Painting Media Flashcards
What makes a successful painter?
Years of practicing drawing, learning painting techniques and how to use different materials
What is highly important to remember while painting?
Style
Technique
What is technique?
This is the knowledge and the way an artist uses his/her equipment.
How are techniques gained?
They can be learnt. Some techniques have been taught for many generations.
What is style?
This is the artist’s special way of expression. It involves the personality of the artist. It is the way in which an artist chooses to practice and use a technique they may have been taught.
What kinds of painting media are there?
Water colour paints Gouache Tempera Fresco Oil paints
What are water paints?
They are water based paints
Where did watercolour paints come from?
They were mostly used by early travellers who needed something light and inexpensive to record the things that they saw with.
How are water paints applied?
With a soft brush that is usually pointed.
Why are soft brushes normally used for water paints?
It is because water paintings are normally made on paper.
How are watercolours lightened?
They are not lightened by adding white, instead water is used to lighten the paints.
Are water colours translucent or opaque?
Translucent
What does translucent means?
That water colours are see-through
Why are water colours bad for paintings?
Mistakes cannot be fixed
Why are a water colours good for painting?
They dry fast
How are water colours normally found?
In hard blocks in a box
What is gouache?
It is an opaque water colour paint.
What does opaque mean?
It means they are not see-through
What is the pigment in gouache mixed with?
Gum
Water
White pigment
How is gouache tinted?
It is mixed with white paint
How can gouache be found?
In tubes as a semi-liquid or in dried cakes
What is tempera paint?
It is made when pigments are mixed with egg yolk, water and oil.
Who used tempera paint?
Artists in Italy during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
What surface is tempera applied to?
Wooden panels covered in gesso.
What is gesso?
A white substance similar to plaster of Paris
Why was egg yolk added to tempera?
To help the water to mix with the oil
What happened to many paintings made with tempera?
They degraded because of a chemical reaction between the paint and the carbon dioxide in the air.
Which famous artist painted with tempera?
Leonardo da Vinci
What is fresco?
It is when an artist applies his paint to wet plaster
Why was fresco so effective?
The paint is bound to the crystalline structure with the limestone instead of just adhering to the surface.
What is good about fresco paintings?
They are permanent, because of the chemical properties.
What is bad about fresco painting?
The artist needs to paint quickly and confidently, because as soon as the plaster is dry it will not work.
What is fresco paint applied to?
To sections or panels of a structure. These panels will be made of plaster.
What happens when sections of a fresco painting are done incorrectly?
They must be redone, because there is not enough time to make corrections.
What is the first step in creating a fresco painting?
The artist smoothes the plaster onto the wall
What is the second step in creating a fresco painting?
A pre-drawn design on a thin piece of paper is placed on the plaster. Holes have been pricked along the outline of the drawing. Charcoal dust is dusted over the template. The dust goes through the holes, making an outline on the plaster
What is the third step when creating a fresco painting?
The artist removes the paper carefully to make sure the image has been transferred.
What is the fourth and final step in creating a fresco painting?
The artist paints the outline before the plaster dries.
What are oil paints?
They are paints comprised of pigments ground with oils, normally linseed oil.
Which famous artist used fresco paintings?
Michelangelo
Why are oil paints popular?
They maintain their vibrant colours for a long time. They also take a long time to dry, so they can be worked on and blended for a long time.
Why do oil paintings preserve so well?
When oil oxidises, it creates a protective film over the painting, maintaining the vibrant colours of the artwork.
When did oil paints become popular?
The 15th century
How are oil paints sometimes used?
In conjunction with other mediums such as linseed oil or turpentine.
What can oil paints be used for?
Thin, almost transparent layers or sculpted impasto. Oil pigments can be used to make a large variety of colours.
What is painting?
It is a combination of ideas, techniques, skills, materials and imagination.
