ARTISTS’ GLOSSARY
for art studies
 his
glossary includes definitions of terms peculiar to the subject. Meanings
of words which are not exclusive to the subject can be found in the Oxford
English Dictionary. The use of at least the concise edition is recommended.
Where terminology varies between the UK and the USA, a list of equivalent
terms is provided at the end of this glossary.
Aluminum Stearate : Wax-like material sometimes used for stabilizing
oil paint.
Binder : The substance which holds the pigment in a paint, ground
or drawing material.
Casein : Adhesive/binder made from skimmed milk.
Chassis : Wooden frame, fixed or expandable, used to brace a wood-based
board on which to stretch either paper or a canvas. Interchangeable with
‘stretcher’ and sometimes ‘frame’.
Cradled Board : Originally a hardwood panel with fixed strips along
the grain and movable strips across the grain on the reverse, used to
brace the board but still allow it to expand. Today, ‘cradled’
is used to mean a wood-based board which has been glued and screwed to
a fixed chassis.
Canvas : Sometimes loosely termed to mean a stretched and primed
canvas ready for use or already being painted on.
Double Stretched Canvas : Two layers of canvas stretched on one
frame.
Drying Oil : Vegetable oil which dries to a film by oxidation.
Essential Oil : Extracted from plants, an oily liquid which is
partly volatile.
Fugitive : Indicates a lack of lightfastness in the colour of a
pigment.
Glazing : Transparent colour over dry underlayer, used to create
spatial and/or optical colour effects. Oil colour offers the widest manipulative
possibilities in glazing but any transparent medium can offer glazing
too.
Ground : Layer on support which can alter in colour, absorbency
or texture. ‘Primer’ is also used for ‘ground’.
Gum : Hardened sap of plants which is either water-soluble or absorbs
water. Handling Properties : Group of properties which reflect smoothness,
brushability, spreadability, tactility, etc.
Humidifier : Substance or thing which retains moisture or prevents
it escaping.
Imprimatura : Coloured veil over a white ground. Industrial Methylated
Spirit : Type of alcohol. Purer than mineralized methylated spirit. Recommended
for artists’ use where alcohol is required, but is difficult to
obtain.
Key : Rough surface.
Livering : Solidification of oil paint within its tube, caused
by poor quality pigments or grinding. Nowadays, it is not likely to occur
in paint made for artists.
Mahlstick : A long rod with a padded end, used to steady your hand
against a painting.
Masking Fluid : Rubber latex solution used to mask out areas on
paper.
Media : Plural of medium in sense of particular method, e.g. oils,
water colour, etc.
Medium : Used either to indicate a particular method, or to indicate
a material used for further manipulation of a method, e.g. glaze medium
in oil painting. Plural is mediums.
Mineralized Methylated Spirit : Type of alcohol. Contains violet
dye and more impurities than industrial methylated spirits. Commonly available
from hardware stores.
Mineral Oil : Type of oil refined from petrol.
Mineral Wax : Wax/es refined usually from petrol.
Mull, Mulling : Grind, grinding (rubbing) pigment with muller and
plate (slab).
Parchment : Prepared skin of sheep or goat, mainly for calligraphy.
pH of paper : Measure of acidity. pH7 indicates a paper which is
acid-free.
Polymerized Oil : See Stand Oil.
Primer : Ground.
Proprietary : Trade name.
Resin, Natural : Hardened sap of plants which is insoluble in water.
Resin, Synthetic : Resinous compound, usually synthesized from
petrol.
Shellac : Resin secreted by stick insects on certain trees, mainly
in India. Available in a number of grades.
Sinking Paint : Layer of paint which sinks into underlayer.
Stand Oil : Stand oil can be assumed to be linseed stand oil. Stand
oil is a drying oil which has been processed by heat. It can also be called
polymerized oil.
Stretcher : See Chassis.
Support : Material which supports the ground and painting or drawing.
Surfaced : Rough surface.
Tooth : Rough surface.
Toothed : ‘Toothed’ and ‘surfaced’ are
both used to indicate a roughened ground.
Veil : See imprimatura.
Vellum : Prepared calf-skin, mainly for calligraphy.
Wetting Agent : Usually a detergent-based liquid which breaks surface
tension of a binder, and ‘wets’ the pigment or support.
British / American
variations in terminology
Chipboard : Particleboard.
Hardboard : Masonite.
Paraffin : Kerosene.
Sterling Board : Aspenite.
Wedge (in expandable stretchers) : Key
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