Achromatic Colours – Black, white and grey
Apprentice Piece – A picture made by an apprentice to graduate as a journeyman
Azurite – A blue mineral pigment
Background – Distant elements in a picture
Body Colour – Opaque colour
Canvas – Linen or cotton fabric used to paint on. Also a finished painting on canvas
Cartoon – A preparatory drawing
Cartridge Paper – Inexpensive white drawing paper
Charcoal – Drawing material made from burnt wood
Caricature – Exaggerated depiction of a person
Chiaroscuro – Bold depiction of light and shade
Cinnabar – A red mineral pigment
Collage – Picture made by sticking elements on to it
Composition – The visual organisation of a picture
Craquelure – Crazing on old paint or varnish
Easel – Stand or support for a painting
Foreground – Pictorial space close to the viewer
Foreshortening – The compressing distortion caused by perspective
Format – The shape and size of an artwork
Fugitive (colour) – A colour that fades in daylight
Gallery – A room or building used to display pictures
Gesso – White ground used to paint on
Gilding – Application of gold leaf
Glaze – Transparent colour
Golden Mean or Golden Section – Harmonious ratio for dividing a picture
Gradation – Smooth and gradual change of tone or colour
Graticulation – Grid used to enlarge, reduce or otherwise distort a drawing
Hatching – Tones formed by closely spaced parallel lines
Impasto – Thick, layered use of paint
Indian Ink – Dense black ink
Journeyman – Stage between being an apprentice and a master
Landscape – Picture of an outdoor scene
Landscape Format – Wider than it is tall
Lapis Lazuli – Blue semi-precious stone. Basis of ultramarine pigment
Linseed Oil – Oil commonly used as a medium with oil paint
Local Colour – The inherent colour of an object
Malachite – A green mineral pigment
Masterpiece – A picture made by a journeyman to graduate as a master. A picture worthy of a master
Medium – Liquid mixed with pigment to make paint. Also, materials used to make a picture
Middle Ground – Pictorial space between the foreground and background
Nocturne – Depiction of a night-time scene
Ochre – A rich brown or yellow natural earth pigment
Oil Paint – Paint made from pigment mixed with oil
Opaque – Impervious to light
Orpiment – A yellow mineral pigment
Outline – The drawn boundary of an object or colour
Painting Knife – Small-bladed knife used to apply paint
Palette – Surface on which paint is mixed. Also, a range of colours
Palette Knife – Flexible knife used to mix paint
Perspective – Artistic technique for depicting depth
Picture Plane – The surface of a picture
Pigment – Natural or synthetic colouring matter
Portfolio – Folder for transporting drawings
Portrait – Picture of an individual
Portrait Format – Taller than it is wide
Primary Colours – Red, yellow and blue
Profile – Something rendered from a side view
Quill – A sharpened feather used as a pen
Realgar – An orange mineral pigment
Scumble – Pale, broken colour over a darker one
Secondary Colours – Green, orange and purple, made by mixing two primary colours
Sepia – Brown colour derived from cuttlefish ink
Sfumato – Technique of softly blending tones or colours
Sgraffito – Scratching through a layer to reveal another beneath
Size – Liquid glue used to prime a surface
Sketch – A rapid drawing
Spectrum – Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Also, a range of colours
Stretcher – Wooden frame on which canvas is stretched for painting
Studio – Workplace of an artist
Swatch – A small sample of colour
Tertiary Colours – Colours other than primary and secondary colours
Tone – The lightness or darkness of a colour
Translucent – Allowing light through
Turpentine – Common solvent for oil paint
Ultramarine – Deep blue colour made from lapis lazuli pigment
Vanishing Point – Imaginary point in a drawing where parallel lines converge
Varnish – Transparent protective layer on top of a painting
Wash – Diluted paint or ink
Watercolour – Water soluble paint