short Art essay 500 words

PAINTING Painting continues to be a popular, and relevant art medium. It has been used by artists for thousands of years. But painting is really just a general category. There are specific types of paint you need to know.

Fresco is water-based pigment painted onto wet plaster. It is what Michelangelo used for the Sistine Chapel, and what Diego Rivera used for his celebrated murals.

Oil was perfected in Renaissance, and was especially good for painting lifelike people. It is still a a popular medium used by all types of painters.

Acrylic was not invented until the 20th Century, and it was not until the 1960s that it became widely available for artists to use.

Encaustic is pigmented, molten wax. You must apply the liquid wax while it is hot. This is an ancient medium used more recently by the famous American painter, Jasper Johns.

Watercolor is transparent, water-based paint usually applied to paper. It is enjoyed for its fresh, spontaneous qualities.

There are other paints too, such as egg tempera (made with egg yolk), casein (milk paint), gouache (an opaque watercolor), enamel (a shiny, flat paint, the same as nail polish) and distemper (glue paint).

As you look at paintings in person, online, and your textbook, pay attention to the painting medium and how and why the artist may have chosen it. Each type of paint has its own qualities.

Beatriz Milhazes

(Brazilian, b.1960)

Coqueiral em marrom e azul celeste

2016 – 17

Acrylic on canvas, 11 × 6 feet

Beatriz Milhazes (Brazilian, b.1960)

Exhibition at Pérez Art Museum, Miami, Florida, 2014

Acrylic on canvas, 11 × 6 feet

Diego Rivera

(Mexican, 1886-1957)

Liberation of the Peon

1931

Fresco, 6 × 8 feet

Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886-1957)

Man Controller of the Universe (or Man in the Time Machine), 1934, Fresco

4.85 x 11.45 meters, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City

Michelangelo (Italian, 1475-1564)

Creation of Adam, c.1508-1512, Fresco, 9 x 18 feet, Sistine Chapel, The Vatican

Michelangelo (Italian, 1475-1564)

Ceiling and Last Judgment, c.1508-1512, Fresco, Sistine Chapel, The Vatican

Raphael (Italian, 1483-1520)

Madonna and Child with Book, c.1502-1503 Oil on Panel, 21 x 15 inches

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)

Woman with a Book, 1932

Oil on Panel, 51 x 38 inches

Tip: See both of these paintings in person, for free, at the Norton Simon Museum in

Pasadena, CA.

Jasper Johns (American, b.1930)

Flag, 1954-1955, Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric mounted

on plywood, three panels, 42 x 60 inches

Lourdes Sanchez (Cuban-American, b.1961)

Untitled (Morning Glories), 2019, Watercolor, 40 x 60 inches