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Here are a few more oil painting terms to add to my last blog post:
Scumbling: applying an uneven layer of paint over a thin, dry underpainting so that the first color shows through, creating an attractive effect of complex color. (you might see this used in a cloudy sky or the side of an otherwise drab building) Tonking: named after Professor Tonks (no, I'm not kidding), it is a method to remove excess paint by laying absorbent paper directly onto the painted canvas, pressing gently and evenly, and then carefully peeling off. Sgraffito: the Italian word for 'scratch', this technique involves using an implement to score into the paint, creating lines or scoring into the layers of paint. (example: creating wood grain effects on a table) Some artists use this method to sign their paintings, which is especially helpful if the paint is very thick. Crazing: (sounds like something you'd get while spending an evening tonking, honky-style...but, no.) This is the term for those fine lines and surface cracks you see on old paintings, due to the underpaint drying more slowly than the surface varnish, causing it to separate and crack. One of the challenges of creating a lasting painting is to understand and practice professional painting techniques. Fugitive Pigment: colors that fade or change under the influence of sunlight, heat, or other environmental conditions. Again, avoiding the sad fading or yellowing depends on the artist's knowledge and use of quality materials. Sfumato: Italian for 'smoke', this is painting in thin glazes to get a cloudy, hazy effect. You would see this mostly when the artist is trying to make things look far off in the distance. and, finally, Mahl Stick: is not the club you use when "crazed" after "tonking"! This is a wooden stick used by the artist to steady her arm while painting a more detailed area of the work. It's usually held on one end and propped against the easel, while the painting arm is rested on it, leaving that hand free and steady for detail work. Here's a fun challenge: can anyone make a sentence using all seven of these vocabulary words??! Thanks for reading my blog!!!
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Occasionally I throw around words in my blog that may be as unfamiliar to you as they were to me when I first encountered them in my art studies. I thought I might highlight a few with their definitions and give you a leg up on your word power. It could come in handy someday...like at Trivia Night or working a crossword puzzle. Here goes... Chroma: the intensity and purity of a specific hue (the absence of adding white or gray to a pure hue) Alla Prima: beginning and finishing a painting in a single session (often using thickly applied paint) Impasto: thickly applied paint Pigment: dry powder derived from plant, earth, animals that can become paint when mixed with oil, water, or other medium Opaque: not allowing light to pass through, not transparent Transparent: allowing light to pass through (allows previous layers of paint to show through) Luminosity: the measure of glowing light, appearance of radiating or reflecting light Grisaille (pronounced gri-Zay): French word for painting in monochrome shades of gray or brown Chiaroscuro (Kee-ahr-uh-skyoor-oh): Italian word for painting in light and dark shades of the same color That is enough for now! We are in the doldrums of winter here in Tennessee and I must say it looks way more like Seattle than the South. I'm trying to keep a steady schedule in my studio, painting from photographs of sunnier days. Here are a few tidbits of the paintings in progress currently: |
