Art Tools & Techniques
A porous black solid, consisting of an amorphous form of carbon, obtained as a residue when wood, bone, or other organic matter is heated in the absence of air.
Artists' paint made with a water-soluble binder such as gum arabic, and thinned with water, giving a transparency to the color
watercolor
This is a laying in of the action, form, and pose of a model/figure. Typical situations involve an artist drawing a series of poses taken by a model in a short amount of time, often as little as 10 seconds, or as long as 5 minutes.
gesture drawing
In art it refers to the main subject or areas of interest within a composition, or what the viewer is focusing on.
positive space
Also known as low-relief, originally stems from Italian phrase bass-relievo. Essentially this is a sculpture that is always projecting from its surrounding surface.
bas relief
_________ allows students to explore the creative interplay between language and visual elements. Sometimes called erasure poetry, it involves selectively obscuring words from a printed page to make a new composition.
Blackout Poetry
__________refers to the use of artistic elements such as line, texture, color, and form in the creation of artworks in a way that renders visual stability. It is one of the principles of organization of structural elements of art and design, along with unity, proportion, emphasis and rhythm.
balance
This artist said "through color, I have sought to concentrate on beauty and happiness, rather than on man’s inhumanity to man.”
Alma Woodsey Thomas
It is the foundation of a painting or drawing, applied onto the raw canvas, paper, or other support.
ground
This watercolor technique means that your paper is already wet and you are touching your paintbrush (with watercolor on it) to the paper. This will cause the watercolor to “bloom” or spread on your wet paper.
wet on wet
Drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and postures
figure drawing
______, one of the seven elements of art, deals with the lightness or darkness of a color
value
any structure, open or closed, having a definite shape and properties made up of lines, curves, and points.
geometric shapes
From the French meaning "to glue," this describes the technique of composing an artwork by gluing a wide range of materials - including pieces of paper, fabric, newspaper clippings, and sometimes ready made objects - to a surface.
collage
What are the three types of balance? Be sure to check all three.
radial, asymmetrical, symmetrical
What artist said this quote? “I decided to make my work more viscerally personal, reflecting the impact of my direct experience”
Howardena Pindell
An especially hard pencil, made of an admixture of graphite and clay that can be varied for different degrees of hardness. It is usually made in black, red, or brown and is used as a drawing medium in any combination of these colors
white conte crayon
This technique means that your paper is dry when you paint on the paper with watercolor. Your watercolor will not bloom on the paper or spread out, rather it will stay right where you put it.
dry surface
An element consisting of hues, of which there are three properties: hue, chroma or intensity, and value.
color
the carving is sunk below the level of the flat surface.
sunken relief
This is where an artist uses multiple media to create their artwork
mixed media
This means that the two halves of the work of art are different, however, try to create balance.
Asymmetrical balance
The term applied to new forms of abstract art developed by American painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning in the 1940s and 1950s
Abstract Expressionism
Also known as a putty rubber, is a tool for artists. It is usually made of a grey or white pliable material, such as rubber and resembles putty or chewing gum. It functions by absorbing and "picking up" graphite and charcoal particles, in addition to carbon and pastel marks.
kneadable eraser
In this technique you will use a clean brush to drop clean water droplets onto your painting. The droplets of water will lighten wherever they land and will dry lighter in those areas, too.
water drops
In art it describes the space surrounding the subject or the background, or the empty space around the subject.
negative space
The sculpture projects at least half or more of its natural circumference from the background
Literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm.
poetry
This is when both sides of a piece are equal
symmetrical balance
This artist exhibited her work at the White House three times.
Alma Woodsey Thomas
This technique involves layering and blending until no paper tooth shows through the colored pencil layers.
burnishing
In this technique, students will begin with a tissue/kleenex at their desk. Bunch up the tissue in your fingers. Once you have painted with the watercolor, gently press the tissue onto the painting, lift the tissue off, and you will see that much of the watercolor has come off onto the tissue. This technique is great for lightening an area, or creating a soft texture in the background.
tissue lift
All colors stem from the three ___________ colors: yellow, red, and blue
primary
an artistic form in which hard or plastic materials are worked into three-dimensional art objects
sculpture
a form of visual satire or humorous imitation that reinterprets a well-known image, style, or subject.
parody
This type of balance creates symmetry in several directions.
radial balance
A style of abstract painting where color is the subject itself.
color field painting
This watercolor technique acts as a resist of sorts. The area where it touches the paper will be lighter in color and it will push the watercolor pigment away and thus the lighter spot will be surrounded by a darker shade.
salt
A color plus white is a _______.
tint
___________is protected under fair use, especially in educational contexts—but it’s still good to credit the original artist and understand the ethical implications of reinterpretation.
This technique involves laying plastic wrap down over wet watercolor paint, forming it with your fingers a bit, and removing it once dry.
plastic wrap
These colors are derived from mixing equal amounts of two primary colors at a time.
secondary
This artist's most recognized pieces are mixed-media paintings on handmade paper featuring hole-punched dots, layered grids, and layered surfaces that introduce light and shadow.
Howardena Pindell
You will paint a shape and let it dry completely. Next you will paint another shape with a new color. Slightly overlap the new shape on top of the old. You should see the original shape and its color, through the new shape you created. What technique does this describe for watercolor?
transparency
A color plus black is a _________.
shade
This technique isn’t pretty or sought after much when using watercolor. When you see marks like this it usually indicates your brush needs more water as your paint is not spreading softy like it should. However, it can be used to describe the texture of a surface, like a tree for example.
dry brush
Also known as intermediate colors, are made by combining equal parts of primary and secondary colors.
tertiary colors
This technique can be done on a dry or wet surface. If done on a wet surface, the splattered paint will bloom and spread. If done on a dry surface, the splattered paint should stay where it lands without spreading/blooming.
splatter
This technique causes the paint to repel, pushing it away, while leaving a lighter color exposed.
alcohol drops
The basic concept is that you lay down some wax on your paper, paint over the wax, and the wax resists the watercolor leaving the white of the paper exposed.
wax resist
Paint first and then use ink to draw on top of it. Or draw something first then color it with watercolor.
pen & ink