Oil Painting Vocab Quiz

A thin or broken layer of semi-opaque paint brushed over an already painted surface.

This can refer to the selection of colors used in an oil painting or the surface used for mixing paints.

A pure substance, most often a fine powder, that gives paint its color

A main ingredient in every type of paint. It holds the powder-form pigments together and helps them adhere to a surface.

The perceived color or actual appearance of a color. 

A transparent and thin layer of oil paint that has been thinned with diluents.

A substance used to thin paint and speed up its drying time. Solvents are used for cleaning brushes often a turpentine.

"To deceive the eye." It's an illusionist, hyper-realistic style of painting that tricks you into perceiving it is real

A type of primer applied in thin layers to a wood panel or canvas. It helps prep the surface.

To make a paint or pure color darker by mixing it with black.

A stand or frame used to support your canvas upright or at an angle. Also can be used to display your oil paintings.

It literally translates to "light dark." Describes a painting that uses a strong contrast and balance of light and dark.

This involves, as the name suggests, painting with a dry brush that holds paint but no oil or solvent.

Metal or plastic spatula used in many oil painting techniques to spread or mix paint.

Removing areas of paint by scratching, cutting, or scraping. This reveals the underlayer.

It roughly translates into "at the first" or "all at once." This describes a painting created and finished all in one go

To make a paint or pure color lighter by mixing it with white

To make a paint or pure color duller or more neutral by mixing it with gray.

The first or initial layer in oil painting commonly executed with a monochrome or dead color. The base layer.

A rule of thumb everyone must learn when oil painting. With every succeeding layer of paint, you need to add more oil.

One of the more expressive kinds of oil painting techniques. It requires applying strokes of thick paint.

A general term for the surface you paint on (e.g. canvas, wood panel, paper).

A type of paint that uses pigment suspended in drying oils, like linseed, poppy, or safflower oil. It is slow-drying.

The opposite of transparency or translucency. This refers to how well a paint or pigment blocks light.

One of the coolest, yet classic oil painting techniques that creates an optical illusion of depth and perspective.

A French term meaning "open air" that refers to paintings done outdoors instead of in the studio.

Oils artists can use in oil painting to achieve their desired consistency, quality, finish, and drying time

How much or how little oil is used in oil paint. Low fat means lean or less oil. High fat means more oil.

The final layer and a protective coat applied to a finished painting.

Every artist develops their own distinct style. It's the signature way they move their paintbrush on a canvas.