THE ARTISTS MEDIA

Concepts
Medium & Technique
Medium of the Visual Art

MARIAN A. CAAMPUED
ArtApp
Ref. Ariolas Intro to Art Appreciation
(Acknowledgement: Prof. Orlando Unto)
Concepts
Medium refers to the materials which
are used by an artist.
Technique is the manner in which artist
controls the medium to achieve
desired effect.
Combined arts are those whose
mediums can be both seen and heard,
and exist in both space and time.
Painting is the art of creating
effects on a flat surface by the
use of pigments. ( a dry insoluble
substance, usually pulverized,
which when suspended in a liquid
vehicle becomes a paint, ink, a
coloring substance or matter.)
 Architecture is the art of designing
and constructing a structure

Sculpture is the construction of a

figure or by putting together module
segments of the material to form a
figure.
.
Medium and Technique

Medium- which comes from the Latin

word medium, denotes the means
by which an artist communicates his
idea. These are the materials which
are used by an artist to interpret his
feelings or thoughts. Many mediums
have been used in creating different
works of art
The Architect uses wood, bamboo, bricks,
stone, concrete, and various building materials.

Thepainter uses pigments on wood or

canvass reality of nature.

A sculptor uses steel, marble, bronze, metal,

and wood.
Classification of Arts by Medium

Visual arts are those whose

mediums can be seen and which
occupy space.

> Dimensional or two-

dimensional arts which include
painting, drawing, printmaking, and
photography.
 >Three-dimensional arts
includes the following;

Sculpture
Architecture
Landscape
Community planning
Industrial design
And crafts like ceramics and furniture
Auditory arts are those whose
mediums can be heard and which are
expressed in time.
>> Music
>> Literature
Combined arts are those whose
medium can be seen and heard, and
these exist in both space and time.
>>> Dance
>>> Opera
>>> Drama
>>> Movies
Medium and Technique

Technique is the manner in which the

artist controls his medium to achieve
the desired effect. It is the ability with
which fulfills the technical
requirements of his particular work of
art. It has something to do with the
way he manipulates his medium to
express his ideas in the artwork.
Mediums of the Visual Arts

Painting is that art of creating

meaningful effects on a flat surface by
the use of pigments. The materials of
the painters are pigments applied to
wet plaster, canvas, wood, or paper.
Watercolor- as a medium is difficult to
handle because it is difficult to produce
warm and rich tones but it invites
brilliance and a variety of hues.
Fresco-this painting on a moist plaster
surface with colors ground in water or a
limewater mixture.

Tempera mineral pigments with egg yolk

or egg white and ore; film forming
properties and drying rate; less flexible,
done on wooden panel or gesso (chalk
and gum); hard to correct but luminous
ad clear
Michaelangelos The Creation of
Adam, part of the Sistine Chapel
 Pastel- this is a stick of dried paste
made of pigment round with chalk
compounded with gum water. It
colors are luminous, and it is a very
flexible medium. ( eg. colored chalk,
crayon, oil pastel)
Encaustic painting portraits on
mummy cases; wax and heat;
produce luster and radiance
Acrylic - contemporary, quick drying
like watercolor and flexible like oil;
dont break easily
Oil painting- is one of the most
expensive art activities today
because of the prohibitive cost of
materials. It is the heaviest of
painting in media. The artist may
use a brush, palette knife ( a
spatula-shaped implement with a
slender flexible metal and a handle,
used by an artist to mix and apply
thick paints) spatula-(a tool wide
blade for substances)
Mosaic art- is a picture or decoration
made of small pieces of inlaid colored
stones or glass called tesserae,
which most are often are cut into
squares glued on surface with plaster
or cement. A prominent religious
artwork in Manila done in mosaic is
found in the altar of Sta. Cruz Church
showing a wounded white lamb,
symbolizing Christ, with a stream that
flows down directly to the tabernacle.
(a place of worship)
Stained Glass - as an artwork is
common in Gothic cathedrals and
churches. (belonging to style of
music, painting or sculpture practiced
in parts of Europe)

Tapestry fabric produced by hand-

weaving colored threads upon a
warp; pictorials, wall hangings and
furniture covering
Drawing- is usually done on a paper
using pencil, pen and ink, or
charcoal. Some of the worlds best
known drawing are by the Italian
artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-
1519)). He drew everything from
animals and birds to ideas for flying
machines.
Drawing can be done with different
kinds of mediums and the most
common is pencil which comes in
different degrees of hardness or
softness, with the pencil lead
(graphite) depending on the kind of
drawing the artist will undertake.
India ink, which comes in liquid form,
is the favorite medium of comic strip
illustrators and cartoonists.
Bistre-is a brown pigments extracted
from the soot of wood, and often used
in pen and wash drawings.
Crayons- are pigments bound by wax
and compressed into painted sticks
used for drawing especially among
children in the elementary grades.
 Portrait of an
Old Man in a
Chalk Bistre

Girl in Bistre
COnte

Conte Bistre
Landscape
Charcoal are carbonaceous
materials obtained by heating wood
or other organic substances in the
absence of oxygen.
Silverpoint-in this medium, the artist
has a technique of drawing with
silver stylus on specially prepared
paper to produce a thin grayish line
that was popular during the
Renaissance period.
Engraving-this is the art of forming
designs by cutting, corrosion by
acids. The lines of an engraving are
cut by hand with an instrument
called burin, a steel tool with an
oblique point and rounded handle
for carving stone and engraving
metal. Etching is a development of
engraving. A copper or zinc plate is
covered with a ground a smooth
coating of wax mixed with pitch and
amber.
Stencil printing- is a very common art
activity done by high school students
these days as a part of their practical
arts courses. It is a process which
involves cutting of the design on a
special paper cardboard or metal sheet
in such a way that when ink is rubbed
over it, the design is reproduced on the
surface. The printing is done through a
silkscreen which is made of a fine silk
or nylon stretched tightly over a
wooden frame.
Sculpture

In choosing a subject for sculpture, the

most important thing to consider is the
material.
Stone- is the hard and brittle substance
formed from mineral and earth material.
The finished product is granular and dull
in appearance. These are usually
gravestones in cemeteries. Stones
includes: sandstone, granite, marble,
limestone
.
Plaster- a mixture of lime, sand, and
water that is applied as a liquid to the
ceilings and internal walls of a
building and dries to hard surface.

Jade green fine stone and used

widely in China; esteemed
ornamental stone and symbolizes
faithfulness, wisdom and charity
Ivory tusks of elephants; hard white
substance used to make carvings and
billiard balls and hands of saints

Metals class of elementary

substances like gold, silver, copper.
Metals are ductile and peculiar luster
which can be transformed into wires and
threads (copper, brass, lead, aluminum)
Marble stone sculpture

Granite
Sculpture

Limestone Sculpture
 Sandstone-is a soft stone.
Basalt-is hard and black.
Limestone- has a fine and even texture.
Marble is limestone in a more or less
crystalline state sufficiently close in
texture and capable of taking a high
polish, occurring in many varieties

.
 Granite is a granular igneous rock
composed of feldopars and quartz,
usually combined with other minerals
and is quite difficult to chisel. The
Egyptian sculptures of Pharaohs
(ruler) were mostly done in granite.

.
Clay- is a natural earthy material that
has the nature of plasticity when wet,
consisting essentially of hydrated
silicates of aluminum used for making
bricks and ceramics
Glass hard, brittle, non-crystalline,
transparent, dissolved silica and
silicates and contains soda and lime;
figurines
Wood light and soft but strong; can
be preserved
NEXT : Mediums in ARCHITECTURE
& the PERFORMING ARTS
A musician uses sound and
instruments to communicate
its subject and a literary
writer uses words in
literature.

Thus, medium is very

essential in arts.