Medium:

First thing to understand is the usage of the word medium. Medium is any material leveraged by an artist to create their works of art. The material in which the art is made from is the medium and its plural is media. For example, the medium for Auguste Rodin’s bronze statue of the “Thinker” is bronze. A mixed media art example would be watercolor on color pencil or watercolor on acrylic. It is important to understand that medium and media are used interchangeably and as such medium can refer to your canvas, paper, as well as the paint itself.

Acrylic painting of blue aster flowers on Bristol Paper.
Acrylic painting of an orange island sunset on canvas.
Acrylic yellow and green painting of mascot silhouette for Cal Poly Pomona on wood.

Load or Loading:

This simply means that you are dipping your paint brush into paint. Hence loading the paint onto the brush.

Fluid Medium:

A fluidic substance which is added to paint to extend the volume of thinner paints and or reduce viscosity of heavier paints. While water is a fluid medium that thins the paint, it is not the best fluidic medium for maintaining body and volume. It is recommended not to use more than 50 percent water which can result in peeling of the paint, which is why manufacturers typically recommend 30% water mixing as a thinning agent.

Gel Medium:

This semi-fluid substance is added to paint for a few reasons. For one thing, it can add transparency to paint. It can also be used to thicken and revitalize a thinning paint. Gel mediums also increase the drying time of paint.

Liquitex brand Gel medium (heavy gloss).

Gloss:

A shiny surface.

Body:

Body refers to the thickness of the paint. Another term for this thickness is viscosity. Thicker body will aid in defining and holding brush, knife, or other applied tool strokes.

Glaze:

Is a transparent and evenly applied color. A recommended mixture of 80% glaze medium with 20% paint can be used to intensify colors or fill negative spaces when applied over existing painted areas. The intensity of sheen or gloss created by the glaze medium will vary.

Glazing medium.

Impasto:

A form of creating texture through the application of heavy bodied and opaque paint.

Matte:

Non-shiny or dull surface.

Palette knife:

A trowel or shaped metal or plastic knife, used as a tool for the application or mixing of paint.

Palette:

This is any surface, usually flat, used to mix paint on. Palette is used in reference to the selection of colors being used for a particular subject matter.

Plastic painter's palette.

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