Artist's Resources∼Artist's Dictionary E
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E
E.A. (French, "epreuve d' artiste")
Artists' proof.
Early Christian Art
See
Byzantine art,
Coptic art.
Earth colors
Pigments, such such as yellow, ochre, burnt sienna, the umbers, made from minerals such
as Iron, maganese, copper, etc.; yellow ochre, for instance, is refined clay colored by iron
oxide and chrome yellow; such colors have been used since prehistoric times. Also called
"Earth tones".
Easel
A free-standing structure used by Artists to hold a canvas while painting.
French Easel is a folding, adjustable easel originally made in France, having an attached box
for supplies and a place to hold a canvas or paper.
Portable Studio Easel is a sturdy and adjustable easel, but lighter than a
Studio easel; folds for convenience in storage.
Sketching Easel is a lightweight, adjustable wood or aluminum easel; folds for convenience
in carrying and storage.
Studio Easel is a sturdy easel in design and structure; adjustable and often has casters
for easy mobility.
Table Easel is an easel that is set up on a table; folds for convenience.
Watercolor Easel is an adjustable, folding portable easel that may be used outdoors,
mainly for watercolor painting.
Ebauche
A monochrome lay-in over a drawing, later to be painted if full color; an underpainting.
Ebony
Pigment; a brownish-black color.
Ebony Pencil
Sketching and layout pencil, very dark black, and having a rod of a larger diameter
than a standard pencil.
Echo
In composition, a repeat of an element such as shape, texture or color.
Ecchoppe
(French, "graver") An etching and engraving needle ground to an oblique face.
Ectype
A copy or replica of an original Art Work.
Edition
The number of prints, such as lithographs or etchings, pulled from the original stone
or plate; each print identified by the Artist according to the total number and
sequence in which they were pulled; the 5th print in an edition of 20 would be
stated in the margin in pencil as "5/20"; an edition can be of any number,
but seldom more than 100.
Egbert
A long-haired, round-tipped brush with a long handle.
Egg and Dart
A running design, alternating the shape of and egg and a dart.
Eggshell
An off-white or neutral color.
Eggshell finish
Finish on a paper that resembles the surface texture of an eggshell.
Egg tempura .
See Tempura.
Egyptian Art
A stylized, flat, decorative Art developed and practiced in ancient Egypt.
Eight, The
See
Aschan School.
Eikon
See Icon.
Electron painting
A graphic Art developed by Caroline Durieux in which radioactive isotopes
are used for the image-making process.
Electroplating
An electrochemical process by which a thin layer of metal is deposited on another
metal or plastic surface.
Electrum
A natural gold and silver alloy, used for casting and in sculpture; also, an alloy
of nickel, copper and zinc, sometimes called "German silver."
Elephant
See
Watercolor paper sizes.
Ellipse
A curved, elongated oval shape.
Ellipsograph
A tool that draws mathematically true ellipses, using a pencil, pen, scriber or
cutting knife.
Elliptic graver
A special graver for wood engraving, having curved sides that can produce thick
and thin lines; sometimes called a "Split-sticker."
Em
A unit of type measurement; the width of the type is equal to the point size; for
instance, a 6-point em is 6 points wide.
Embossed Print
A relief print made by pressing into paper with an intaglio plate;
also called a gypsographic print and inkless intaglio.
Embu
A dull area in an otherwise glossy picture, usually caused by the paint sinking
into the canvas.
Emery
A polishing and grinding agent for metals made from corundum.
Empaquetage
See Wrapping.
En
A type of measurement term used meaning one-half of an em. See also
Em.
Enamel paper
Paper with a fine clay finish.
Encaustic painting
A method of painting with hot wax mixed with pigment; difficult to control but extremely
durable; some examples exist that were done in the 1st century B.C.; also called
"Cerography."
English finish
A paper finish that is between machine finish and super calendered finish.
English watercolor technique
A technique using transparent washes, alone or as a means of building up color
through glazing.
Engrave
To incise, carve or cut into a hard surface.
Engraver's charcoal
Charcoal in block form, used to polish plates in graphics.
Engraver's pad
A leather-covered pad filled with sand, used to support a plate during the engraving process;
also called a "Cushion."
En kin
(Japanese, "what is far and what is near") Perspective.
Erasing shield
A metal or plastic shield with various shaped slots, used along with electric erasers
and manual stick erasers to avoid errors while erasing.
Espagnolette
A bust of a smiling woman, originally in bronze.
Essence
A compound mixed into paints to create a sparkle.
Esquisse
(French, "Outline") A preliminary sketch and notes, for a painting or sculpture
with more detail than a "Croquis."
Etching
An intaglio process of creating a design on the surface of a metal or other plate
with a needle; and using a mordant to bite the design; the resulting print is
called an etching.
Etching ground
A thin, usually darkened acid-resisting coat applied to a plate, on which the
design is incised.
Etching needle
A tempered piece of steel, sometimes in a wooden handle, used to incise a design
on a plate for etching.
Etching paper
Paper specifically made for etching, lithographs, and block printing, available in hot
(smooth) pressed or semi-smooth finish.
Etching press
A printing press designed especially for printing intaglio plates.
Etruscan Art
Art from early Etruvia,; the culture dates from the 7th century B.C. to about the
1st century B.C.
Euchrome
Pigment, burnt umber, name is obsolete.
exc.
(Latin, abbreviation for "excrudit", or "he executed it") Used
on a print as credit for the one who printed it, as differentiated from the one
who engraved it.
Expressionism
A 20th century Art movement that turned away from the representation of nature and to
the expression of emotional intensity. Forerunners were Vincent Van Gough and the Fauves;
other such Artists were Georges Renault, James Ensor, Marc Chagall and Emil Nolde.
Extender
A substance added to an inert pigment in order to increase its bulk or reduce
its color strength.
Eye level
The horiaon line, in mechanical perspective, where two parallel lines meet at the
vanishing point.
Eye path
The movement pattern that the eyes follow when studying a picture.
Eye trap
An element that attracts attention to a particular area of a picture, sometimes a void.