Acrylic Painting Vocabulary
Acrylic paint: A fast-drying paint
made of pigment suspended in
acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic
paints are water-soluble, but
become water-resistant when dry.
Impasto: Thick, opaque paint
applied with a brush, knife or
fingers, creating various textural
features on the surface of the
painting.
Double-loaded brush: Two or more
colors on a brush to create blended
color in one stroke.
Matte: A dull surface.
Fluid medium: A substance added
to paint for variety of uses such as
extending the volume of thin paint,
reducing viscosity of heavier paints,
etc.
Gel medium: A substance added to
paint for variety of uses and
techniques such as added body to
thinner paint, added transparency,
slow drying times, etc.
Gesso: A plaster-like material
spread upon a surface to prepare it
for painting.
Mixed-media: Refers to an artwork
of which more than one medium
has been used. For example, a work
on canvas that combines paint, ink,
and collage could be called "mixed
media".
Palette knife: A shaped, metal
spatula used for painting instead of
a brush.
Palette: A rectangular or ovalshaped flat surface used for mixing
colors. Also refers to the selection
of colors used by an artist.
Pigment: Refers to color or hue.
Glaze : Transparent painting over a
light under-painting.
Prime: To make ready. The
preparatory coating.
Gloss: A shiny surface.
Saturation: The greatest possible
intensity of the color.
Heavy body: Refers to the viscosity
or thickness of the paint. Heavy
body paints works best for impasto
and will hold a brush or knife stroke.
High flow acrylics: Paint with inklike consistency that lends itself to
a wide range of techniques such as
staining, calligraphy and mixed
media.
Scumbling: Dragging paint in a
broken manner over a previously
painted dry surface.
Sgraffito: Involves scratching
through a layer of still-wet paint to
reveal what’s underneath.
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Acrylic Painting Vocabulary
Soft body: Refers to the viscosity
or thickness of the paint. Soft body
paints work best for watercolor
techniques, or when smooth
coverage is desired.
Stretcher: The wooden frame on
which canvas or paper is stretched.
Study: A comprehensive drawing or
painting. Also refers to a detail that
can be incorporated into a finished
painting.
Tacky: Sticky, partly dried.
Tempera paint: A fast-drying paint
consisting of colored pigments
mixed with a water-soluble binder.
Transfers (acrylic transfer or gel
medium transfer): A method where
a photocopied image is transferred
to another surface thought the aid
of gel medium.
Underpainting: A monochromatic
sketch put down on the canvas
first, as an infrastructure, which will
be completely covered up by the
painting.
Viscosity: The thickness of a liquid.
Wash: The application of color in a
thin, fluid manner. Also refers to
diluted pigment.
The Art of Education | www.theartofed.com