting on plaster with a water-based medium. True fresco (buon fresco) is one of the most permanent forms of wall decoration because the pigment is applied while the plaster is still damp.

Glazing The process of applying a transparent layer of oil paint over a solid one so that the color of the first is profoundly modified.

Gold leaf (Also Silver leaf) Gold (or silver) beaten into extremely thin sheets; used for gilding.

Impasto The application of thick layers of paint. When paint is so heavily applied that it stands up with the tracks of the brush evident, it is 'heavily impasted'.

Naïve art An art form going back centuries through Chagall and Rousseau to peasant art and primitive art. A childlike, primitive depiction of life.

Oil A paint in which a drying oil is the vehicle. Oil color is more easily mixed than acrylic color.

Pastel A combination of pure pigment and binder forming permanent-colored sticks; noted for colors which go from soft to brilliant. When the ground is completely covered with pigment, the work is considered a pastel painting; leaving much of the ground exposed produces a pastel sketch.

Plein air (Fr. open air) Referring to landscapes painted out of doors with the intention of catching the impression of the open air.

Watercolor A painting compound of water-soluble pigment:

transparent: paint which acts like stain, producing additional colors when one is painted over another; white is produced by the paper's white surface.

gouache: opaque watercolors where white is produced by the application of pigment.


Originally appeared in
The Collector’s Guide to Santa Fe and Taos - Volume 11


Related Pages

Glossary of Ceramic and Clay Terms article
Glossary of Photography Terms article
Glossary of Prints and Original Graphics Terms article

Mixed Media Paintings article
White Gloves: Behind the Scenes . . . article
Works of Art on/of Paper article


Collector’s Resources

Albuquerque

Dennis Liberty 125 Green Valley Road NW | 505-345-3254
Ralph Greene rem By Appointment Only | 505-243-9267
Galeria de Corrales 3923 Corrales Road | 505-890-4929
Susan J. Zimmerman rem By Appointment in Corrales | 505-280-4755
Mary E. Carter By Appointment in Placitas | 505-867-5832
Ron Olguin rem PO Box 564, Isleta Pueblo, NM | 869-0754
Park Fine Art pic 20 First Plaza NW, Suite 65 | 505-764-1900
Anne Sandry pic Showing at Hanging Tree Gallery in Albuquerque | 505-292-2977

Elsewhere in New Mexico

Mimbres Region Arts Council rem 1201 N. Pope St | 575-538-2505
Roswell Museum & Art Center rem 100 West 11th Street | 575-624-6744
M. PhillipÕs Fine Art Gallery 221 N. Main St | 575-525-1367
Olivia Medina rem Studio By Appointment | 575-649-0376
Josie's Framery pic 2917 Sudderth Drive | 575-257-4156

Santa Fe

Pablo Milan Gallery rem 209 Galisteo Street | 505-820-1285
Robert Livsey Wells rem InArt Santa Fe - 219 Delgado St | 505-466-3974
Arroyo 200 Canyon Road | 505-988-1002
DR Fine Art rem 123 Galisteo Street |
Encaustic Art Institute rem 18 County Road 55A - Cerrillos | 505-424-6487
McLarry Modern rem 225 Canyon Road | 505-983-8589
Martha Putnam Art | Design rem Represented by Adieb Khadoure Fine Art 613 Canyon Road | 408-828-3204
The Gallery Collection at La Posada Santa Fe pic 330 East Palace Avenue | 505-954-9668
GVG CONTEMPORARY rem 202 Canyon Road | 505-982-1494
David Richard Contemporary rem 130 Lincoln Ave | 505-983-9555
Alan Barnes Fine Art rem 402 Old Santa Fe Trail - next to The Pink | 505.989.3599
S R Brennen Gallery rem 555 Canyon Road | 505-428-0274
Santa Fe Art Collector rem 221 West San Francisco Street | 505-988-5545
Beals & Abbate Fine Art rem 713 Canyon Road | 505-438-8881
Charlie Andrijanoff By Appointment in Santa Fe | 505-819-8417
Cardona-Hine Gallery rem Main Truchas Road, Truchas, NM | 505-689-2253
Gallery Chartreuse rem 216 Washington Ave | 505-992-3391
Chuck Chroma rem Firegod Gallery - 217 East Palace Ave | 303-956-9583
The Matthews Gallery pic 669 Canyon Road | 505-992-2882
Paula Fasken rem By appointment in Santa Fe | 505-995-8759
Gallery 822 rem 822 Canyon Road | 505-989-1700
GF CONTEMPORARY rem 707 Canyon Road | 505-983-3707
Greenberg Fine Art rem 205 Canyon Road | 505-955-1500
InArt Santa Fe rem 219 Delgado just off Canyon Road | 505-983-6537
Marji Gallery rem 217 W. Water St | 505-983-1012
Michael Henington Fine Art Gallery rem 416 Agua Fria | 505-474-0791
Pena Studio Gallery pic 235 Don Gaspar Ave | 505-820-2286
Pippin Meikle Fine Art pic 236 Delgado | 505-992-0400
Lori Snable rem 607 Paseo del la Loma | 505-795-1212
Valdes Art Workshops pic 1006 Marquez Place | 505-982-0017
The William & Joseph Gallery rem 727 Canyon Road | 505-982-9404
Winterowd Fine Art pic 701 Canyon Road | 505-992-8878
Nausika Richardson rem County Road 0064 #30, Dixon | 505-579-4573
Leyba & Ingalls Arts rem 315 N. Bullard | 575-388-5725
Molly Ramolla Fine Art & Framing 307 N. Texas | 575-538-5538
Seedboat Center for the Arts rem 214 W. Yankie | 575-534-1136

Taos

Michael D Carter rem 3090 Juantita Lane | 575-770-3521
Pamela Ryan Busick rem | 575.751.7286
Baumann Gallery pic 203A Ledoux Street | 575-758-9119
Envision Gallery rem 1405 Paseo del Pueblo Norte | 575-751-1344
Michael McCormick Gallery pic 106-C Paseo del Pueblo Norte | 575-758-1372
Patti Tronolone 326-A Sanistevan Lane | 575-770-9463
Walden Fine Art pic 125 Kit Carson | 575-758-4575
Wilder Nightingale Fine Art rem 119 Kit Carson Road | 575-758-3255
Phil Epp rem 6805 E 1st St Newton, KS | 316-283-8027

RESOURCE LISTS UPDATED WHEN VIEWED | ARTICLE CONTENT REVISED September 24, 2007

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