Painting Techniques: Fresco, Oil, Watercolor, and More

Painting Techniques

Fresco

Fresco: Applied on a whitewashed wall with pigments dissolved in lime water. The painter must work quickly and confidently because corrections are impossible once the paint dries. A preparatory drawing is essential to mark the outlines and the areas to be painted.

Oil Painting

Oil: Applied on canvas or wood, using pigments dissolved in oil. Oil painting allows for corrections and a variety of pictorial effects, although errors may become visible over time.

Watercolor

Watercolor: Pigments mixed with water on absorbent paper. Corrections are difficult.

Pastel

Pastel: Applied with a pencil incorporating a binding agent on paper.

Collage

Collage: Popularized by Picasso and Braque, collage involves pasting colored newsprint or other materials onto the canvas. It experiments with texture, introducing fragments of reality rather than representing it.

Engraving

Engraving: A graphic technique, not strictly painting, involving carving into wood, stone, or metal (woodcut, etching). Limited editions are typical.

Mosaic

Mosaic: Used since antiquity to cover roofs and walls, mosaics are made with small pieces of stone or baked brick, colored and glazed (tiles). The figure is composed by placing each piece according to the stroke, and then adhering them to the wall with cement.

Color Theory and Perspective

Warm and Cool Colors

• Warm colors: (red, orange, and yellow) appear to advance towards the viewer, creating a sense of closeness.
• Cool colors: (blue, purple, and green) appear to recede, absorbing light.

Symbolic Colors

Colors can convey symbolic meanings. For example, green represents hope, red represents passion, and white represents purity.

Color Planes

Color Planes: Uniform color application without nuances, which does not give a sense of depth.

Linear Perspective

Linear Perspective: A mathematical and technical system developed in the fifteenth century, where all lines converge at a single vanishing point behind the picture plane. Dominant until the twentieth century and the avant-garde.

Aerial Perspective

Aerial Perspective: Invented by Leonardo da Vinci, it considers the variation of colors in relation to distance and the loss of sharpness of outlines. The air conceals the contours. A technique typical of the Baroque period.

Trompe l'oeil

Il.lusòria Vista or trompe l'oeil: Uses various systems and resources to create the illusion that what is seen is real, but is only painted. Typical of Baroque domes.

Perspective Page

Perspective page: Juxtaposition of elements in a single plane, showing different views. Typical of Cubism.

Allegorical and Historical Paintings

Allegorical Paintings

Al.legòriques Paintings: Abstract ideas represented through figures. Mythological painting in modern times often has this feature.

Historical Paintings

Witnesses: Portrays historical events to immortalize them. This genre includes historical painting, often propagandistic, commemorating battles and important events. Also includes realistic painting of complaint, depicting unfair situations.

Pictorial Cycles

Pictorial cycles: A theme developed over many paintings.