Oil Painting Techniques and Terms
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Learn about the different techniques or methods used in oil painting.
Alla Prima/Direct Painting
Painting not done in layers (which is the traditional way); literally "at once" in Italian
Body Color
Adding white to the colors in the painting
Broken Color
Painting small, disjoint areas of color, as in Impressionism or Pointillism
Brush Marks/Knife Marks
Using brushes or knives to highlight surface textures
Chiaroscuro
Depicting boldly contrasting lighting in a painting; also refers to any element of light and shade in an image
Collage
Adding other types of media or materials to the oil painting
Dabbing
Using a cloth or sponge on a painting to vary its texture
Dead Color
Using tonal ground work; using black and white
Fat Over Lean
Using "lean" oil (less oil than turpentine in the paint) paint, which dries faster, under a "fat" oil paint (pure paint) layer
Frottie
Glazing with opaque colors, or a colored glaze mixed with white; using semi-transparent glaze or film
Glaze/Glazing
Applying a transparent medium that changes the color or texture of the surface, especially to regulate tones; must be completely dried up before a new layer is applied on top of it
Grisaille
Painting entirely in monochrome gray; a type of underpainting of an oil painting
Hatching
Applying cross-hatching brush strokes
Impasto
Applying thick paint such that marks and strokes by a brush or knife are visible; for textural effects and glazes
Masking
Using adhesive material to cover an area or create boundaries for where one is currently painting
Painting to Completiong in Sections
Performing Alla Prima by section; runs the risk of a disjointed-looking painting if careless
Pulling
Absorbing a surface using a cloth or sponge to "pull" back the underlying surface color
Rubbing
Using fingers to manipulate the paint on the canvas
Scoring
Scratching a painting to reveal an underlying layer; usually done to achieve the effect of skin and hair in paintings
Scumble
Creating a broken color effect by loosely dragging the paint with a brush; different from the frottie in that it is thick but broken; usually uses a fairly dry brush
Spattering
Flicking a brush to transfer the paint on it onto the canvas
Teasing
Manipulating (wet) paint on the canvas
Three-Tone
Using light, medium, and dark tones only
Tonking
Having a sheet of paper absorb excess oil in a painting; named after British artist Henry Tonks
Toned Ground
Applying a stain over a priming (i.e., ground) before one begins to paint; commonly used colors
Using Ground
Allowing a portion of the ground to see through the finished painting
Varnish
Applying a protective film over a painting that results in either a glossy or matte surface
Verdaccio
Painting in greenish-gray colors for later layers in an oil painting; a type of underpainting; effective for creating flesh tones; popular among Renaissance artists
Washing
Thinning out thicker or purer paint layers
Wet-on-wet
Literally wet paint used alongside wet paint; produces a lighter look when the colors mix; "painting from light colors up"; leaves no time for drying up and is thus a quicker method of painting
Wet-on-dry
Literally wet paint used on already dried up paint
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