Painting 1

Front 1

Contour Line

Back 1

The line that defines the outer limits of an object or a drwan or painted shape. The path of a moving point, that is a mark made by a tool or instrument as it is drawn across a surface.

Front 2

Local Color

Back 2

The color as seen in the objective world (green grass, blue sky, red barn).

Front 3

Medium, Media

Back 3

The material(s) and tool(s) used by the artist to create the visual elements perceived by the viewer.

Front 4

Paint Quality

Back 4

A reference to the way in which paint can enrich a surface though textural interest. The way in which paint is applied to the canvas surface.

Front 5

Picture Plane

Back 5

The actual flat surface on which the artist creates the pictorial image. In some cases, the picture plane can be considered a transparent plane of reference that establishes pictorial illusions of forms existing in a three dimensional space.

Front 6

Primary Color

Back 6

A fundamental color that cannot be broken down into any other colors. When primary colors are mixed they produce all of the remaining colors. THe primary colors are: red, blue and yellow.

Front 7

Proportion/Scale

Back 7

Comparison of the art elements, in terms of their porperties of size, quantity and degree of emphasis. Proportion refers to therelationship of formal elements to each other. Scale is established when proportional relationships of size are compared to a gauge or fidxed unit of measurement.

Front 8

Secondary Color

Back 8

A color produced by the mixture of two primary colors. The secondary colors are: orange, purple, green.

Front 9

Shadow, Shade, Shading

Back 9

The darker value on the surface of an object that gives the illusion that part of the form is blocked from the source of light.

Front 10

Shape

Back 10

An area that stands out from the space next to or around it because of a defined or implied boundary, or because of differences of value, color and texture.

Front 11

Value

Back 11

The relative degree of light and dark. The characteristic of color determined by light or dark, or the quantity of light reflected by color.

Front 12

Wash

Back 12

A method of applying paint in which there is a relatively small amount of pigment, compared to a freater amount of medium. The resulting effect is one of transparency, where the underlying surface can be seen.

Front 13

Surface/Support

Back 13

The outer or topmost boundary or layer of an object/The material providing a surface upon which an artist applies color, collage, etc. Also, holding up, as a base or column often does.

Front 14

Ground

Back 14

A surface to which paint is applied, or the material used to create that surface. A painting's ground is usually specially prepared on its support. Traditionally, for oil paint on canvas use a ground of oil and white pigment, and on wood surfaces either an oil ground or gesso.