Language of Art | RVHS ART

LANGUAGE OF ART

From MOE & Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the Arts (STAR).

Contents:

o WORDS RELATED TO ELEMENTS OF ART

o WORDS RELATED TO PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

o WORDS RELATED TO FEELINGS

o Artworks are able to express/describe...

o Artworks can be about...

o WORDS RELATED TO PAINTING

Language of Art aims to equip students with art vocabulary to understand and talk about art in our classrooms. Not meant to be an exhaustive glossary, students are encouraged to add new words. As our critical vocabulary grows, our thinking, conversations and writing on art will improve.

WORDS RELATED TO ELEMENTS OF ART

Elements of art: line, brushstroke/ paint application, colour, tone, shape and form, texture, space

LINES

angular

artificial

asymmetrical

blunt

blurred

bold

broken

calligraphic

circular

clean

confident

contour

controlled

converging

crisp

curved

decorative

delicate

diagonal

directional

dotted

echoing

flowing

fluid

gentle

gestural

graceful

harsh

heavy

horizontal

implied

jagged

natural

oblique

precise

repeated

rhythmic

sharp

slanting

smooth

soft

solid

static

stiff

straight

swirling

symmetrical

thick

thin

uniform

vertical

whimsical

wide

zigzag

BRUSH STROKE/

PAINT APPLICATION

choppy

confident

crosshatched

dry-on-wet

hatched

impasto

loose

modeled

painterly

short

splattered

stippling

washes

well-blended

wet-on-dry

wet-on-wet

COLOUR

advancing

analogous

arbitrary

bold

brash

bright

brilliant

broken

chiaroscuro

complementary

contrasting

cool

dappled

dark

diffused

diluted

dramatic

dull

earthy

even

faded

flat

garish

glossy

glowing

harmonious

heavy

high contrast

intense

iridescent

lambent

light

lively

loud

lustrous

matte

mixed

modelled

monochromatic

muted

naturalistic

neutral

opalescent

opaque

pale

pastel

primary

prismatic

radiant

realistic

receding

rich

saturated

secondary

smoky

solid

sombre

stained

subdued

subtle

symbolic

tertiary

tint

two-toned

uneven

unnatural

unrealistic

vibrant

vivid

warm

washed out

wild

TONE

contrasting

dramatic

flat

gradations

gradual

jewel-toned

metallic

muted

subtle

two-toned

uniform

SHAPE AND FORM

abstracted

aerodynamic

amorphous

angular

biomorphic

concave

concentric

confining

convex

cuboid

curved

defined

distorted

elongated

exact

exaggerated

fixed

flat

fluid

free

free-form

geometric

hard-edged

irregular

juxtaposed

malleable

natural

organic

overlapping

pointed

representational

rigid

rounded

severe

simplified

spherical

straight-edged

tapered

volumetric

TEXTURE

abrasive

coarse

concentrated

embossed

etched

feathery

fine

firm

flat

furred

gelatinous

grainy

granular

greasy

gritty

heavy

light

matte

metallic

pebbled

ridged

rough

serrated

shiny

silky

simulated

smooth

uneven

velvety

wavy

wet

SPACE

all-over

background

confined

crowded

deep

empty

flat

flowing

foreground

grid

illusion

middle ground

negative

open

positive

shallow

tight

vast

WORDS RELATED TO PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

Principles of Design: rhythm and movement, balance, scale and proportion, unity and harmony,

RHYTHM AND MOVEMENT

directional

dramatic

dynamic

energetic

even

flowing

Fluid

gradated

joyful

irregular

radial

repetition

rhythmic

swirling

uneven

varied

BALANCE

asymmetrical

contrast

juxtaposition

off-balance

radial

slanted

symmetrical

tilted

SCALE AND PROPORTION

intimate

large

miniature

minute

monumental

overwhelming

Proportionate

small

UNITY AND HARMONY

appealing to the eye

congruent

consistent

WORDS RELATED TO FEELINGS

PLEASANT

accepting

agreeable

brave

calm

cheerful

clever

confident

delightful

enjoyable

gentle

happy

intrigued

jolly

keen

kind

lively

nice

open

peaceful

pleasure

proud

reassured

receptive

relieved

thankful

victorious

witty

UNPLEASANT

anxious

angry

alone

bewildered

bitter

clumsy

confused

creepy

cross

defeated

desperate

distress

diminished

embarrassed

empty

fierce

frustrate

grumpy

helpless

indignant

jealous

lazy

lost

nervous

obnoxious

panicky

paralysed

provoked

repulsive

sore

thoughtless

uptight

worried

OTHERS

affected

concerned

comforted

curious

fascinated

silly

stability

surprised

touched

QUANTITY (ADJECTIVES)

abundant

empty

few

full

heavy

light

many

numerous

sparse

substantial

TIME (ADJECTIVES)

brief

early

fast

late

long

prolong

quick

rapid

short

slow

swift

SIZE (ADJECTIVES)

colossal

gigantic

great

huge

immense

large

little

massive

miniature

petite

scrawny

short

tall

teeny

tiny

wide

Artworks are able to express/describe... (Part 1)

Action

Activism

Admiration

Aggression

Agitation

Amusement

Ancestry

Anger

Annoyance

Anxiousness

Apathy

Apocalypse

Appropriation

Balance

Beauty

Blissfulness

Boredom

Boundaries

Bric-a-brac

Calmness

Care

Change

Chaos

Cheeriness

Collective

Comfort

Compassion

Complexity

Conflict

Confusion

Contemplation

Coolness

Cosmology

Culture

Danger

Deep in thought

Depression

Distress

Disturbance

Doubt

Ecology

Edgy

Elation

Elegance

Energy

Enthusiasm

Entrapment

Envy

Euphoric

Exchanges

Excitement

Exultation

Fantasy

Femininity

Force

Freedom

Furious

Future

Geographies

Gloomy

Happiness

High Spirits

History

Hope

Incense

Infatuation

Interruptions

Introspection

Irritation

Jealous

Joy

Jubilation

Liveliness

Locus

Love

Masculinity

Materiality

Meditation

Mortality

Movement

Mysterious

Artworks are able to express/describe... (Part 2)

Nature

Nervousness

Networks

Objects

Optimism

Organic

Outrage

Passion

Passiveness

Peace

Pensiveness

Place

Play

Pleasure

Politics

Pondering

Power

Prophecies

Quietness

Rage

Reflective

Rejoice

Relaxation

Reliability

Resentment

Rest

Rhythm

Rigidity

Romance

Sadness

Science

Sensitive

Serenity

Seriousness

Simplicity

Sincerity

Sociability

Softness

Sorrow

Spirituality

Spontaneity

Stability

Strength

Stress

Suffering

Tenseness

Thoughtfulness

Thrill

Tranquility

Transformation

Triumph

Trouble

Uncertainty

Unpredictability

Uptight

Vibration

Violence

Warmth

Weariness

Artworks can be about...
(non-exhaustive list)

activism

ancestries

apocalypse

appropriation

Words related to Painting

VISUAL AESTHETICS NOUNS

balance

colour

composition

contrast

depth

emphasis

form

harmony

imagery

line

movement

pattern

perspective

proportion

repetition

rhythm

space

surface

texture

tone

unity

variety

viewpoints

TYPES

abstract

acrylic

digital painting

expressionistic

figurative

gouache

impressionistic

ink

landscape

oil

photorealistic

portraiture

realistic

representational

still-life

tempera

watercolour

TECHNICAL TERMS

binder

brushstrokes

brushwork

dry-brush

fat-over-lean (oil)

gesso

glazing

highlights

iconography

imagery

impasto

iterations

mediums

palette knife

pigment

solvent

splattering

support

texture paste

thin-over-thick (acrylic)

trompe l’oeil

underdrawing

underpainting

varnish

wet-on-wet

Artworks are able to express/describe... (Part 1)

Artworks are able to express/describe... (Part 2)

Artworks can be about... (non-exhaustive list)

Words related to Painting

Artworks can be about...
(non-exhaustive list)