More Artists Technical Terms And What They Actually Mean!
March 23, 2009
By Anna Meenaghan
There seems to be an abundance of these to plough through, so I will continue writing the articles at least until we have covered many of the basic terms.
Opaque - If your paint covers your surface concealing the underlay, we say it is opaque. Opaque is just the opposite of transparent. You will find that you may need to make some pigments opaque, only because the pigment is fairly transparent. This can be achieved by adding a bit of white to it, or adding a binding agent such as beeswax.
Masking - Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Well, artists love it. This is a fluid you can apply to your canvas to protect certain parts of your art or to keep the ground colour. It is like a protection method really. This enables you then to paint anywhere else that is not masked and there is no fear you will overlap. It will also keep your painting nice and tidy and any shaping will stay well mapped out.
Stippling - This method is actually making paint marks and this work is done with a stiff bristled brush which really needs to be pretty thick. You then dip the brush in the paint and you need to hold it at right angles to the surface of your picture. Then you can apply light, short dabs to it. This leaves an impression of roughish, circular type, of paint flecks.
Scumbling - what a funny word this really is! Sounds crazy this technique, what is it? Here you lay a paint layer of semi opaque or opaque over the underneath layer, but by doing this you don't completely hide the layer of another colour beneath it.
Gum Arabic - which comes from Acacia trees which grow in Australia, Asia and Africa. It is a medium which usually comes in liquid form. Sometimes it can be bought in a powder form or in a lump. This gum is one that is water soluble. This is often used as a binding agent for ceramics. More often then not, this solution is used with tempera and water colours.
Gouache, or Poster Paint, is an opaque water colour. It can be applied to silk, paper, or card, but it does need diluting first. This has a matt finish, leaving no brush marks and dries fairly rapidly. You can use this for oils and acrylics as a preparation paint. It is pretty reasonable in price and is easily available to obtain.
Terracotta - the name itself originates from Italy. The colour of this can be an ochre or a reddish brown. It is a clay which is of a roughish consistency and porous too! Terracotta is a clay which can be fired. This is used to manufacture many items besides pots, ornaments, tiles and bricks to name a few.
So you will realise it is used worldwide. Then you have the famous terracotta figures going back to the Bronze Age in Greece. Terracotta is not usually glazed, probably because of the roughness of the material itself. Today it is still popular and used widely for pottery.
Opaque - If your paint covers your surface concealing the underlay, we say it is opaque. Opaque is just the opposite of transparent. You will find that you may need to make some pigments opaque, only because the pigment is fairly transparent. This can be achieved by adding a bit of white to it, or adding a binding agent such as beeswax.
Masking - Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Well, artists love it. This is a fluid you can apply to your canvas to protect certain parts of your art or to keep the ground colour. It is like a protection method really. This enables you then to paint anywhere else that is not masked and there is no fear you will overlap. It will also keep your painting nice and tidy and any shaping will stay well mapped out.
Stippling - This method is actually making paint marks and this work is done with a stiff bristled brush which really needs to be pretty thick. You then dip the brush in the paint and you need to hold it at right angles to the surface of your picture. Then you can apply light, short dabs to it. This leaves an impression of roughish, circular type, of paint flecks.
Scumbling - what a funny word this really is! Sounds crazy this technique, what is it? Here you lay a paint layer of semi opaque or opaque over the underneath layer, but by doing this you don't completely hide the layer of another colour beneath it.
Gum Arabic - which comes from Acacia trees which grow in Australia, Asia and Africa. It is a medium which usually comes in liquid form. Sometimes it can be bought in a powder form or in a lump. This gum is one that is water soluble. This is often used as a binding agent for ceramics. More often then not, this solution is used with tempera and water colours.
Gouache, or Poster Paint, is an opaque water colour. It can be applied to silk, paper, or card, but it does need diluting first. This has a matt finish, leaving no brush marks and dries fairly rapidly. You can use this for oils and acrylics as a preparation paint. It is pretty reasonable in price and is easily available to obtain.
Terracotta - the name itself originates from Italy. The colour of this can be an ochre or a reddish brown. It is a clay which is of a roughish consistency and porous too! Terracotta is a clay which can be fired. This is used to manufacture many items besides pots, ornaments, tiles and bricks to name a few.
So you will realise it is used worldwide. Then you have the famous terracotta figures going back to the Bronze Age in Greece. Terracotta is not usually glazed, probably because of the roughness of the material itself. Today it is still popular and used widely for pottery.
About the Author:
Looking for more fantastic "How To" guides on art? The author, contemporary artist Anna Meenaghan, has a lot more on her online art community website. As a contemporary painter myself, I have realised that they are of great use and not just to myself. So why not visit her site and find out for yourself. Thought by Michael Bruckner.
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