Art Help

Art that departs from literal depiction to focus on shape, colour, value, and idea.

Reducing or transforming visible forms into simpler shapes, patterns, or concepts.

A small area of strong colour used to create emphasis and guide attention.

Proportions that match the subject’s relationships closely enough to read as believable.

A fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion; water-cleanup when wet.

Fast-drying paint that uses water when wet and becomes plastic-like when dry.

Mixing light (RGB) where colours combine to become brighter; used in screens and digital art.

A viewpoint from above, like looking down from a hill or drone.

Artist known for calm grid paintings that feel quiet and meditative.

Artist known for large installations and works that question power and society.

Arrernte artist known for Australian desert landscapes in watercolour style.

Sculptor known for thin, tall figures that feel lonely or fragile.

German Renaissance artist known for careful drawing, detail, and prints.

Artist known for mobiles—moving sculptures balanced in the air.

Impressionist painter best known for calm landscape scenes.

Placing elements so edges or axes line up, creating order and visual clarity.

Painting wet-into-wet, often completed in one session with minimal layering.

Painting onto a dry surface; in fresco terms it means painting on dry plaster.

A picture that uses characters or scenes to represent a bigger idea or message.

Uruguayan-born artist based in Australia, internationally known for expressive urban and interior watercolour painting and teaching.

Australian master artist and tutor, known particularly for watercolour and working as a tonal impressionist, also painting in oils.

Soft, indirect light that fills shadows from the environment and sky.

Artist known for portraits with long necks, simplified faces, and elegant shapes.

Painter known for portraits with calm poses and skin painted in grey tones.

Colours next to each other on the colour wheel that naturally harmonise.

Study of body structure to draw believable human or animal forms.

A strong stable shape, often dark, used to hold the composition together.

Writer who led Surrealism and shaped its ideas more than making paintings.

Comparing angles of edges and shapes using your pencil/brush handle as a reference tool.

Artist known for large sculptures that feel like voids, mirrors, or deep colour.

Photographer known for carefully staged portraits of famous people.

Photographer known for sharp black-and-white landscapes and strong tonal control.

Flemish painter known for elegant portraits of nobles and royalty.

A support frame inside a sculpture that holds the shape while you build on top of it.

Painter known for lyrical abstract forms influenced by nature and memory.

Baroque painter known for powerful stories and strong light and shadow.

Australian painter known for expressive figures and landscapes with emotion.

A 3D collage made from objects attached together, like wood, metal, or found items.

When sides don’t match, but the picture still feels balanced.

Depth created by reducing contrast, detail, and saturation with distance.

Sculptor known for expressive figures and surfaces that catch light.

The farthest plane in an image; often lower contrast, softer edges, and simpler detail.

A thin layer of colour used to cover a big area, often for sky or simple backgrounds.

When clean water or wet paint pushes into a drying wash and makes a feathery texture.

Distribution of visual weight (symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial) that keeps a design stable.

Street artist known for stencilled images with humour and social commentary.

British sculptor known for smooth abstract forms with holes and string details.

Barbara McCallum is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Painter known for large colour fields with vertical lines called 'zips'.

French Impressionist known for light, fresh brushwork and everyday scenes.

A design idea that mixes large, medium, and small shapes to avoid boring sameness.

The largest value/shape masses that form the core design of an image.

Bill Caldwell is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Video artist known for slow, emotional works about time and human experience.

The substance that holds pigment together in paint (oil, acrylic polymer, gum arabic, etc.).

The glue-like part of paint that holds pigment together and sticks it to the surface.

A setting that changes how a layer mixes with layers beneath it, like Multiply or Screen.

Smoothing transitions between strokes or values so the change feels gradual.

Softening transitions so changes between colours or values look smooth.

Drawing the outline without looking at the paper, to improve observation.

Laying in simple shapes and value masses before detail and refinement.

A backrun mark made when wetter paint flows into a drying wash, creating a cauliflower edge.

Very careful, detailed watercolour used to show plants clearly and accurately.

Australian artist known for energetic lines, bold colour, and expressive rooms and coastlines.

Placing small strokes of different colours next to each other so they mix optically at viewing distance.

The character of visible brush marks; can be controlled, loose, textured, or expressive.

Polishing a surface by rubbing to smooth and intensify layers (common in coloured pencil).

Impressionist painter of landscapes and rural life.

Italian painter known for intense realism and strong light-dark contrast.

Milk-protein paint that dries fast and matte, sitting between gouache and acrylic.

The shadow an object projects onto another surface.

A common term for soft pastels; powdery sticks for blending and layering.

Award-winning Australian artist and tutor best known for spontaneous and expressive watercolour landscapes, cityscapes and coastal subjects.

A dry drawing medium (vine or compressed) known for deep darks and easy blending.

Dropping a new colour into a wet wash so it spreads softly and mixes on the paper.

Australian artist and instructor known for contemporary watercolour painting and teaching through the Sluga Watercolour Academy.

Strong contrast between light and dark used to model form and create drama.

Taiwanese artist and international tutor celebrated for impressionistic watercolour painting and major achievements in the American Watercolor Society.

Another word for saturation; intensity or purity of a colour.

Photographic artist known for self-portraits as different characters and roles.

French Impressionist known for painting the same scene in different light, like water lilies.

A way to keep paint or texture inside a shape by clipping it to the layer below.

Clive Sinclair is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Painter known for jagged colour fields that feel raw and powerful.

A subtractive colour model (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) used for printing.

Textured watercolour paper that is versatile and shows granulation nicely.

Art made by sticking paper, photos, fabric, or other materials onto a surface to form an image.

A subtle lean in a colour, like a blue that is slightly greenish or purplish.

A controlled relationship between colours that feels cohesive.

A change in colour across a surface due to light, shadow, or reflected colour.

How warm or cool a colour appears relative to others; always context-dependent.

Colours opposite on the colour wheel; paired they intensify, mixed they neutralise toward grey/brown.

Arrangement of shapes, values, edges, and colour within the frame.

Sculptor known for reducing forms to simple, elegant shapes.

Building forms from simple shapes like boxes and cylinders before adding details.

The outline that defines the boundary of a form or shape.

A line that follows the outer edge of a form, showing its shape.

Difference between elements (value, colour, edge, size, texture) that creates interest and focus.

A colour that feels cool, like blue, green, or purple.

Colours that feel cool (often blues/greens/violets) and tend to recede in space.

The darkest part of the form shadow, often just past the turning point from light to shadow.

A secondary area of interest that supports the main focal point without competing.

Changing the framing to improve design and focal placement.

Cutting off parts of the scene to improve composition and focus.

Cutting in closer to remove distractions and make the subject feel stronger.

When a crop cuts too close to an object edge, creating an awkward near-touch.

Lines that wrap around a form to show its 3D shape, like stripes on a ball.

Shading using overlapping sets of lines at different angles to build darker tones.

Making images by cutting shapes from paper and gluing them together.

Contemporary artist known for bold concepts, display cases, and spot paintings.

A picture where most values are dark, with smaller areas of light.

Australian master artist and tutor best known for traditional and atmospheric watercolour painting. David Taylor is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Decorating by gluing paper images onto a surface and sealing with varnish or medium.

The illusion of distance created through overlap, perspective, value, edges, and saturation shifts.

Simplified shape blocks used to organise the picture before details.

Photographer known for direct portraits of people on the edges of society.

Mexican painter known for large murals showing people, work, and history.

Spanish court painter known for realistic portraits and natural lighting.

An artwork made of two panels that work as a pair.

Light coming straight from the source onto a form; typically creates the clearest highlights and cast shadows.

Applying paint in a straightforward way, often wet-into-wet, without heavy glazing stages.

Minimalist known for simple repeated forms and clean industrial materials.

Photographer known for powerful documentary images during the Great Depression.

Artist known for surreal, psychological scenes and later soft sculptural forms.

Dots per inch; a common print measure for how detailed a printed image will be.

Using a relatively dry brush to create broken, textured marks on paper.

Using very little paint or water so the brush makes rough broken marks.

How long a wash stays workable; it changes with paper, water amount, and weather.

Scratching lines directly into a plate; it often prints with a soft, fuzzy line.

French artist known for dancers and unusual viewpoints, often from real life studies.

The boundary between shapes; edges can be hard, soft, or lost.

Using hard/soft/lost edges to guide focus and describe form.

The picture boundary; what touches it can strongly affect balance and focus.

A set of prints made from the same plate or block, usually numbered like 3/20.

Norwegian painter known for emotional scenes and strong, dramatic colour.

Photographer known for clean, detailed images of natural forms and still life.

A type of tempera paint that uses egg yolk as the binder; it builds up in thin layers.

Austrian artist known for intense line, sharp forms, and expressive figures.

Expressionist known for sharp drawing and intense, emotional figures.

Artist known for huge wall pieces made from bottle caps that look like cloth.

Anmatyerr artist known for powerful dot and line paintings inspired by Country.

Making an area stand out using contrast, edges, colour, or detail control to create a focal point.

Painting with heated wax mixed with pigment; layers are fused with heat.

Starting a drawing by enclosing the subject in simple straight lines to place proportions quickly.

A printmaking method where lines are bitten into a metal plate, inked, and pressed onto paper.

French Romantic painter known for drama, movement, and strong colour.

Australian artist and teacher best known for expressive watercolour painting, after earlier work in printmaking and other 2D media.

Artist known for sculptural works using unusual materials and organic repetition.

A stroke or mark that shows personality and movement rather than hiding the process.

A viewpoint that matches the viewer’s standing eye height, often feeling natural and calm.

Brazilian artist and tutor internationally known for luminous floral and figurative watercolour painting.

Artist known for story quilts combining painting, fabric, and personal history.

Oil painting rule: later layers should be more flexible (oilier) than earlier layers to reduce cracking.

Drawing the human form with attention to gesture, anatomy, proportion, and structure.

Fiona Bilbrough is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

A spray used to stabilise dry media like charcoal or pastel and reduce smudging.

A spray that helps stop charcoal or pastel from smudging.

An even wash of colour laid consistently across an area.

An additive that helps paint spread more smoothly without adding lots of water.

The route the viewer’s eye travels through the picture from one point to another.

The main area of attention, supported by contrast, edge, placement, and detail control.

The part of the scene closest to the viewer; often higher contrast, sharper edges, and more detail.

A perspective effect where forms appear shorter when angled toward the viewer.

When something pointing towards you looks shorter; it helps show depth.

The shadow region on the form itself as it turns away from the light.

The shadow on the object itself where it turns away from the light.

Using shapes near the edges to surround the subject and guide attention.

Spanish painter known for bold portraits and darker, dramatic subjects later in life.

Abstract painter known for bold black-and-white brush strokes.

Painting onto wet plaster so pigment becomes part of the wall as it dries.

A lively look where marks and edges feel confident rather than fussy.

Mexican painter known for personal self-portraits and symbolic storytelling.

Creating texture by rubbing pencil or pastel over paper placed on a textured surface.

A category of subject matter, like portrait, landscape, still life, or abstract.

French painter known for pointillism, using tiny dots of colour.

American painter known for large flowers, bones, and desert landscapes.

A primer/ground used to prepare surfaces for painting; increases tooth and controls absorbency.

A primer that prepares a surface for paint and helps paint stick.

A quick, loose drawing capturing movement and overall action rather than detail.

A simple line that captures the main flow or action of a pose.

Futurist known for patterns and repeated shapes that suggest motion.

Artist known for mysterious empty city scenes that inspired Surrealism.

Artist known for eerie empty plazas and long shadows that feel mysterious.

Painter known for quiet still lifes with subtle tone and shape.

Early Italian painter who helped move art toward more realistic space and human figures.

A thin transparent layer of colour laid over dry paint to change the look underneath.

Applying thin transparent layers over a dry layer to shift colour and build depth.

A thin transparent layer of paint over a dry layer to change colour without covering details.

The overall light-versus-dark range across the whole artwork.

A shiny surface finish that reflects light and can make colours look richer.

A way to place shapes so the picture feels naturally balanced, using a repeating proportion seen in nature.

A rectangle shaped using the golden ratio; artists use it to plan pleasing layouts.

A spiral based on the golden ratio that can guide the viewer’s eye through the picture.

Water-based paint like watercolour but more opaque, so it covers better.

A wash that transitions smoothly from dark to light (or from one colour strength to another).

A smooth transition from light to dark or from one colour to another.

A textured effect where pigment settles unevenly, creating speckled passages.

The material in pencils; it makes grey marks and can be light or dark depending on pressure.

Australian master artist and teacher widely known as a leading watercolour painter, particularly respected for design, composition and technique teaching. Greg Allen is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

A neutral colour with very low chroma; can be warm or cool depending on its bias.

A measuring aid for transferring proportions by dividing subject and paper/canvas into squares.

A monochrome underpainting (often greys) used to establish values before colour layers.

A preparatory layer (like gesso) applied to a support to control absorbency and tooth.

A common watercolour binder that helps pigment stick and affects gloss and flow.

Austrian painter known for gold patterns and decorative portraits.

Artist known for decorative patterns, gold effects, and striking portraits.

French Realist who painted everyday life with honesty and weight.

The mid-value area between highlight and shadow on a form.

Dada artist known for photomontage—cutting and recombining photos into new images.

Painter known for sharp, realistic portraits of Tudor-era figures.

A sharp boundary between shapes; tends to pull focus.

A sharp clear edge that stands out and grabs attention.

Firmer pastel stick good for sharp edges and under-layers.

A sense of cohesion created through controlled repetition and compatible relationships.

Shading using parallel lines to build tone.

Painter known for staining thinned paint into canvas to create large soft colour fields.

Photographer known for capturing the 'decisive moment' in street scenes.

French artist known for strong colour, simplified shapes, and decorative design.

Painter known for dream-like jungle scenes painted in a simple, clear style.

British sculptor known for large reclining figures and organic shapes.

Australian master artist known for tonal realist landscapes and cityscapes in oil, watercolour and acrylic. Herman Pekel is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Making some things more important than others so the viewer knows where to look first.

Dutch painter known for imaginative scenes filled with strange creatures and symbols.

The brightest area of a form where light hits most directly.

The brightest parts where the light hits a surface most strongly.

Early abstract artist who painted symbolic forms before abstraction became famous.

Artist known for video works about technology, images, and modern life.

In perspective, the viewer’s eye level; vanishing points sit on the horizon line.

The viewer’s eye level in a scene; it helps set the perspective.

Smooth watercolour paper that gives crisp edges and less granulation texture.

The basic colour family (red, blue, yellow, etc.), independent of value and saturation.

Thick paint application that leaves visible texture and catches real light.

Very thick paint put on so the brush or knife marks stand up and you can see the texture.

An additive you mix into paint to make it thicker and hold raised texture.

Texture that looks real because of marks and shading, even though the surface is smooth.

Very dark waterproof ink often used for pen and brush work.

Liquid pigment or dye used for strong lines and washes.

Printing from ink held in cut or etched lines on a plate, pressed with damp paper.

British painter famous for dramatic light, weather, and sea scenes.

Abstract painter known for dripping and splashing paint in energetic layers.

Painter known for clear shapes and series that tell stories about history and migration.

Artist who uses light and space so you feel you can almost touch the light.

Early Netherlandish painter known for tiny detail and realistic oil painting.

Artist known for smooth abstract shapes that feel organic and natural.

Artist known for rough textures and 'art brut' inspired by outsider art.

French painter known for precise drawing and smooth, clean finishes.

Landscape painter who influenced both realism and impressionism.

Artist known for shiny balloon-like sculptures and pop culture objects.

Jennifer Fyfe is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Spanish artist known for playful shapes and symbols that feel dream-like.

Painter known for energetic abstract brushwork inspired by landscape and memory.

Dutch painter known for quiet indoor scenes and soft natural light.

John Orlando Birt is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Artist known for performance and materials like felt and fat to carry ideas.

Australian master watercolour painter celebrated for lyrical, atmospheric landscapes and city scenes, and long associated with the Australian Watercolour Institute. Joseph Zbukvic is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Artist known for huge photo portraits placed in public spaces.

Dutch Golden Age painter known for lively genre scenes and portraits.

Artist known for installations about repair, history, and cultural memory.

Artist known for cut-paper silhouettes exploring history and power.

Russian artist known for very simple abstract shapes, like squares and circles.

Japanese artist known for painting with his feet to create powerful marks.

Painter known for portraits that place modern people in grand historical styles.

A soft putty eraser you can shape; it lifts graphite gently without damaging paper.

Artist known for collage using everyday scraps like tickets and packaging.

Artwork showing outdoor scenery like hills, trees, rivers, streets, or skies.

A coat of paint or material placed over another; layers build depth and detail.

A way to hide parts of a layer without erasing them, so you can edit later.

Implied or actual lines that guide the viewer’s eye toward the focal point.

Abstract Expressionist known for bold shapes, collage-like paint, and strong colour.

Lee Machelak is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Renaissance artist known for careful observation, anatomy, and subtle shading.

Surrealist artist known for dream-like scenes with myth and magic.

Removing or lightening watercolour by blotting or scrubbing with water.

Treating all lit areas as one connected group of lighter values.

A picture where most values are light, with only small areas of dark.

Keeping lights and shadows consistent with a clear light direction so forms feel believable.

Using a small set of pigments to increase harmony and simplify mixtures.

Using only a few colours to keep the painting more harmonious and controlled.

A long guiding curve that shows the main movement in a figure pose.

The character of a line—thick/thin, smooth/broken, light/dark—used to suggest form and energy.

How thick or thin a line is; changing it can show depth and emphasis.

A system for drawing depth using converging lines toward vanishing points (1-point, 2-point, etc.).

A print made by carving linoleum, inking the raised surface, and pressing it onto paper.

Melbourne-based artist and teacher best known for watercolour painting, with strong drawing foundations and an award-winning exhibition record.

The inherent colour of an object before lighting shifts and reflections.

Contrast in a small area, like a sharp edge or bright highlight against a dark shape.

Watercolour style with bold washes and fewer details to keep it fresh.

Edges that disappear where values match (lost) and reappear where contrast increases (found).

An edge you hide by making two areas similar, so the boundary disappears.

Artist known for sculptures about memory, feelings, and the body, including giant spider forms.

Australian master artist and tutor known especially for richly realistic florals and portraits in pastel and oil.

Artist and photographer known for experimental images and Surrealist ideas.

Artist known for 'readymades'—everyday objects presented as art.

Performance artist known for using time, endurance, and presence as the artwork.

The different kinds of lines and shapes you create with tools, like dots, strokes, and scribbles.

American Impressionist known for tender scenes of mothers and children.

A large area of value or shape read as a single unit in the design.

A non-shiny surface finish that reduces glare.

Surrealist known for imaginative creatures and experimental techniques like rubbing textures.

Maxwell Wilks is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

A material category (oil, watercolour, pastel) or an additive that changes paint handling.

Renaissance artist famous for strong figure painting and the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

The middle distance between foreground and background.

The middle value range between lights and darks; often carries a lot of colour information.

Using more than one material in the same artwork, like ink with watercolour or paint with collage.

Combining pigments to create new hues, values, and chroma; depends on the pigments’ bias and opacity.

Artist known for installations that turn everyday objects into tense, emotional symbols.

A one-off print where you get a single unique result rather than an identical edition.

A repeated element or idea in an artwork, like a shape, symbol, or pattern.

How the design leads the viewer’s eye through the artwork.

A dull or lifeless mixture, often caused by over-mixing complements, dirty water, or too many pigments.

A blend mode that darkens by multiplying values, useful for shadows and glazing effects.

Artist known for early video art using televisions and moving images.

Telling a story through an image, often with characters, actions, or clues.

The shapes around and between objects; designing negative shapes improves clarity.

The empty space around and between objects; it helps shapes read clearly.

A low-saturation (muted) colour that often reads as grey, brown, beige, or an “off-colour.” Neutrals are commonly made by mixing complementary colours or otherwise reducing chroma.

Reducing saturation by mixing complements or adding a neutral, shifting a colour toward grey/brown.

Nicolas Chen is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Australian master artist and tutor known for atmospheric watercolour landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes and architecture-focused demonstrations.

Art that does not depict recognisable objects; focuses on pure shape, colour, value, or idea.

A simplified value design (often two-value) focusing on strong light/dark pattern.

The darkest shadow where two surfaces meet and little light can get in, like under a cup rim.

Slow-drying paint that blends smoothly and allows lots of layering.

Slow-drying paint made with oil; great for blending and layering.

Soft stick colour with oil binder; blends easily and stays slightly tacky.

Artist known for installations using light, fog, mirrors, and weather-like effects.

Perspective where lines go to one vanishing point, like a hallway view.

How much a paint covers what’s underneath; ranges from transparent to opaque.

Paint that blocks light; underlying layers do not show through strongly.

Paint that covers what is underneath so you can’t see through it much.

Colours appear to blend in the viewer’s eye when small strokes/dots sit near each other.

A depth cue where one form partially covers another, implying which is closer.

When one object covers part of another, helping show which one is closer.

Placing shapes in front of others to imply depth and spatial relationships.

Working an area too long so it loses freshness, texture, or clear shapes.

Spanish artist who helped create Cubism, breaking objects into simple shapes.

The dried layer of paint on the surface; different media form different paint films.

The set of colours chosen for a work (and the surface used for mixing).

A tool used to mix paint and apply thick strokes or scrape layers.

Painting with a flat knife instead of a brush to spread thick paint and create texture.

Tearing paper for collage edges; it can look softer and more natural than cutting.

A dry pigment stick with minimal binder; can be soft, hard, or oil pastel (different handling).

A repeated motif or rhythm of shapes/values/colours that can unify or energise a design.

French painter who built forms with colour patches and influenced modern art.

Surrealist known for quiet scenes with figures in dream-like settings.

French painter known for bold flat colour and symbolic scenes.

Modern artist known for playful symbols, colour experiments, and child-like lines.

Paul McDonald Smith is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Methods for representing 3D space on a 2D surface (linear and atmospheric).

Flemish painter known for dynamic movement and warm, lively colour.

Peter Smales is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

French Impressionist known for warm light, people, and lively brushwork.

Dutch artist known for grids with primary colours and black lines.

Flemish painter known for busy village life scenes and landscapes.

The coloured particles in paint; pigments differ in opacity, staining, granulation, and lightfastness.

Creating art outdoors from life, often to capture light and atmosphere quickly.

Using a vertical reference (pencil held straight) to compare alignments and relative positions.

A technique using small dots of colour that mix optically at distance.

Artwork focused on a person’s face or figure, aiming to show likeness or character.

The main subject shapes in a composition.

Main colours you mix to make others; in paint they are often red, yellow, and blue.

A test print used to check how the image will look before making the final edition.

Relative size relationships between parts of a subject.

The size relationship between parts, like head size compared to the body.

Sculptor known for casting the empty space inside objects like rooms and chairs.

Renaissance painter known for calm, balanced compositions and graceful figures.

Digital images made of pixels; if you enlarge too much they can look blocky.

Ray Hewitt is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Light bouncing from nearby surfaces into shadow areas; usually weaker than direct light.

Lining up paper and printing blocks/plates so colours and layers land in the right place.

Printing from raised surfaces where the carved-away parts do not receive ink.

Dutch master known for powerful portraits and dramatic light and shadow.

Dutch master known for deep shadows, emotional portraits, and storytelling.

Surrealist known for calm images with strange ideas and visual puzzles.

Repeating shapes, colours, or marks to create unity and pattern.

How much detail an image has, often measured in pixels or DPI for printing.

A quiet simple area with low contrast that gives the eye a break.

An additive that slows drying time, giving you longer to blend.

A light-based colour model (Red, Green, Blue) used by screens; colours combine additively toward white.

A sense of visual movement created through repetition and variation.

Artist known for bright circular colour rhythms and modern city themes.

Photographer known for studio portraits and strong black-and-white compositions.

Abstract Expressionist known for strong graphic shapes and emotional simplicity.

Artist known for collage scenes full of rhythm, music, and everyday life.

French painter famous for detailed animal paintings.

Ross Paterson is an Australian artist and a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (Melbourne 20), an invitation-only group recognised for maintaining high standards in contemporary Australian painting.

Very textured paper that creates broken washes and strong texture effects.

Dividing the frame into thirds; focal points often sit near intersections.

A simple guide that divides the picture into thirds to help place important things.

Surrealist known for dream-like images and very detailed painting style.

Italian Renaissance painter known for elegant myth scenes and flowing lines.

Intensity/purity of colour. High saturation looks vivid; low saturation looks muted/greyed.

How big something is compared to something else, used to show distance or importance.

A blend mode that lightens, useful for glow and highlights.

A thin, broken layer of lighter, opaque paint brushed over dry paint so bits show through.

Dragging a broken layer of opaque paint over a dry layer to create soft texture and variation.

Lightly dragging a drier layer of paint over a dry layer so texture shows through.

Photographer known for dramatic black-and-white documentary work around the world.

Colours made by mixing two primaries, like green, orange, and purple.

A group of artworks connected by a theme, subject, or style.

Very soft, smoky transitions with minimal hard edges.

Scratching into wet paint to reveal an underlayer or the surface for texture and lines.

A colour made darker by adding black (or a dark pigment).

Areas receiving less direct light; includes form shadow and cast shadow.

Treating all shadow areas as one connected group of darker values.

The darker areas where light is blocked or doesn’t reach.

A 2D area defined by an edge; strong shape design is foundational.

Artist known for bold graphic posters and street art style.

Artist known for photography and video exploring identity, culture, and power.

Australian painter known for the Ned Kelly series and bold storytelling.

Measuring proportions/angles by holding a pencil/brush at arm’s length as a reference tool.

The clear outer shape of something, seen as a single flat shape.

Reducing detail to clear big shapes and value groups so the design reads from a distance.

A treatment on paper that controls how water soaks in, affecting washes and lifting.

Softening or moving dry media by rubbing; can be used intentionally or prevented with fixative.

Renaissance painter known for natural portraits and family scenes.

A blurred boundary between shapes; tends to reduce focus and suggest atmosphere.

A blurred edge that feels gentle and often looks farther away.

Dry pigment sticks that give rich colour and blend smoothly.

Conceptual artist known for wall drawings made from clear instructions.

Artist known for bold colour patterns across painting, design, and textiles.

A sharp bright highlight on shiny surfaces, like metal or wet skin.

A colour plan using one colour and the two colours next to its opposite on the wheel.

Pigments that penetrate paper fibres deeply and are difficult to lift.

A picture of objects that don’t move, like fruit, cups, flowers, or tools.

Shading using dots; more dots means darker tone.

Wetting and taping paper so it dries flat and reduces buckling during washes.

Deliberately simplifying or exaggerating forms to fit a chosen visual style.

Mixing pigments/inks where colours combine by absorbing more light; mixtures trend darker/neutral.

Traditional black ink used in East Asian brush painting and calligraphy.

The surface you work on (paper, canvas, panel, board) that affects texture, absorbency, and durability.

Using objects or colours to stand for ideas, like a dove meaning peace.

When both sides of a design match or feel equal.

Japanese artist known for bright pop imagery mixed with traditional influences.

Awkward touches where edges meet or nearly meet, making shapes confusing or distracting.

Paint made by mixing pigment with a binder like egg yolk; it dries fast and looks matte.

Paint often made with egg yolk binder; dries quickly with a matte finish.

The warm/cool bias of a colour or mixture; the effect depends on what it sits next to.

The boundary on a form where it turns from light into shadow; not the cast shadow edge.

The edge where a form turns from light into shadow; it is not the cast shadow edge.

Placing paper over a textured surface and rubbing with pencil or crayon to capture the texture.

Artist known for community projects that combine art, buildings, and social change.

A tiny quick sketch used to test composition and value before starting the final work.

A small quick sketch that tests light and dark patterns before you start painting.

A colour made lighter by adding white.

Venetian painter known for rich colour and confident brushwork.

A colour changed by adding grey or its complement, making it more muted.

Australian master artist and internationally recognised Turner expert, known for expressive watercolour landscapes and teaching based on J.M.W. Turner's techniques.

The surface texture that grabs media (paper texture, gesso texture). More tooth = more grip/texture.

Artist known for very personal works using text, drawing, and objects.

Paint that allows underlying layers to show through strongly; ideal for glazing.

Paint you can see through; layers underneath still show.

A colour plan using three colours spaced evenly around the colour wheel.

An artwork made of three panels meant to be seen together.

Writer who helped shape Dada, using nonsense and chance as a creative method.

A style that tricks the eye into thinking painted objects are real and three-dimensional.

Perspective using two vanishing points, often for buildings seen at a corner.

Futurist artist known for showing speed and movement in modern life.

A light drawing that guides the painting, showing placement and proportions.

An initial layer establishing composition and values before later paint layers.

An early layer that sets the main values and structure before adding full colour.

A sense that all parts of the artwork belong together; created through harmony and control.

When everything in the artwork feels like it belongs together.

The lightness or darkness of a colour or tone, independent of hue.

Keeping values close together so the picture feels softer and less dramatic.

Simplifying many values into a few clear groups so the image reads better.

How far values go from light to dark in an artwork.

A point on the horizon line where parallel lines appear to converge in linear perspective.

A point where receding parallel lines seem to meet in perspective.

A wash where colours change across the area, like a sky shifting from blue to warm light.

Differences in shapes, edges, values, or colours that prevent monotony while still keeping unity.

Differences in shapes, colours, or marks that keep the artwork interesting.

A protective top layer that can change the finish and help protect the artwork.

A cloudy look in varnish, often caused by moisture or wrong conditions when varnishing.

Digital art made from shapes and lines that can scale up without getting blurry.

Dutch painter known for bold colour and energetic brushwork.

How heavy something feels in a picture; dark, detailed, or bright areas feel heavier.

Street photographer known for candid city scenes discovered later in life.

A colour that feels warm, like red, orange, or yellow.

Colours that feel warm (often reds/oranges/yellows) and tend to advance.

A diluted application of paint laid broadly to establish colour and value.

Artist known for early abstract painting focused on colour and feeling.

Ink that can be re-wet with water, often used for washes and drawing.

Transparent paint mixed with water; the paper’s white helps create light.

A look that uses transparency, soft edges, and the white of paper for light.

Applying paint into wet paper so edges soften and colours blend naturally.

Painting wet paint onto a dry layer to keep edges cleaner and more controlled.

Putting wet paint into wet paint so edges blend and colours spread.

A print made by carving wood, rolling ink on the raised areas, and printing the design.

A viewpoint from low down, looking up, making subjects feel tall or powerful.

Artist known for dots and repeating patterns that fill rooms and objects.

Conceptual artist known for simple actions and instructions that invite participation.

Conceptual artist known for works that invite people to do an action or think differently.

Surrealist known for strange landscapes with smooth, floating forms.

Photographer known for strong portraits and visual activism.

French painter who bridged realism and Impressionism with modern subjects.