Abstract Art - Art stressing the form of its subject rather than its actual appearance.  The subject is broken down into elements: line, shape or form, color, value, texture and space.

Accent - A detail, brushstroke, or area of color placed in a painting for emphasis.

Acid Free - Acid free refers to papers without acid (pH) in the pulp when manufactured. High acidity papers degrade quickly.

Acrylic Paint - A synthetic-base paint. Its working properties are similar to oil paint, although acrylic dries more quickly and forms a somewhat glossier surface.

Alla Prima - Italian phrase meaning "first time". Painting directly in one session with no under-drawing or painting. Usually refers to oil or acrylic painting.

Analogous Colors - A grouping of related colors next to each other on the color wheel. Example: Yellow, Yellow Green, and Green.

Aquarelle - The French term for the process and product of painting in transparent watercolor.

Archival Paper - Archival watercolor paper is any pure 100% rag, cotton, or linen watercolor paper of neutral or slightly low ph, alkaline (base) vs. acidic and pure ingredients. Some synthetic papers are archival in nature but have unique working properties.

Artist Enhanced - A term used to describe prints to which an artist has added color or washes after the piece has been printed. (See Hand-embellished)

Artist-Signed Stamp - A stamp signed by the artist and framed in combination with a stamp print.

Artist Proof (AP)- Often numbered, these copies of a limited edition print are signed and typically titled "Artist Proof." –Artist proofs originally were the first copies printed and were used to indicate the artist’s approval of color reproduction and other mechanical aspects of the printing process. Once prized as best quality copies (see Lithography). Artist proofs now exist solely as part of the printmaking tradition and are of a quality similar to the standard edition print. Artist's proofs are distinguished by the abbreviation AP and are numbered separately; they often represent 10 percent of an edition and are slightly more expensive than prints in the regular edition.

Canvas Print - A reproduction in which an image is printed directly onto canvas. These prints can be produced using offset lithography, digital printing or other methods. Sometimes artists will add brush strokes directly onto the canvas after the piece has been printed.

Canvas Transfer - A reproduction in which inks are chemically lifted off a piece of paper and applied to a piece of canvas. Some processes can replicate the texture and appearance of an original painting.

Carving - A type of sculpture using various techniques of cutting, abrading or otherwise wearing the surface of a material to shape it into a particular form. Among the materials appropriate for carving include wood, sandstone, soap, plastic and wax.

Cast - To form a three-dimensional sculpture by pouring a molten or liquid material into a mold. The term is also used to refer to a work created by this means.

Ceramics - The art making of objects of clay and firing them in a kiln to a permanent form. Wares of earthenware and porcelain, as well as sculpture are made by ceramists. Pots may be made by the coil, slab, or some other manual technique, or on a potter's wheel. Ceramics are often decorated with glazes and fired again to fuse the glazes to the clay body.

Certificate of Authenticity - A warranty card or statement of authenticity of a limited edition print that records the title of the work, the artist’s name, the edition size and the print's number within the edition, the number of artist's proofs and the release date. It is a guarantee that the edition is limited and that the image will not be published again in the same form.

Chromolithography - A color-printing process in which separate printing plates are used to apply each component color. Often called "four-color printing” because the full range of color tones is achieved with only four plates - red, blue, yellow and black.

Coated Paper - Paper manufactured with a thin surface coating of clay. This coating produces an extremely sharp, finely detailed image because it prevents ink from penetrating the paper fibers.

Collagraph Printmaking Technique - The Collagraph print is best described as a collage printmaking technique, where the image is composed from a variety of textured materials glued to a substrate and printed either in an intaglio or relief fashion.

Commission - To order an original work from an artist.Commission Print - Also called 'time-limited edition' print. The number of orders received as of an established deadline date determines the edition size of this print.

Conservation Framing - Methods of mounting and framing that preserve a print in original mint condition. One important aspect of conservation framing is that all material in actual contact with the print contains no chemicals that might eventually damage the paper or the inked image: these materials are usually described as "acid-free". UV protection is also considered in conservation framing.

Conservation Stamp Prints - Prints that have been reproduced for sale with conservation stamps. Sales of these stamps and prints often benefit conservation programs.

Contemporary Art - Artworks created in our own time.

Countersignature - Signature of someone other than the artist that adds either additional authenticity or historical value to a limited-edition print.

Diptych (dip'tik) - A painting done in two separate panels. Each part is a complete work in itself, but when presented together they form a larger fully integrated work.

Digital Art - An original picture using the computer as the medium.  The artwork may be produced as a single image, allowing multiples of identical images to be printed, or the picture may be created in separate layers and printed individually, allowing the artist to make changes during each printing, making each print its own original art.

Dry Mount - Framing method in which a print is fastened to a stiff backing with non-liquid adhesive. Dry mounting is not recommended for prints of any value.

Dry Point - A free-hand drawing scratched or engraved on a metal plate with a sharp tool. The plate is inked and then wiped to remove all ink except what remains within the cut grooves. Paper is laid over the plate and the ink transferred to it using rollers under high pressure. Dry points are often incorrectly called "etchings".

Edition - The number of printed copies made of an original work. The standard phrase "edition size" therefore refers to the number of copies, not a print's physical dimensions. Edition size generally does not include artist proofs or any special edition copies that might be made, these special editions such as printer’s proofs, conservation editions, etc., are all numbered separately.

Etching - The process of rendering an image upon a metal plate by using nitric or other acid to dissolve portions of the metal surface. The image is transferred to paper in much the same manner as a dry point. Properly called a "print" or "proof" the resulting copy is more commonly called an etching.

Foreshortening - The diminishing of certain dimensions of an object or figure in order to depict it in a correct spatial relationship. In realistic depiction, foreshortening is necessary because although lines and planes that are perpendicular to the observer's line of vision (central visual ray), and the extremities of which are equidistant from the eye, will be seen at their full size, when they are revolved away from the observer they will seem increasingly shorter. Thus for example, a figure's arm outstretched toward the observer must be foreshortened--the dimension of lines, contours and angles adjusted--in order that it not appear hugely out of proportion. The term foreshortening is applied to the depiction of a single object, figure or part of an object or figure, whereas the term perspective refers to the depiction of an entire scene.

Gallery Wrap - Also called a Museum Wrap.  The canvas is attached to the stretcher bars by wrapping the canvas around the bars and attaching from behind.  The image of the artwork continues around the sides seamlessly, giving a clean, contemporary look; allowing the artwork to be hung without a frame.

Giclée - A giclee (pronounced ghee-clay) is a type of digitally created fine art print that describes a technique of spraying archival ink and is created on special high resolution printer using high resolution scans. Giclée process uses top of the line ink jet Iris printers that can print millions of color at very high resolution and on various materials such as canvas, watercolor paper, linen, etc.-- as original paintings. The colors of giclée prints are very vivid and pure, and the artist has great control of accuracy to the original. Inks developed for giclée have been tested, and proven effective for about 75 years. Giclées are displayed in museums and art galleries. The substrate (underlying support material such as paper or canvas) is carefully attached to a spinning drum. Four infinitely small (much smaller than the human hair) pixels of the best archival water based organic inks are then capable of rendering an amazingly smooth and consistent image. These microscopic and digitally programmed droplets of color are sprayed into the substrate at a very high speed (3-5 million pixels per second).  While rotating at a very high speed, it accurately and consistently mirrors the original work of art. The result then is an image comprised of nearly 18-20 billion droplets of ink saturation onto the substrate without a moiré (watered silk) pattern that becomes a convincing rendering of any fine art image. Its luxurious quality makes it virtually indistinguishable from the original work. It surpasses nearly any other method of color application. It does not yellow, and will resist cracking, even when stretched. Iris Print Seal - an aerosol spray overcoat that provides an invisible crystal clear semi-matte top coat offers a smudge and moisture resistance finish, dye stabilizers, and the ultra violate light blockers.

Glazing - Glass or acrylic set or made to be set in a frame that protects the artwork from light, dust and other environmental hazards. There are different levels of glazing, from lightweight acrylic and regular glass to more expensive specialty products like anti-glare and anti-reflective glazing.Gouache (gwash) - A medium in which opaque pigments are mixed with water and a preparation of gum. Gouache is also used to describe a painting made with such pigments. The usual gouache painting displays a light-reflecting brilliance quite different from the luminosity of transparent watercolors.

Graphite - A type of carbon used for pencils, transfer sheets and as a dry lubricant. Synthetic graphite is made from carborundum

Grisaille - The technique of painting a highly-modeled, black and white monochromatic base painting and then glazing it with transparent colors.

Ground - The surface upon which a painting is done - canvas, Masonite, and so on.

Gum Arabic - Gum arabic is produced from the sap of the African acacia tree and is available in crystalline form or an already prepared solution. It binds watercolor pigments when used with water and glycerin or honey.Hand Colored Photographs - Black and white photographs painted over with oils, watercolors, or special pencils, which give the photograph a nostalgic look. (B/W photographs were hand colored before the advent of color photography).

Hand-embellished - A term used to describe prints to which an artist has added color or washes after the piece has been printed. (See Artist Enhanced)

Highlight - A point of intense brightness, such as the reflection in an eye.

Hot Pressed - Hot pressed (HP) watercolor paper is pressed for an extremely smooth work surface. Excellent for mixed ink and watercolor techniques.

Hue - The color of a pigment or object. Not relating to tone or value.Image Size - Actual dimensions of a printed image. This refers only to the image itself and not to the size of the paper it is printed on.Impasto - Paint applied in outstanding heavy layers or strokes; also, any thickness or roughness of paint or deep brush marks, as distinguished from a flat, smooth surface.

India Ink - 1. A black pigment made of lampblack and glue or size and shaped into cakes or sticks. 2. An ink made from this pigment.

International Editions - A series of prints/canvas that are distributed outside the country where the artist resides.

Issue Price - The original price of a limited edition print when first offered for retail sale.

Key - The lightness (high key) or darkness (low key) of a painting.

Kiln - A furnace capable of controlled high temperatures used to fire ceramic ware and sculpture.

Landscape - A painting in which the subject matter is natural scenery.

Lightfast - A pigments resistance to fading on long exposure to sunlight. Watercolors are rated lightfast on a scale of I-IV. I and II ratings are the most permanent.

Limited Edition Print - A reproduction of an original work of art that is signed and sequentially numbered by the artist. The total number of prints is fixed or limited by the artist or the publisher. Limited edition can be offset lithographs, digital prints, serigraphs or any other type of reproduction.
When an artist decides to print a limited edition of a piece of original art, an edition size is set and only that number of prints will be made available to the buying public. For example, if a limited edition of 780 prints were going to be made of an original, there would be 780 copies plus 78 (10% of the addition) artist proofs made and inspected. All of the rejected prints plus negatives and printing plates are then destroyed. Thus, there would be a total of 858 prints available for sale throughout the entire world for that edition! This ensures that only those prints signed and numbered by the artist will be on the market for purchase and trading on the secondary market. The prints are made on top quality paper stock, usually 100% cotton rag paper that is acid free and of archival quality and only the highest quality permanent non-fading inks are used in the printing process. This provides the purchaser with the very finest and most permanent materials which, when mounted and framed correctly, will minimize the effects of deterioration from moisture, insects, acid migration, and light over a long period of time.

Linocut - An image cut into the surface of linoleum, usually, mounted on a block of wood. The surface is then inked, wiped, and the image transferred to paper by pressure.

Lithography - Originally, a method of printing using a smooth slab of porous stone upon which an image is drawn with a grease crayon. After the drawing is made, the artist or printer treats the entire surface with solutions of gum arabic and nitric acid. The gum arabic surrounds the grease and at the same time chemically prevents ink from adhering to the undrawn areas; the nitric acid helps the grease and the gum arabic penetrate the pores of the stone. The plate is then wiped down with a solvent such as turpentine to remove all grease from the surface.
To print a lithograph, the printer flushes the surface with water, which is absorbed by the undrawn area but the greasy drawn area rejects. The printer then applies oil-base ink with a roller, and since water will not unite with oil the ink sticks only to the grease and thereby forms the image that can be pressure transferred to paper.
In a more modern, mechanized process called "Offset lithography," the image to be printed is photographically applied to a metal plate that is then mounted onto the roller of a printing press. Ink is applied to the plate, transferred to a rubber roller called a "blanket" and from the blanket onto paper. Offset lithography is today the most widely used method of printing.
Because the older method brings paper and printing plate into direct contact with one another, the plate suffers a certain degree of wear as each copy is pulled and this is why low-number prints and artist proofs traditionally have been more desirable than copies made toward the end of the press run. Plate-wear is not a significant factor in offset lithography so there is no longer any actual difference in quality between the first print of an edition and the last one.

Low Relief - (Bas Relief) Sculpture that project slightly from the surface.  Relief is usually meant to be seen from one angle, unlike a sculpture that is usually meant to be seen from many angles.

Margin - The white unprinted area surrounding a printed image.

Matting - Decorative board used in framing that provides contrast between the image and the moulding. Most matting is acid-free and is an important part of the conservation framing technique.

Medallion - Cast-metal medallions sometimes are issued in conjunction with the publication of prints, especially stamp prints. Design of the medallion artwork usually duplicates some portion of the print. Such medallions can be gold-plated, silver, bronze or even pewter.

Medium (plural: media) - The material or technique used in creating a work of art. Oil paint, acrylic paint, watercolor, bronze, wood, and stone are all examples of artistic media.

Mint Stamp - An unsigned stamp framed with a copy of the print from which the stamp was made. (See Artist Signed Stamp)

Mixed Media - An artwork combing two or more artistic media - for example, scratchboard and paint, pencil and watercolor - bronze and wood.Monotype - A one-of-a-kind print made by painting on a sheet or slab of glass and transferring the still-wet painting to a sheet of paper held firmly on the glass by rubbing the back of the paper with a smooth implement, such as a large hardwood spoon. The painting may also be done on a polished plate, in which case it may be either printed by hand or transferred to paper by running the plate and paper through an printing press.

Montage - A picture made up of various proportions of existing pictures, such as photographs or prints, arranged so they join, overlap, or blend with one another.

Moulding - A piece of wood, plastic, metal, or other material used to frame a piece of art.

Museum Wrap - Also called Gallery Wrap .  The canvas is attached to the stretcher bars by wrapping the canvas around the bars and attaching from behind.  The image of the artwork continues around the sides seamlessly, giving a clean, contemporary look; allowing the artwork to be hung without a frame.

Numbered - Each copy of a limited edition print is marked with two numbers separated by a slash mark. The first number identifies the particular copy, and the second indicates edition size: 42/950, for instance, identifies print number 42 of a 950-copy edition. (See Artist Proof and Lithography) 

Offset Lithograph - A photomechanical reproduction created by the separation of colors in the original and then the recombining of those colors on a printing press. Most posters and open-edition prints and many limited-edition prints are offset lithographs.

Oil - Paint made of pigment mixed with oil usually linseed. The oil serves to keep the paint fluid for a period of time and then as a drying and hardening agent.

Opaque - A paint that is not transparent by nature or intentionally. A dense paint that obscures or totally hides the underpainting in any given artwork.

Open Edition - A print produced with no predetermined limit to the number of copies that might be made. Open edition prints may or may not be signed by the artist.

Original Lithograph - Original pieces of art created on the printing press by an artist or master printer who creates the master plates and executes the printing process. No original exists from which the prints are reproduced, and each print is an original work of art.

Original Painting - A one-of-a-kind image created by an artist that often sells for several thousands of dollars.

Original Prints - Prints, such as serigraphs or original lithographs, that are created without the use of photography. They are original because every print in an edition is created directly by the artist and may vary slightly from the other prints in the edition.

Overall Print Size - The physical dimensions of the paper upon which a print is made.

Palette - 1) The paint mixing and storing surface of various shapes and being made of plastic, metal, glass, ceramic, or enameled trays for watercolor. Glass, palette paper, Formica, and oiled wood are used for oil painting; and glass, metal, Styrofoam, and palette paper are used for acrylic painting palettes. or, 2) The selection of colors an artist chooses to work with.

Pastels - 1) Ground pigments, chalk, and binder formed into sticks for colored drawing. Also, 2) Any subdued, high key color (tint).

Patina - A film or an incrustation, usually green, that forms on copper and bronze after a certain amount of weathering and as a result of the oxidation of the copper. Special chemical treatments will also induce different colored patinas on new bronzes. Bronzes may be painted with acrylic and lacquer.

Perspective - The representation of three-dimensional objects on a flat surface so as to produce the same impression of distance and relative size as that received by the human eye. In one-point linear perspective, developed during the fifteenth century, all parallel lines in a given visual field converge at a single vanishing point on the horizon. In aerial or atmospheric perspective, the relative distance of objects is indicated by gradations of tone and color and by variations in the clarity of outlines.

Plein Air - Means "Open Air" or "Outdoors". Often done quickly or on the
spot. These paintings are usually less detailed and more impressionistic.Pointillism - A branch of French Impressionism in which the principle of optical mixture or broken color was carried to the extreme of applying color in tiny dots or small, isolated strokes. Forms are visible in a pointillist painting only from a distance, when the viewer's eye blends the colors to create visual masses and outlines. The inventor and chief exponent of pointillism was George Seurat (1859-1891); the other leading figure was Paul Signac (1863-1935).

Polychrome - Poly=many, chrome or chroma=colors. Can refer to artwork made with bright, multi-colored paint.

Polyptych - A single work comprised of multiple sections, panels, or canvas. Diptych= two, triptych=three.

Positive Space - The area of an artwork that is the primary subject or object. Positive Space defines the subjects outline. Negative Space refers to the area surrounding the subject.

Portfolio - Prints by one artist that are grouped together and sold as a set.

Poster - A reproduction that is usually printed in unlimited quantities with a lower grade of paper and inks than limited- or open-edition prints.

Press Proof - (PP) Off press proofing can be useful in predicting quality of materials prior to production printing. Small quantities of ink and small sheet sizes can be studied quickly for physical
and optical performance properties.

Primary Colors - Red, yellow, and blue are the accepted primary colors taught within a 12 pigment color wheel…The mixture of which will yield all other colors in the spectrum, but which themselves cannot be produced through a mixture of other colors.  However, what we accept as the primary hues do not actually mix for the true colors we assume they will make.  More accurately, magenta, yellow and cyan mix for those colors.  Magenta mixed with yellow creates red.

Rag Paper - Paper containing a certain proportion of cotton fiber in its physical structure used for prints. The higher the cotton contents the higher quality the paper.

Relief - The apparent or actual (impasto, collage) projection of three-dimensional forms.

Remarque (re mark') - small original drawing or sketch made by an artist in the margin of a print. Remarques originally were used to identify certain stages in the process of preparing a plate for printing: now, however, they represent means by which artists personalize prints.

Repoussoir - From the French verb meaning to push back. A means of achieving perspective or spatial contrasts by the use of illusionistic devices such as the placement of a large figure or object in the immediate foreground of a painting to increase the illusion of depth in the rest of the picture.

Reproduction - An original work of art that has been replicated by photographic or other methods.

Resist - Any material, usually wax or grease crayons that repel paint or dyes. Lithography is a grease (ink) and water (wet stone or plate) resist printing technique. Batik is a wax resist fabric art form.

Restrikes - Additional prints made after the original edition has been exhausted.

Rice Paper - A generic term for Japanese and other Asian forms of paper made for artist's use. Used for sumi-e, brush calligraphy, and watercolor. Fibers from the inner bark of woody plants such as kozo (mulberry), mitsumata, and gampi, and the outer layer of herbaceous plants such as flax, hemp, and jute, are used in manufacturing wide varieties of rice paper.

Rigiclee - Paper has a texture (or tooth); canvas a weave.  Rigiclee is a smooth surface, free of any pattern, which allows you to see colors, textures and details with clarity never before possible in a fine art reproduction.  Unlike canvases, which must be stretched, and paper prints, which must be protected with glass, a Rigiclee is ready to frame and enjoy.  Nothing comes between you and your art.  Rigiclees are borderless; dimensions indicate image size. Using the same inks that revolutionized the digital printing industry, a Rigiclee is durable and fade resistant, requiring only occasional dusting with a clean, dry cloth.

Scratchboard - Cardboard coated with chalk forms a smooth, glossy surface and is used as a ground for drawing or painting in ink. Parts of the image may then be scratched off with a pointed tool to create a variety of effects.

Sculpture - A three dimensional work of art. Such works may be carved, molded, constructed or cast.

Secondary Colors - Colors obtained by mixing two primary colors: green, violet, and orange.

Secondary Market Value - The value of a print, determined by supply and demand, after all copies have been sold at original issue price.

Self-published - An artist who publishes and markets his or her own prints, often with the help of family. Some self-published artists also work with distributors.

Serigraph - A print created by using the process of using stencils made on tightly stretched silk. Ink is forced through the silk and onto paper to make copies of the image. The process frequently is called "silk screening" and the prints are called "serigraphs" or "silk screens." Because each color requires a separate screen and a separate step in the printing process, serigraphs often come in small editions.

Serilith - As the name suggests, the combination of serigraphy and lithography.

Seriset - A seriset is similar to a serigraph. A serigraph is normally called a hand pulled serigraph in that each silk screen is hand pulled. A seriset is the same process but the screens are mechanically pulled.

Signature - The artist's signature applied to the original work as it appears in a print - or more frequently, the artist's signature in pencil on each copy of a print.

Signed and Numbered (s/n) - A print bearing an original signature and copy/edition numbers.

Signed in the Plate - Refers to the artist’s signature on an original work as it appears in a print.

Signed Only (SO) - A print signed by the artist but not numbered. (See Open Edition)

Sketch - A rough or loose visualization of a subject or composition.

Sold Out - Said of a limited edition print once it is no longer available at issue price and is being sold instead at secondary market prices.

Stamp Print - Limited edition print made from a work originally created as the design for a conservation stamp. Print and stamp customarily are framed together.

Still Life - Any work whose subject matter is inanimate objects.

Stipple - In painting, to apply small dots of color with the point of the brush; also to apply paint in a uniform layer by tapping a vertically held brush on the surface in repeated staccato touches.

Study - A comprehensive drawing of a subject or details of a subject that can be used for reference while painting.

Support - The surface on which a painting is made: canvas, paper, wood, parchment, metal, etc.

Substrate - The canvas, paper, or other material on which the image is printed.

Tempera - Pigments mixed with a water-soluble base such as casein, size, or egg yolk. Tempera dries with a flat, dull finish.

Texture - The actual or virtual representation of different surfaces, paint applied in a manner that breaks up the continuous color or tone.

Thumbnail Sketch - Small (credit card size or so) tonal and compositional sketches to try out design or subject ideas.

Time-Limited Edition - An edition whose size is established by the number of orders a publisher receives during a set period of time. (See Commission Print)

Tirage - Document that provides background information on the graphic edition such as edition size, printer, technique, year of execution.

Tone - The light and dark values of a color.

Triptych (trip-tik) - A work of art done in three separate panels. (See Diptych)

Trompe L´oeil (Tromp´- loy) - A French term meaning "deception of the eye." It is applied to painting so photographically realistic that it may fool the viewer into thinking that the objects or scene represented are real rather than painted.

Underpainting - The first, thin transparent laying in of color in a painting.

Values - The relative lightness or darkness of colors or of grays.

Variegated Wash - A wet wash created by blending a variety of discrete colors so that each color retains it's character while also blending uniquely with the other colors in the wash.

Vehicle - The liquid used as a binder in the manufacture of paint.

Vignette - A painting which is shaded off around the edges leaving a pleasing shape within a border of white or color. Oval or broken vignettes are very common.

Wash - Used in watercolor painting, brush drawing, and occasionally in oil painting to describe a broad thin layer of diluted pigment or ink. Also refers to a drawing made in this technique.

Watercolor - Pigments dissolved in water. Watercolor painting typically is done on relatively rough-surfaced, absorbent paper.

Wet-on-Wet - The technique of painting wet color into a wet surface. (paper saturated

Woodcut - Print made from an image carved into the surface of a wooden block. Blocks used for woodcuts normally are sawn parallel to the grain of the wood. A woodcut made from a block sawn across the grain - providing a hard, dense surface into which very fine lines may be cut - is often called a wood engraving.

Woven Paper - A paper showing even texture and thickness when held to light. Created with very fine netting, a uniform, smooth texture results. Often used in fine writing and calligraphy, archival quality woven paper can be used by watercolorists with good results.