MEDIA AND

TECHNIQUES

MATERIAL: UNDERSTANDING ART

PP. 12-14
AUTHOR: LOIS FICHNER-RATHUS
LINK:
HTTPS://BOOKSHELF.VITALSOURC
E.COM/#/BOOKS/9781305890329
 WHICH ART MEDIUM IS FOR YOU?

• IN A FINE ART CONTEXT, "ART MEDIUM" REFERS TO

THE ART MATERIALS OR ARTIST SUPPLIES USED TO
CREATE A WORK OF ART.

• BASICALLY, IT'S WHATEVER ONE USES TO MAKE A

MARK UPON A SURFACE.
 CONVENTIONAL MEDIUMS/MEDIA

• INCLUDE OIL PAINT ON CANVAS, CHARCOAL ON PAPER, MARBLE OR BRONZE,

AND GELATIN PRINTS, TO NAME A FEW.

• BUT ANY PHYSICAL SUBSTANCE CAN BE USED AS A MEDIUM— AND OFTEN IS—IN
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART; FROM SCRAPS OF NEWSPRINT AND OTHER
FOUND OBJECTS TO HUMAN HAIR AND BODY FLUIDS, ANYTHING—INCLUDING
CHOCOLATE—IS FAIR GAME.
 Janine Antoni, Gnaw, 1992 [600 lb chocolate cube and 600 lb
lard cube gnawed by the artist, 27 heart-shaped packages of chocolate
• EXAMPLE: made from chewed chocolate removed from chocolate cube and 130
lipsticks made with pigment, beeswax, and chewed lard removed from
lard cube]
 SEVEN POPULAR DRAWING AND PAINTING
MEDIUMS
1. ACRYLICS ARE WATER-BASED, WHICH 2. WATERCOLORS ARE WATER-BASED AND
MEANS THAT UNLIKE OIL PAINTS, THEY NON-TOXIC, SO PAINTS ARE THINNED
CAN BE THINNED WITH WATER AND WITH WATER AND PAINTBRUSHES CAN
CLEANED WITH WATER, ARE ALSO NON- BE EASILY CLEANED WITH SOAP AND
TOXIC AND NON-SMELLY, FOR THE ECO- WATER. THEY ARE ALSO NON-SMELLY.
OR HEALTH-CONSCIOUS, THIS MAKES
ACRYLICS A MORE ATTRACTIVE OPTION.
3. Pastel consists of pure 4. Colored pencils are
powdered pigment and
binder in a stick,
basically the same
pigment that is used in
all art mediums. Pastels
come in four forms: hard
pastels, soft pastels,
pastel pencils, and oil
pastels.
extremely lightweight and 5. Markers traditionally a
portable. They don't require niche tool used primarily by
any intensive set-up - you graphic designers and
can just take them wherever manga artists.
you go, open your
sketchbook or drawing pad,
et voila! This makes colored
pencils very non-messy
compared to other art
mediums.
 6. Mixed media art refers to a
visual art form that combines
a variety of media in a single
artwork. For example, if you There are many types of pens
draw with ink, then paint available for drawing, such as:
over it with watercolors, then fountain pens, graphic pens,
add some highlights in drafting pens, reed pens and even
colored pencil - that's mixed ball point pens.
media! Any of these types of pens can be
7. Pen and Ink Drawings are probably the used to create fine art!
most portable, convenient, and low-cost
form of art making. All you need is a
pen and a piece of paper, and you're
ready to make art!

Nearly everyone has doodled with

a pen in the margins of the paper.
Drawing with pens can be as fun
and easy as that!
 TECHNIQUES OF ART

• ARE METHODS OR THE SPECIFIC WAYS IN WHICH MEDIUMS ARE

HANDLED, CONTROLLED, AND APPLIED.

• IMPLIES SKILL OR FACILITY WITH TOOLS OF THE TRADE THAT

ENABLE AN ARTIST TO ACHIEVE A DESIRED EFFECT.

• THE HIGHLY ILLUSIONISTIC TECHNIQUE IS KNOWN AS “TROMPE

L’OEIL”, MEANING “TRICK THE EYE.”
 • EXAMPLE: CONNECTIONS: POP
1. STYLE - IS THE DISTINCTIVE MODE OF ARTIST ANDY WARHOL ASKED, “HOW
EXPRESSION THAT RESULTS FROM THE CAN YOU SAY ONE STYLE [OF ART] IS
WAY IN WHICH AN ARTIST HANDLES BETTER THAN ANOTHER?” DO YOU
MATERIALS AND THE ELEMENTS AND
THINK HE HAD A POINT? WARHOL’S
PRINCIPLES OF ART AND DESIGN.
FOUR MARILYNS’.
• IT IS THE “SIGNATURE LOOK” OF AN
ARTIST’S WORK—THAT SOMETHING THAT
ENABLES US TO DIFFERENTIATE
BETWEEN A RUBENS AND A REMBRANDT,
A PICASSO AND A POLLOCK.

• CAN BE CONSISTENT WITH SOME ARTISTS

OVER THE LENGTH OF THEIR CAREERS,
OR IT CAN MARK ONE, SPECIFIC
DIRECTION OR PHASE OF AN ARTIST’S
CREATIVE OUT- PUT.
 • Putting it all
together Principles
• More generally, style refers to distinctive of Design: Marilyn
characteristics of art and architecture that (Vanitas)
are common to a culture, era, or to a
group of artists working at the same time
or toward a common artistic goal.

Pierre Auguste Renoir’s paintings are

recognizable, for example, by the pastel-
color palette and the feathery brushstrokes
that the artist typically used (figure below)
as a French Impressionist artist working in
the nineteenth century.
2. Rhythm: The repetitive use of similar shapes
creates connections and rhythmic
relationships throughout the painting.
3. Unity and variety: Unity is achieved despite the emphasis on variety. Even though the objects are many and
have different shapes, textures, and colors, they are thematically connected: they symbolize the transient nature
of human existence and the meaninglessness of material objects. This theme is known as vanitas—related to the
word vanity—and is one of a series of vanitas paintings by Flack.

4. Emphasis and focal point: Painters have conventionally placed the focal point of a composition in the center;
that is where the eye naturally gravitates. Here an empty spot provides a backdrop for the only “active” image
in the painting: a teardrop of red paint has just dripped off the tip of a brush that hovers like a magic wand.

5. Medium: The medium is oil paint over acrylic paint on canvas. Style: Flack was a pioneer of the style called
Photorealism.

6. Balance: or equilibrium, among the visual units is distributed so that the eye will move rather than fix on one
object, cluster, or area. This is particularly evident in the black and white photo of Marilyn Monroe and its
reflection in the oval, gilded mirror.

7. Symbolism: The hourglass, pocket watch, and calendar page symbolize the passage of time. Overripe and
dried-out fruit pieces, a rose past its prime, and a half-burned candle signify the fleeting nature of beauty and
the brevity of life.

8. Scale and proportion: Scale is conveyed through size relationships among the components of the still life
object.
• If you want to paint or draw, but you need some ideas and
inspiration, remember that subjects in art can be anything you
want them to be - whatever your imagination conjures up.

• And an easy-to-understand description of art media and

techniques.
https://www.art-is-fun.com/art-medium
 ACTIVITY: ASSIGNMENT [M1]

• ASYNCHRONOUS CLASS ON AUGUST 27, 2022 [SATURDAY] -

NO ZOOM MEETING

• READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY POSTED UNDER

THIS WEEK.

• SUBMISSION ON AUGUST 27, 2022, UP TO 5:00 PM.

RESEARCH READING
WEEK 3 [M1]