Painting Mediums and Techniques

Painting Basics

• Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color, or other medium to a solid surface.
• Pigments are derived from nature.
• Different mediums used in painting include:
  • Acrylic paint: thick, shiny, and dries within a few hours
  • Poster paint: solid, water-based, and dries to a matt finish
  • Fresco: involves painting with dry pigment on wet plaster
  • Oil paint: thick, shiny, and takes several days to dry
  • Tempera: water-based paint that may or may not be mixed with egg yolks
  • Watercolor: soft, see-through paint made from pigment, water, and gum Arabic

Types of Painting

• Landscape: outdoor scene that captures not only land, water, and clouds but also air, wind, and sunlight
• Portrait: image of a person or animal that captures their mood or personality
• Still Life: shows objects, such as flowers, food, or musical instruments, and reveals an artist's skill in painting shapes, light, and shadow
• Real Life scene: captures life in action, showing a busy street, a beach party, a dinner gathering, or any place where living goes on
• Religious Work of Art: shares a religious message, portraying a sacred story or expressing an artist's faith

Painting Techniques

• Realism: depicts figures and scenes exactly as they appear in real life
• Surrealism: emphasizes the unconscious creative activity of the mind
• Cubism: shows the flatness of the picture and rejects traditional perspectives
• Expressionism: expresses subjective feelings and emotions of the artist
• Impressionism: depicts what stimulates the eye, focusing on the effects of light
• Symbolism: uses visible signs to represent invisible ideas or qualities
• Pointillism: uses small distinct dots of color to form a figure
• Futurism: portrays machines and motion, emphasizing speed and movement
• Minimalism: reduces forms to utmost simplicity, emphasizing space
• Fauvism: uses bright and extreme colors to assume positive characters
• Dadaism: shocks and provokes the viewer
• Constructivism: constructs abstract pictures using metal and wire

Principles of 3D Design in Sculpture

• Harmony: resolution of forces in opposition, creating a sense of balance
• Contrast/Variety: generates interest through different qualities or characteristics in a form
• Rhythm/Repetition: creates rhythm through duplication, alternation, or sequential change of forms
• Emphasis: something in the work must dominate, creating a high point or climax
• Continuity: organized movement or rhythm
• Balance: ordered relationship of parts, whether symmetrical or asymmetrical
• Proportion: comparison of elements in terms of their properties of size, quantity, and degree