chic
sheek The term chic means fashionable or stylish; it also refers to an assertiveness and confidence in dress. Chic is both an adjective and a noun: you can be chic […]
Word Archive
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 […]
croquet
No one knows exactly how croquet began. There’s evidence it was played in London as early as the 16th century, but the game’s French name and use of French terminology […]