Comman Art Terms starting from I

Icon: an artistic visual representation or symbol of anything considered holy and divine, such as God, saints or deities. An icon could be a painting (including relief painting), sculpture, or mosaic. Also refers to a little picture on a computer screen that represents the various functions of the computer. Generally the user clicks on an icon to start an application or function. Return to top

Illustration: visualization such as drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that stresses subject more than form. The aim of an Illustration is to elucidate or decorate a story, poem or piece of textual information (such as a newspaper article) by providing a visual representation of something described in the text. Return to top

Illustration board: heavy paper or card appropriate as a support for pencil, pen, watercolor, collage, etc. Return to top

Illustrator: a graphic artist who specializes in enhancing written text by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text. Also refers to a computer illustration program developed by Adobe Systems, Inc. Return to top

Inspirational Prints: - Art Prints and Posters designed primarily to inspire, uplift and motivate, generally religious in nature. Return to top

Implied line: a line in a work that is subtlety perceived by the viewer but has no physical form; the overall flow of one line into another in a work, with continuation from one area to the next suggested by their common direction and/or juxtaposition. Return to top

Impressionism: a loose spontaneous style of painting that originated in France about 1870. The impressionist style of painting is characterized chiefly by concentration on the general impression produced by a scene or object and the use of unmixed primary colors and small strokes to simulate actual reflected light Return to top

Impressionist Art: - Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. The name of the movement is derived from Claude Monet's Impression, Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant). Critic Louis Leroy inadvertently coined the term in a satiric review published in Le Charivari. Characteristics of Impressionist painting include visible brushstrokes, light colors, open composition, emphasis on light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, and unusual visual angles. Return to top

Impasto: Thickly applied oil or acrylic paint that leaves dimensional texture through brushstrokes or palette knife marks. A style of painting, characterized by thick, juicy Return to top

Color. A thick or lumpy application of paint, or deep brush marks (brushstrokes), as distinguished from a flat, smooth paint surface Return to top

Imitationalism: - A theory of art which places emphasis on the literal qualities. According to this theory, the most important thing about a work of art is the realistic representation of subject matter. A work is considered successful if it looks like and reminds the audience of what is seen in the real world. Return to top

Impresionism - A style of painting that started in France during the 1860s. Impressionist artists tried to paint candid glimpses of their subjects showing the effects of sunlight on things at different times of day. Return to top

Imprimatura:-A thin, veil of paint, or paint-tinted size, applied to a ground to lessen the ground's absorbency or to tint the ground to a middle value. Return to top

Image size :-The size of the work reproduced on a print, not the overall paper size Return to top

India Ink: 1. A black pigment made of lampblack and glue or size and shaped into cakes or sticks. 2. An ink made from this pigment. Return to top

Industrial design: the design of the mass-produced products of our everyday environment, from sinks and furniture to computers. Return to top

Inert Pigment: A powdered paint additive that does not change the shade or hue, but extends or otherwise imparts a special working quality to the paint. Fillers are used in lower and student grade paints as extenders, making the paint cheaper to produce, but of lower quality. Return to top

Intensity - The brightness or dullness of a hue or color. The purity and brightness of a color is also called saturation. Return to top

Intermediate colors - Also known as tertiary color, they are produced by mixing unequal amounts of two primary colors. Return to top