Aesthetic refers to the style, principles and techniques that permeate through someones work. One of the most important aspects of Art studies is developing your own aesthetic.

Alla prima is applying paint wet on wet. Applying paint directly to the canvas while the underlayer is still wet.

Arcadia is a depiction of a pastoral utopian scene. Notably seen in the Renaissance and Baroque movements but also observed thereafter.

Assemblage is Art made by collecting or grouping objects together to produce a final piece.

Blocking in refers to layering a painting with initial colours to outline where everything goes.

Chiaroscuro is using dramatic contrasts between light and dark. To see an example click here.

Composition is where objects or subjects are structured on a piece of Art. Composition can also be about the mediums that are used and how you decide to use them.

Draftsmanship is the ability to draw and technical competence in art detailing.

The Golden ratio is a mathematical formula used in a composition.

Grisaille is a technique of painting in grey monochrome, to represent sculpture or form the underlayer of a painting.

Impasto is when the paint medium has been liberally applied and protrudes from the canvas.

Imprimatura is a stained colour that underlays the main painting. For instance a glaze of Burnt Sienna or Burnt Umber

Lightfastness refers to the ability of paint to maintain its integrity and resistance to fading through exposure to light over long periods of time.

Local values refer to the consideration of lightness and darkness of the subject or object being depicted. In classical painting, the local values will be painted as grisaille and then built up by glazing after.

Locus amoenus is the depiction of a pleasant pastoral land, similar to Arcadia.

Macabre is a disturbing reference to the fear of death. It is used in Art to show the opposite of youth and health.

Mediums refer to the types of Art materials you used to produce work, such as charcoal, Oil, Acrylic, Water colours. All of these are considered mediums.

Artistic symbolism of the reminder of death.

The literal translation is ‘dead nature’ but means still life.

Pentimenti is a visible trace of mark marking through paint that can be seen through.

Plein-air refers to painting outdoors in the manner of the 19th-century impressionists, such as Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh

Provenance in Art relates to the origin or earliest know history of a piece. It can also refer to the ownership of an Art work.

This is an Italian word that refers to the 14th and 15th Century Art or Renaissance period.

Register is a horizontal level in Art that has several levels stacked above one another, particularly where they are separated by lines. To see an example click here

Rule of thirds is a grid layout that splits the canvas into 9 equal boxes. The grid helps as an indication of where to place subjects.

Sfumato is an artistic style prominently used by Leonardo Da Vinci in order to create seamless gradients for skin.

Sgraffito is when when you have an initial layer, you then paint another layer on top, then scratch off the new layer to expose the bottom layer.

Transcription is the study of painting a replica of an Artists work in order to further study their techniques.

Values refer to the colours used and the scale of light and darkness of the colour. For example, if the green needs to be slightly lighter it may be said, brighten the value.

Closely related to Memento Mori it is an artistic visual language that considers the futility of life that is juxtaposed with earthly goods as well as the inevitability of death.