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French Easel is a folding, adjustable easel originally made in France, having an attached box for supplies and a place to hold a canvas or paper.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.