The Artist’s Medium

Medium, which comes from the Latin

word medium, denotes the means by an
artist to interpret his feelings or thoughts.
(e.g. materials of architect, painters,
sculptor, and musician).
Thus, medium is very essential in arts.
Medium and Technique
Visual arts and Auditory
Two Dimensional (2D)
 Art work is flat
 Meant to be viewed from ONE side only
 Ex: paintings, drawings, photographs
Three Dimensional (3D)
 Art work has mass and volume (takes
up space)
 Art work is intended to be viewed from
more than one side
 Ex: sculptures, architecture
The auditory are music and literature.

The combined arts are those whose

mediums can be both seen and heard and
which exist in both space and time. (e.g.
dance, drama, opera and film.
Technique is the manner in which the
artist controls his medium to achieve the
desired effect. It is the ability with which
he fulfills the technical requirements of
his particular work of art. It has
something to do with the way he
manipulates his medium to express his
ideas in the artwork.
Mediums of the Visual
Arts
Painting
 Is the art of creating meaningful effects
on a flat surface by the use of
pigments. Different mediums are used
in painting. Each medium exerts a
pronounced effect on the finished
product, is capable of varied treatment,
determines its own stroke.
Watercolor
 Watercolor is difficult to handle because
producing warm and rich tones using this
medium proves to be a challenge. On the
contrary, watercolor pigments invite
brilliance and a variety of hues. While
changes may be made one once the paint
has been applied, such changes normally
tend to make the color less luminous.
Fresco
 Fresco is a painting method done on a
moist plaster surface with colors ground
in water or a lime water mixture. Fresco
must be done quickly because it is an
exacting medium. The image becomes
permanently fixed and almost
impossible to remove.
Tempera
 Tempera paints are mineral pigments
mixed with egg yolk or egg white and ore.
This egg-based emulsion binds the
pigments to the surface. Tempera is
characterized by its film-forming properties
and rapid drying rate. It requires a more
deliberate technique than oil because it
does not posses the flexibility of oil.
 Throughout the Middle ages and early
Renaissance, tempera was one of the
favorite mediums of many painters
before oil was adopted. Tempera
painting is usually done on wooden
panel made very smooth with plaster
called “gesso”.
Since this medium dries quickly,
corrections are difficult to make. Thus,
the artist must be precise and exact in his
work. It is well designed medium for
careful detail. One distinguishing tempera
is its luminous tone.
Pastel
 Pastel is a stick of dried paste made of
pigment ground with chalk and
compounded with gum water. It is a
very flexible medium whose colors are
luminous. Some artists use a fixing
medium or a protecting surface such as
glass.
Encaustic
 Encaustic is one of the early mediums
used by the Egyptians for painting
portraits on mummy cases. This is done
by applying wax colors fixed with heat.
Painting with wax produces luster and
radiance, making subjects appear at
their best in portraits.
Oil
 Oil painting is one of the most
expensive art activities today because
of the prohibitive cost of materials. It is
the heaviest of painting mediums. In oil
painting, pigments are mixed with
linseed oil and applied to the canvas.
Acrylic
 Acrylic is a medium used popularly by
contemporary painters because of the
transparency and quick drying
characteristics of watercolor and
flexibility of oil combined. Tis synthetic
paint is mixed with acrylic emulsion as
binder for coating the surface of the
artwork.
Mosaic
 Is the art of putting together the
“tesserae” to create an image. Mosaic is
usually classified as painting, although,
the medium used is not strictly
pigment.
 Mosaic art is an important feature of
Byzantine Churches. A prominent
religious artwork in Manila done in
mosaic is found in the altar of Sta. Cruz
Church.
Stained Glass
 Stained glass as an artwork is common
in Gothic cathedrals and churches. It is
made by combining small pieces of
colored glass, held together by bands of
lead. It is also a kind of patchwork.
Beautiful stained glass windows showing
scenes from the Bible are commonly
found in the Philippine Churches
Tapestry
 Is a fabric produced by hand-weaving
colored threads upon a warp. The
woven designs often end up as
pictorials, wall hangings, and furniture
covering. During the middle ages, they
were hung on the wall of palaces and in
cathedrals on festive occasions to
provide warmth.
Drawing
 Is usually done on paper using pencil,
pen and ink, or charcoal. It is the most
fundamental of all skills necessary in
arts. Some of the world’s best known
drawings are by Italian artist Leonardo
da Vinci. He drew everything from
animals and birds to ideas for flying
machines.
Pencil, Pen and Ink and
Charcoal
Bistre
 A brown pigment extracted from the
soot of wood, and often used in pen
and wash drawings.
Crayons
 Crayons are pigment bound by wax and
compressed into painted sticks used for
drawing. It is specially popular among
children in the elementary grades.
Crayons adhere better on paper
surface.
Silverpoint
 To produce a silverpoint artwork, the
artist uses a silver stylus to produce a
thin grayish on specially prepared
paper.
Printmaking
A print is anything printed on a surface
that is direct result from the duplication
process. The painting or graphic image,
usually done in black ink on white paper,
becomes the artist’s plate.
Lithography
 Is a surface printing done from an almost
smooth surface which has been treated
chemically or mechanically so that some
surface areas will print and other will not.
Lithographic painting, known as
planographic process, involves the process
in which the grease repels water and fatty
substances stick to each other.
Sculpture
 The most enduring and,
arguably, the greatest form of fine art
known to man, sculpture has played a
major role in the evolution of Western
culture. Its history and stylistic
development are those of Western
art itself.
Stone
Jade
Ivory
Metals
Plaster
Clay
Glass
Wood
Ice
Architecture
 The art of designing a building and
supervising its construction. It may also
be regarded as the procedure assisted
with conception of an idea and its
realization in terms of building
materials.
One of the primary purposes of
architecture is to fulfill man’s needs.
1.Physical needs

2.Emotional needs

3.Intellectual needs

4.Psychological needs