Foreground can also be also called near ground. In a drawing, painting or visual composition it is what appears closest to the viewer. Typically...  < read on >

This is one that needs an art explanation rather than what you might find in the dictionary.Start by taking something like your hand and putting it ...  < read on >

The format is the outer boundary or edge of where you will draw or paint AND the space inside this boundary. Put another way, the format is the edge...  < read on >

In the strictest sense -- you just use your hands and your eyes to draw without other aids. In the old days other aids would be a ruler or other...  < read on >

This is the "connect the dots" idea in a painting or a drawing. The eye works to unconsciously find underlying geometry -- triangles, diagonals,...  < read on >

A gradation is a gradual change in color and/or value.  < read on >

This is the light in a work of art. It is based on how we see light in the world. Illumination or lighting can have many different qualities such as...  < read on >

This is a term that is something that as far as I know -- I just like to use when teaching. I like it a lot along with my other favorite terms for...  < read on >

This is a horizontal format. It is wider than it is high. It is like the horizon in a landscape -- it is very wide and "goes on forever" seemingly...  < read on >

Low stakes is NOT an art term -- but it is so important in your learning to draw and compose that I want to say a little bit about it here so that you...  < read on >