3
organic Natural, or referring to nature in shape or form. Organic is the opposite of synthetic.
painterly The term refers to painting where the paint itself is loose, fluid or textured. Photographs and
drawings where form is defined more by blocks of color than line are also often described as such.
palette The selection of colors an artist chooses to work with or the board or surface on which a painter mixes
his or her colors.
pan color A semi-moist solid watercolor sold in a metal or plastic pan. Lighter weight and more portable than
tube colors.
panorama A panorama is any wide view of a space.
paper weights The weight of a stack of watercolor paper expressed in numeric values; the higher the number,
the heavier the paper. Watercolor papers are made from cotton rag and when they get wet, the paper will
wrinkle up. So, when you paint with 140lb paper it will wrinkle up if you don’t stretch your paper first. However,
300lb paper is thick enough to resist the wrinkling of the cotton fiber; this weight paper does not require
stretching prior to painting.
perspective Representing three-dimensional objects and space in two dimensions in a way that imitates
depth, height and width as seen with your eyes. Usually refers to linear perspective, which is based on the fact
that parallel lines or edges appear to converge and objects appear smaller as the distance between them and
the viewer increases. Atmospheric perspective (aerial perspective) creates the illusion of distance by reducing
color saturation, value contrast, and detail in order to imply the hazy effect of atmosphere between the viewer
and distant objects. Isometric perspective is not a visual or optical interpretation, but a mechanical means to
show space and volume in rectangular forms. Parallel lines remain parallel; there is no convergence.
pigment Any coloring agent, made from natural or synthetic substances, used with a binder in paints or
drawing materials. Pigments are derived from both natural and artificial sources. The earliest pigments were
mined from colored clays of earth (ochers and umbers), but minerals and plants were also early sources for
pigments.
polychrome Poly = many, chrome or chroma = colors. Having many colors; random or intuitive use of color
combinations as opposed to color selection based on a specific color scheme.
positive space 1. The area an object occupies. 2. The area that IS the primary subject or object.
primary colors One of the three colors (red, yellow, and blue) that are the basis for all other color
combinations. Pigment primaries are red, yellow, and blue; light primaries are red, green, and blue.
Theoretically, pigment primaries can be mixed together to form all the other hues in the spectrum.
realism The depiction of figures, objects or scenes with minimal distortion or stylization. Realist artists depict
subjects with objectivity and accuracy, rather than interpretation.
representational The term refers to art that depicts recognizable figures or elements of the natural world;
unlike abstract art.
scale The size or apparent size of an object seen in relation to other objects, people, or its environment or
format. Also used to refer to the quality or monumentality found in some objects regardless of their size. In
architectural drawings, the ratio of the measurements in the drawing to the measurements in the building.
secondary color One of three colors created by mixing equal parts of two primary colors (red, blue, and
yellow); the secondary colors are violet, orange, and green.
sketch A rough or loose visualization of a subject or composition.