A style of art that uses shapes, designs, textures, and colors in way that may not look real, but emphasizes moods and feelings.

Colors that are closely related, such as blue, blue-violet, and violet -- all of which have the color blue in common. Families of analogous colors include the warm colors (red, orange, and yellows) and the cool colors (blue, green, and violet).

A skeleton-like framework used to support constructions of clay and paper mache.

Parts of an artwork that are in the distance and lie behind objects in the foreground.

A principle of design that refers to the arrangement of elements in a work of art. There are three kinds of balance: symmetrical (formal balance), asymmetrical (informal balance), and radial (from the center).

A style of art that stresses fancy swirling curves, large works of art, elaborate detail and ornamentation and dramatic contrasts of light and shade. The Baroque period followed the Renaissance in Europe during the 1600s.

A work of art created by gluing bits of paper, fabric, scraps, photographs, or other materials to a flat surface.

The hue, value, and intensity of an object. The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue; every color except white can be created by combining these three colors. Color is an important element of design.

Colors that are opposites in the color wheel and contrast with each other. For example, orange is the complement of blue, violet is the complement of yellow, etc. When two complementary are mixed together, they make brown or gray. When they are used side by side in a work of art, they create interesting contrasts. Adding a little of a color's complement to it makes it duller.

The arrangement or design of elements of an artwork to achieve balance, contrast, rhythm, emphasis, and unity and to make it an effective expression of the artist's idea. The term also refers to any work of art.

A large difference between two things; for example, hot and cold, yellow and purple, light and shadow. Contrasting patterns or colors add excitement, drama, and interest to a picture.

The outline edge of a figure or object.

The family of related colors ranging from the greens through the blues and violets.

Mixed or composite images presented as if viewed from many different angles. This style created a greater breakdown of form changing pictorial space, shattering 400 year old conventions.

Dubbed anti-art, this twentieth-century movement started immediately after World War I.

The third dimension of front to back or near to far, represented in an artwork by the actual or apparent distance from bottom to top or front to back. Techniques of perspective are used to create the illusion of depth in a two-dimensional painting.

An organized and creative arrangement of the elements of an artwork, including lines, shapes, textures, space, and colors.

The part of a design that is the most important, powerful, or has the most influence. A certain color can be dominant, and so can an object, line, shape, or texture.

Basic parts which are put together to compose an artwork. These include line, form, shape, value, space, texture, and color.

Accent, stress, or importance of a part of an artwork. Opposing sizes, shapes, and lines, contrasting colors, closer detail and intense bright color are all used to emphasize, or draw attention to, certain areas or objects in a work of art. Emphasis is a principle of design.

A style of art in which the artist communicates highly personal and emotional feelings by using strong colors, distorted forms and bold, simplified lines. The style originated in Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The point of convergence; the point at which things come together. Also, the center of activity, attention.

The part of a work of art that appears to be in front, nearest to the viewer.

The organization of masses, shapes or groups of elements in an artwork; the plan or design of a work of art; unit in an artwork that is defined or set apart by a definite contour; to give a shape to an artwork.

A glasslike coating applied to the surface of pottery or ceramics by dipping or painting it on, and then fired in a kiln to produce a hard colored shiny or matte surface.

A network of horizontal and vertical lines forming squares or rectangles, used as a guide for reproducing accurate drawings.

A style of modern art that uses even flat, colors and shapes defined with sharp, clead edges. This technique is often used in advertising art.

An actual or imaginery line in a work of art that represents the place where the sky and earth appear to meet. Vanishing points are located on the horizon line.

Another word for color, such as red, yellow, or green.

An artist who tries to show the effects of light on different things, especially color. Impressionist use unblended dots of pure color placed close together to create a mood or impression of a scene.

To put side by side or close together.

A view of natural outdoor scenery, such as mountains, rivers, fields, or forests.

An element of design that refers to a path of a moving point through space, which can vary in width, direction, length, curvature, and color. Lines can be two-dimensional or implied, or they can define three-dimensional contours.

An art style in which invention, imagination, and refinement were considered more important than realism. The style is characterized by distorted perspective, scale and proportion, especially in long, stretched-out figures, and by exaggerated colors. Mannerism was developed in Europe in the sixteenth century as a reaction against the focus on realism in the preceding Renaissance period.

A solid three-dimensional form.

The material an artist uses -- oil, watercolor, pen and ink, chalk, and so on.

The part of a work of art that lies between the foreground and the background.

A painting done in a variations of a single color, made by adding black or white to the basic hue to create its shades and tints.

A composition formed of pictures or portions of pictures previously photographed, painted or drawn.

A large painting that covers a wall. It can be painted directly on the wall, or on wood, paper, or canvas to be attached to the wall.

Something that cannot be seen through; the opposite of transparent.

Artwork made using oil, tempera, watercolor, acrylic, or other kinds of paint, applied with a brush or other tool. The term also refers to the act of creating such an artwork.

An art material made of paper torn into strips or made into pulp and mixed with paste or glue. It can be molded into various shapes when wet and produces a solid material that is quite strong when it dries. It is used to make molds of decorative and functional objects.

The repetition of shapes, lines, or colors in a design.

The representation of three-dimensional objects on a flat, two-dimensional surface. Perspective is achieved by creating a sense of depth and distance. There are two types of perspective: linear and atmospheric.

A type of realist painting whose subject is the photograph.

A three-dimensional form that has length and width, but minimal thickness.

A method of painting developed in France in the 1880s in which tiny dots of color are applied to a canvas. When viewed from a distance, the points of color appear to blend together to make other colors and to form shapes and outlines. Pointillism was part of the Postimpressionist movement.

A style of art based on the everyday, popular things around us, including comic strips, popular foods, and brand-name packages. The style developed in the 1950s and 1960s, mainly in New York and London.

French painters at the end of nineteenth century who tried to express emotion as well as form in their paintings. They reacted against the formlessness and unfeeling objectivity of Impressionism and are considered to the fathers of modern art. Gauguin, van Gogh, Matisse, and Cezanne were Postimpressionists.

The hues red, yellow, and blue, which in different combinations produce all other colors except white. The primary colors cannot be produced by mixing any other colors.

The relationship of the size of one part to another or to the whole. In painting and sculpture, for example, an artist tries to achieve the right size or proportion of nose to  a head, and a head to a body.

Looking like real people, objects, or places as we actually see them. Realistic art portrays lifelike colors, textures, shadows, proportions, and arrangements.

A period that began in Italy after the Middle Ages and lasted from about A.D. 1400-1600. The period was characterized by a renewed interest in ancient Greece and Rome and their responsibilities, including an emphasis on human beings, their environment, science and philosophy.

Repeating lines, shapes, colors, or patterns in a work of art.

Regular repetition of lines, shapes, colors, or patterns in a work of art.

Colors created by combining two of the three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. The secondary colors are orange, green, and purple: orange is a mixture of red and yellow, green is a mixture of yellow and blue, and purple is a mixture of blue and red.

A color to which black or another dark hue has been added to make it darker. For example, black added to red produces a darker shade of red.

A simple, quick, rough drawing done without a lot of detail but catching the chief features and a general impression of an object or scene. Sketches are usually made in preparation of a later, more detailed work.

An element of art that refers to the visual or actual area within and around shapes or forms. Positive space defines the contents of a shape or form, bound by edges or surfaces. Negative space refers to the area around a shape or a form.

A drawing or painting of an arrangement of nonmoving, nonliving objects, such as fruit, flowers, or bottles. Usually, a still life is set indoors and contains at least one man-made object, such as a vase or bowl.

A style of painting based on dreams, the fantastic, and the irrational. In Surrealism, artists picture unusual or impossible combinations of objects painted in a realistic way.

The use of a figure or design to stand for something else. Something concrete, such as a lion, is usually used to represent an abstract quality, such as courage.

Having a kind of balance in which things on each side of a center line are identical. For example, the two halves of a person's face are symmetrical. The principle of symmetry is important in drawing portraits.

Having length, width, and depth.

A color to which white has beed added. For example, white added to blue makes a lighter blue tint.

Allowing light to pass through so that objects can be clearly seen underneath; the opposite of opaque. Window glass, cellophane, and watercolors are transparent.

A principle of design whereby all parts of a work are interrelated, balanced, and organized to achieve a quantity of oneness.

The lightness or darkness of tones or colors. For example, white and yellow have a light value and black and purple have a dark value.

In linear perspective, the place on the horizon where parallel lines seem to meet or converge.

An empty three-dimensional form.

The family of related colors ranging from the reds through the oranges and yellows.

A transparent paint made by mixing powdered colors with a binding agent and water. The term also refers to a painting done with watercolors.

Repetition, emphasis, contrast, balance, and unity