Glossary of Painting Terms

This is a new online glossary of painting terms. More to come!

Alkyd  (“Call me Al, kid”)
Oil Painting
Alkyds are synthetic resin replacements for slow drying natural oils. When added to oil paint they speed up the drying time. Examples: Liquin, Galkyd, and many more. Some paints like Quick Dry White, Gamblin FastMatte, and W&N Griffin Paints have alkyds replacing the oil in the tube, resulting in a faster drying paint.

Alla Prima (All-uh Pree-mah)
Oil & Acrylic Painting (Mostly Oil)
This is an Italian phrase that means “at the first attempt” so describes a painting created entirely in one sitting. Alla Prima is also called “wet-on-wet” because nothing has time to dry, and wet paint is worked over wet paint. Fresh wins the alla prima challenge, as overworking makes mud. You cannot glaze an alla prima painting.

Baroque painters who painted alla prima are Diego Velázquez and Frans Hals. In the Rococo era, artists such as Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Francesco Guardi, and Thomas Gainsborough were appreciated for their boldness. The most famous American Renaissance alla prima painter was John Singer Sargent.

 

Blocking in
Oil & Acrylic Painting
The first steps after the sketch, in which areas of flat color are applied to the whole canvas. The paint is usually thin so this layer dries quickly and can be easily painted over. Most of this layer will be covered, and so blocking in is usually a fast process, best done with a big brush. Some artists start with value, and apply one single color. For single colors, some choose a neutral earth color like a burnt umber. Others choose a complimentary color like orange for a landscape that will be mostly greys, blues and greens. Other artists block each area in with multiple colors, like a patchwork quilt.