Art Materials/Processes Flashcards
What types of wood were used in Europe?
Linden was used in Germany, poplar was preferred in Italy, oak by the Dutch, walnut in southern France.
Wood: Why were medieval painters sometimes fined by their guilds?
They used inferior quality materials.
What quality of wood should a new carver choose?
Straight grained woods are easier for beginners. Newer tree growth is less desirable as it splits more easily. Would should be dried or seasoned prior to beginning work.
What are the most popular coarse-grained woods?
Oak, mahogany and Walnut.
Types of hardwoods.
Chestnut: a medium light brown hardwood with a distinct grain. Provides a good finish.
Ebony: a hardwood with a fine grain and dark brown to black color.
Others include Elm, Holly, mahogany, maple, oak, Rosewood, Walnut.
Fruit woods and softwoods include these.
Alder, beech, Cedar, pine, apple, lime, pear, plum
Engraving tools
Gravers, tint tools, scorpers, spit stickers, and small chisels. For beginners, also flat, round, burin and lozenge as well as large and small U and V cutters.
Wood carving tools for carving
Gouge, chisel. Both tools available in various sizes and shapes including bent and curved for inaccessible areas of piece. Veiners and flutes or V-shaped gouges are used for final work.
Wood carving tools for shaping
Basic shapers include rifflers, files and rasps. Files are finer than rasps while a riffler has a curved edge for rounded work. Surform shapers have a built in space for shavings which prevent the tool from clogging.
Wood carving tools for carpentry
Half rip saws are the most popular due to the ability to cut with as well as across the grain. Bow saws are useful for curve cutting while the fret saw is good for flat pieces. Wooden mallets are useful although selection is important as they tend to be heavy
Why is wood finishing important?
Finishing helps protect the wood from discoloration and fingerprinting. It minimizes dry or damp atmosphere.
Types of wood finishing?
Wax polish: used by melting lumps of beeswax with turpentine and linseed oil which gives wood a lustrous appearance. Should be applied cold and then allowed to sit for a few minutes prior to polishing. Wax can be used over a thin layer of polyurethane varnish to dull gloss or over light coat of linseed oil which has dried.
Give some early examples of clay modeling
Early examples have been found in Egyptian tombs. Greeks fashioned dolls and figurines from wax while Romans made death masks of important individuals. The Chinese produced ceremonial bronze vessels during the Shang dynasty.
When was terra-cotta modeling used?
As early as the Greek, Roman and Etruscan eras and during the Renaissance with sculptures such as Ghiberti and Donatello.
Which sculptors continued modeling in the modern era possibly in interpretive form?
Marini, Matisse, Moore, Clause Oldenburg, Edward Keinholz, Robert Graham, Charles Simonds.
When did Egyptians, Greeks and Romans begin using wood?
Egyptians began using wood around 2000 BC. Greeks used carved wood inlaid with ivory and gold from around 800 BC. Later, Romans decorated wooden chariots, furniture and boats.
History of pencils: When was graphite first used and discovered?
Graphite was discovered in Bavaria in the year 1400. It wasn’t until 1662 that the first implement resembling a modern pencil was developed.
Which two artists were using pencils for portrait work by the 18 century?
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and Eugene Delacroix
Paul Cezanne, 19th-century artist, produced what work in pencil?
“Boys surrounded by rats” and “dog studies.”
What are the common foam sculpting plastics?
Polystyrene (styrofoam in the family) and polyurethane.
What is “binder” in association with painting?
Binder is a medium into which the paint pigment is suspended.
What is varnishing used for?
It is for glazing and protection of oil paintings. Specific uses include final protective coatings, retouching, over painting, correction.
Varieties of varnish?
Damar, shellac and synthetics.
Tell me about early attempts at preservation using varnish
Early attempts at preservation of old masters and 18th and 19th centuries employed Crude varieties like megilp. This is no longer used because it has a propensity to yellow with age.
