Realism....Hyperrealism....Trompe l'oeil....There are many terms we use in the art world to describe the style in which something is painted, and even for those of us who work in the field, it can get a little confusing at times. The nuances of these ...
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What is it?
Metal leaf is the term for metal that has been hammered into very thin sheets. Gold leaf has been created and used for thousands of years as a decorative element in painting, sculpture, furniture, architecture, tapestry, jewelry, and more. ...
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What is it?
The concept of positive and negative space is a fairly simple one. The subject of a work of art occupies the positive space, while everything else is considered negative space. Nearly every piece of representational art contains positive ...
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What is it?
This week's Technique Tuesday subject is not a new concept for anyone (particularly in today's "selfie" filled world!). But not only is the self-portrait is an important exercise for an artist to undertake, it is also significant to view as ...
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Welcome back to Technique Tuesday! Here's the last part of that series looking at what artists use for reference (we've already looked at painting from photographs and from the imagination). Today's post will be a bit different, as it's a guest post ...
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What is it?
Arbitrary color refers to a choice of color in an artwork that has no basis in the realistic appearance of the object depicted (think purple cows, yellow sky, pink sun, etc.). When painting, many artists choose their colors with ...
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What is it?
Pointillism is a painting technique that popped up in the late 1800's as an off-shoot of Impressionism. Essentially, pointillism uses small, distinct dots or strokes of different colors in a pattern to form an image. This technique relies ...
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What is it?
A pentimento (the plural is "pentimenti") is an alteration in an artwork that becomes apparent by the marks and traces left behind from the artist's original strokes. Although it is derived from the (you guessed it!) Italian word meaning ...
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Welcome back to Technique Tuesday! Today's post is going to look at a technique that we all saw in action at Friday night's fantastic live painting demo with Teresa Oaxaca. If you missed it, be sure to keep an eye out for when we upload the photos and ...
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What is it?
If you've ever amused yourself by holding up your thumb and noticing how someone across the room appears to be tiny and thumb-sized next to it, you're well on your way to understanding the sight-size method of painting and sculpting. ...
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