Useful tips for pet portrait painting
A glossary of painting terms
Traditional oil painting has been around for centuries, over this time it has built up many technical terms used to describe various techniques and materials. From time to time I may mention some of these terms in the articles relating to my pet portraits. By the way of an explanation here is a list of the more common terms used:
Alla Prima
Refering to the technique of achieving the final effect required on the support in a single sitting, usually using opaque paint in a single layer.
Binder
An ingredient used in paints, pastels and grounds to bind the materials together.
Cartoon
A drawing of the same size as the finished picture, often worked in full detail used to transfer the composition to the support.
Chairosscuro
From the Italian, referring to the handling of dark and light in the picture.
Dead Colouring
Preliminary layer of paint applied as a foundation and guide for subsequent layers.
Fat over Lean
The technique of making oil colour increasingly 'Fat' (richness or oiliness of paint) as more layers are applied.
Gesso
Originally a white filler made of gypsum. Now referred to any white, absorbent ground containing chalk or clay instead of gypsum.
Glaze
A transparent layer of colour that allows underlying layers to show through.
Ground
A foundation layer that acts as a barrier between the support and the painting.
Impasto
The thick application of paint that stands above the painting surface.
Medium
The substance such as oil, gum or egg that is added to pigment to form paint
Permanence
The stability of individual paints, that is, how quickly they deteriate over time.
Scumble
The technique of dragging opague paint over a layer of dry paint so that the underlying layer can still be seen through the applied layer.
Stipple
To apply a series of dots by dapping the end of the brush on the surface of the painting
Thinner
A solvent added to paint to reduce it's consistency.
Tooth
The texture of the surface of the support or ground that allows the paint to adhere to it.
Underpainting
The sequence of initial layers of the painting that supports the later layers to achieve the final effect.
Wet in wet
The technique of applying wet paint into a layer that is still wet, so that both layers intermingle with each other.
Wet over dry
The technique of applying wet paint over a dry layer so that the dry layer is unaffected by the new layer.