Sketch Book for the Artist

together optically, creating more

vibrant effects than if the same

colors were physically mixed

together with a brush.

Pouncing If a large drawing or

design (called a cartoon) is to be

transferred to a surface such as a

wall or tapestry, a sheet of paper

is placed beneath and pinpricks are

made along every outline of the

image. The drawing is removed,

leaving only the pricked sheet of

paper in place. Pounce (a fine

powder of charcoal or similar

material) dabbed through the

pinpricks creates a "connect-the-

dots" replica of the image on the

plaster or cloth surface beneath.

Printmaking The act of making a

picture, design, or mark using an inked

or pigment-covered surface, such

as an inscribed sheet of metal, or

wood, or any physical object that

can be stamped or pressed onto a

surface to leave an impression. Artists'

prints are normally made in multiple,

which are then called editions.

Props An abbreviation of the word

properties. A term borrowed from

the theater; meaning objects used in

setting up a life model or still life.

Recto The front or top side of a

piece of paper, or the right-hand

page in a book.

Scale Describes the size of one

element in relation to another

Sepia A brown pigment taken

from the sun-dried ink sacs of

cuttlefish and used to make ink

or watercolor The term is now

often incorrectly used to refer

to brown colors.

Serigraphy Silk-screen printing.

Sfumato An Italian term meaning

"smoky." Applied to the blurring

or softening of sharp outlines by

the subtle and gradual blending of

one tone into another

Sgraffito A technique of scratching

or cutting through a surface of

paint, plaster; or ceramic glazing to

reveal a different color beneath.

Shade A that is color mixed

(or toned) with black

Shading A lay term for adding

tone to a drawing.

Shadow Darkness cast by the

obscuring of light.

Silhouette A flat, cut-out profile

usually made in black paper

and sometimes drawn from a

shadow cast on a wall. Named

for an unpopular 18th-century

French politician, Etienne de

Silhouette (1709-67), whose

personal pastime was making

cut-out portraits.

Single-point perspective The most

basic form of linear perspective in

which there is only one vanishing

point, or point on which parallel

lines converge to give the impression

of receding space.

Size A weak glue used for filling

the porous surface of wood or

canvas in order to seal it.

Sketch A quick or rough drawing.

Spattering A mottled texture

produced by drawing your fingers

across the bristles of a stiff brush

loaded with pigment, in order

to flick the pigment onto the

image surface.

Squaring up A method of enlarging

and transferring an image from one

surface to another, by imposing

a grid that is then scaled up to

a larger size.

Squeegee A rubber-trimmed

scraper used in the screen-

printing process for dragging

ink across a surface.

Still life A picture composed of

inanimate objects such as bowls,

glasses, fruit, and flowers.

Stippling Applying color or tone in

areas of fine dots or flecks, using a

brush, pencil, or pen.

Strip Core of a pencil, commonly

referred to as the lead.

Stylus A sharp, pointed instrument

used for marking or engraving.

Subjective drawing A drawing

that expresses the personal view

and interpretation of the artist An

invented image.

Support The structure on which

an image is made—for example,

paper or canvas.

Technical drawing A universal

language of lines and measurements

that is used to make diagrammatic

images. Technical drawing has been

evolved by engineers and architects

for the purpose of conveying

accurate structural information.

Tint A color mixed with white.

Tonal scale A scale of gradations

in tone running from black to

white or vice versa.

Tone A degree of lightness or

darkness.

Tortillon A short, tight, pointed

roll of white paper that is used to

blend dry media. Alternatively, a

tightly folded piece of cotton batting

can be used for the same effect.

Turpentine A colorless solvent

distilled from the resinous sap of

pine trees. The crude material is

called oleoresin. "Spirits" or "oil"

of turpentine refer to the volatile

portion used by artists to thin

or dilute oil-based paint.

Underdrawing A pale preliminary

drawing made prior to adding

layers of another medium such

as oil paint or watercolor

Value The extent to which a

color reflects or transmits light

This is the equivalent of tone in

a black and white image.

Vanishing point In linear

perspective, a point at which

receding parallel lines meet

Verso The back or underside of

a piece of paper; or the left-hand

page in a book.

Viewpoint The position from

which something is observed

or considered.

Volume The amount of space

occupied by an object or an area

of space in itself.

Wash A technique using ink,

watercolor; or gouache, usually

diluted with water and applied

with a brush. Although drawings

can be made with wash alone,

it is often used in conjunction

with line drawings in pen and

ink—for example, to model areas

of light and shade.

Watercolor A painting

compound of water-soluble

pigment. The translucent

nature of watercolor allows

the white surface of the paper to

shine through, giving it a brilliance.

Wet media Any liquid media—

for example, ink, acrylic, or

watercolor paint.

Zen A school of Mahayana

Buddhism that asserts that

enlightenment can come

through meditation and

intuition rather than faith.

Zen brushwork This is an

oriental meditative art form

originating in China and practised

for many centuries in Japan.

Zen brushwork encompasses

calligraphy and painting. Zen

paintings usually depict scenes

of nature and plants such as

bamboo, orchids, plum blossom,

and chrysanthemum—which in

Chinese tradition are called "The

Four Gentlemen." Materials for

Zen brushwork include round

brushes of varied size, carbon

ink, an ink stone usually cut

from slate, fine paper, and

paperweights.

GLOSSARY