trompe l’oeil
trohmp LAY´ (French, ‘deceives the eye’) The term trompe l’oeil refers to a visual illusion that tricks the viewer into seeing flat, painted detail as three-dimensional. While the technique […]
Art
triptych
TRIP´-tick A triptych (rhymes with cryptic) is a painting or carving consisting of three separate canvases or panels meant to be displayed as a group. The term comes from the […]
sfumato
sfoo-MAW´-toh If you’ve ever driven around Los Angeles, you’ve experienced the phenomenon of sfumato. Through the smog, everything takes on a misty, ethereal quality—Golden Arches meld imperceptibly with the San […]
screen print
A screen print is a print made through the process of screen printing, in which paint is forced through a mesh screen stretched over a wooden frame. The technique is […]
plein air
plane-AIR´ (French, ‘open air’) The term plein air is used to describe paintings executed outdoors, as well as the practice of painting or sketching outside, known as painting en plein […]
lithograph
LITH´-uh-graf A lithograph is a type of print created through lithography, a process developed in Germany around 1800. Because the process is time-consuming and technical, most artists simply produce designs […]
gouache
gwahsh Gouache is a paint made by mixing watercolor with white paint or glue. You’re likely familiar with poster paint, used for signs and banners, which is a form of […]
etching
To make an etching, which is a type of print, an artist begins by drawing a design on a wax-coated metal plate using an etching needle. Wherever the needle touches […]
chiaroscuro
key-ah´-roh-SKOO´-roh (Italian claro, ‘light,’ and obscuro, ‘dark’) Chiaroscuro is the technique of juxtaposing bright and dark areas in a painting to create drama, tension, and three-dimensional effects. Paintings in the […]
outré
ooh-TRAY´ Think of outré as meaning “out there.” It’s an adjective that refers to things that are strange, shocking, and bizarre, or which violate propriety and established conventions. Marcel Duchamp’s […]