Word used to describe art

Words to Describe Art

To talk about paintings, and art in general, you need the vocabulary to describe, analyze, and interpret what you’re seeing. Thinking of the right words becomes easier the more art terms you know, which is where this list comes in. The idea isn’t to sit and memorize it, but if you consult the word bank regularly, you’ll start to remember more and more terms.

The list is organized by topic. First, find the aspect of a painting you wish to talk about (the colors, for instance), and then see which words match or fit with what you’re thinking. Start by putting your thoughts into a simple sentence such as this: The [aspect] is [quality]. For example, The colors are vivid or The composition is horizontal. It’ll probably feel awkward at first, but with practice, you’ll find it gets easier and more natural, and you’ll eventually be able to produce more complicated sentences.

Color

Think about your overall impression of the colors used in the painting, how they look and feel, how the colors work together (or not), how they fit with the subject of the painting, and how the artist has mixed them (or not). Are there any specific colors or color palettes you can identify?

• Natural, clear, compatible, distinctive, lively, stimulating, subtle, sympathetic
• Artificial, clashing, depressing, discordant, garish, gaudy, jarring, unfriendly, violent
• Bright, brilliant, deep, earthy, harmonious, intense, rich, saturated, strong, vibrant, vivid
• Dull, flat, insipid, pale, mellow, muted, subdued, quiet, weak
• Cool, cold, warm, hot, light, dark
• Blended, broken, mixed, muddled, muddied, pure
• Complementary, contrasting, harmonious

Tone

Don’t forget to consider the tone or values of the colors, too, plus the way tone is used in the painting as a whole.

• Dark, light, mid (middle)
• Flat, uniform, unvarying, smooth, plain
• Varied, broken
• Constant, changing
• Graduated, contrasting
• Monochromatic

Composition

Look at how the elements in the painting are arranged, the underlying structure (shapes) and relationships between the different parts, and how your eye moves around the composition.

• Arrangement, layout, structure, position
• Landscape format, portrait format, square format, circular, triangular
• Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, angled
• Foreground, background, middle ground
• Centered, asymmetrical, symmetrical, balanced, unbalanced, lopsided, off-center
• Overlapping, cluttered, chaotic
• Separate, spacious, empty
• Free, flowing, fragmented
• Formal, rigid, upright, confined
• Negative space, positive space

Texture

It’s often hard or impossible to see texture in a photo of a painting, as it doesn’t show unless there’s light shining in from the side that catches the ridges and casts small shadows. Don’t guess; if you don’t see any texture, don’t try to talk about it in that particular painting.

• Flat, polished, smooth
• Raised, rough, coarse
• Cut, incised, pitted, scratched, uneven
• Hairy, sticky
• Soft, hard
• Shiny, glossy, reflective
• Semigloss, satin, silk, frosted, matte

Mark Making

You may not be able to see any details of the brushwork or mark making if it’s a small painting. Remember that in some styles of painting, all brush marks are carefully eliminated by the artist. In others, the marks are clearly visible.

• Visible, impasto, blended, smooth
• Thick, thin
• Bold, timid
• Heavy, light
• Edgy, smooth
• Exhibiting glazes, washes, scumbling, dry brushing, stippling, hatching, splatters
• Layered, flat
• Precise, refined, regular, straight, systematic
• Quick, sketchy, uneven, irregular, vigorous
• Regular, patterned
• Exhibiting marks made with a knife, brush

Mood or Atmosphere

What is the mood or atmosphere of the painting? What emotions do you experience looking at it?

• Calm, content, peaceful, relaxed, tranquil
• Cheerful, happy, joyful, romantic
• Depressed, gloomy, miserable, sad, somber, tearful, unhappy
• Aggressive, angry, chilling, dark, distressing, frightening, violent
• Energetic, exciting, stimulating, thought-provoking
• Boring, dull, lifeless, insipid

Form and Shape

Think about the overall shapes in the artwork and the way forms (things) are depicted. What sense of depth and volume is there?

• 2-D, flat, abstracted, simplified, stylized
• 3-D, realistic, natural sense of depth and space
• Sharp, detailed
• Blurred, obscured, overlapping, indistinct
• Distorted, exaggerated, geometric
• Linear, long, narrow
• Hard-edged, soft-edged

Lighting

Look at the lighting in the painting, not only in terms of the direction it is coming from and how it creates shadows but also its color, its intensity, the mood it creates, whether it is natural (from the sun) or artificial (from a light, fire, or candle). Make sure to describe the shadows and the highlights as well.

• Backlit, front lit, side lit, top lit
• Having indirect light, reflected light, no directional light source
• Natural
• Artificial
• Cool, blue, gray
• Warm, yellow, red
• Dim, faint, gentle, gloomy, low, minimal, muted, soft
• Clear, brilliant, bright, glowing, fiery, harsh, intense, sharp

Viewpoint and Pose

Consider the angle or position from which we’re seeing the subject of the artwork. How has the artist decided to present it? What is the perspective?

• Front, side, three-quarters, profile, rear (from behind)
• Close up, far away, life-size, bird’s eye view
• Upward, downward, sideways
• Standing, sitting, lying down, bending
• Gesturing, moving, resting, static

Subject Matter

This aspect of a painting is one where it can really seem like you’re stating the obvious. But if you think of how you’d describe an artwork to someone who has not seen it or who isn’t looking at a photo of it, you’d probably tell them the subject of the painting quite early on.

• Abstract
• Cityscape, buildings, man-made, urban, industrial
• Fantasy, imaginary, invented, mythological
• Figurative (figures), portraits
• Interiors, domestic
• Landscape, seascape
• Still life

Still Life

Before you begin describing the individual objects in a still life painting, whether they’re themed, related, or dissimilar, look at them overall and describe this aspect.

• Antique, battered, damaged, dusty, old, worn
• New, clean, shiny
• Functional, decorative, fancy
• Domestic, humble
• Commercial, industrial

Style

Does the painting seem to fit a particular style or be reminiscent of a particular artist’s work? There are many terms for different styles in the history of art, and these descriptors can create instant impressions.

• Realism, photorealism
• Cubism, surrealism
• Impressionism
• Modernism, expressionism
• Chinese, Japanese, or Indian style
• Plein air

Media

If you know the medium in which a work was created or on what it was painted, that information can be useful to include in your description.

• Oil, tempera
• Acrylics
• Pastel, chalk, charcoal
• Mixed media, collage
• Watercolor, gouache
• Ink
• Fresco
• Spray paint
• Wood panels, canvas, glass

Size

Size may be relevant to your description if a work is particularly large or small. You can use exact dimensions, of course, as well as descriptive words.

• Mural 
• Miniature
• Triptych

What are some descriptive words to describe Art?

Here is a list of words that describe Art.

Total number of Art words and adjectives: 128 words

Art words are listed in alphabetical order.

Actual,
Alluring,
Ambiguous,
Ambitious,
Amorphous,
Analytical,
Angular,
Asymmetrical,
Audacious,
Balanced,
Beautiful,
Blurred,
Bold,
Brash,
Bright,
Broken,
Bumpy,
Calm,
Captivating,
Challenging,
Clear,
Closed,
Coarse,
Complementary,
Contour,
Contrasting,
Controlled,
Cool,
Corrugated,
Critical,
Curvaceous,
Curved,
Dark,
Deep,
Diagonal,
Distorted,
Dramatic,
Dull,
Dusty,
Elegant,
Elongated,
Elusive,
Energetic,
Exciting,
Fine,
Flat,
Flowing,
Foreground,
Free Form,
Freehand,
Frenetic,
Furry,
Fuzzy,
Garish,
Geometric,
Glorious,
Glowing,
Gooey,
Grayed,
Harsh,
Heavy,
Horizontal,
Illusory,
Imaginative,
Implied,
Interrupted,
Isomorphic,
Leathery,
Light,
Linear,
Magnificent,
Massive,
Meandering,
Medium,
Meticulous,
Middle ground,
Monochromatic,
Moving,
Multicolored,
Muted,
Nebulous,
Negative,
Non-Conformist,
Open,
Organic,
Pale,
Patterned,
Positive,
Powerful,
Prickly,
Primary,
Professional,
Provocative,
Rough,
Ruled,
Sandy,
Saturated,
Seamless,
Secondary,
Shallow,
Shiny,
Short,
Simulated,
Skilled,
Smooth,
Soft,
Soothing,
Sticky,
Straight,
Subdued,
Subtle,
Symmetrical,
Tacky,
Talented,
Tertiary,
Thick,
Thin,
Three Dimensional,
Tinted,
Triad,
Two Dimensional,
Uneven,
Velvety,
Vertical,
Vibrant,
Warm,
Wet,
Wide.

Download Art Words PDF: Descriptive Words for Art PDF

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The idea for the Describing Words engine came when I was building the engine for Related Words (it’s like a thesaurus, but gives you a much broader set of related words, rather than just synonyms). While playing around with word vectors and the «HasProperty» API of conceptnet, I had a bit of fun trying to get the adjectives which commonly describe a word. Eventually I realised that there’s a much better way of doing this: parse books!

Project Gutenberg was the initial corpus, but the parser got greedier and greedier and I ended up feeding it somewhere around 100 gigabytes of text files — mostly fiction, including many contemporary works. The parser simply looks through each book and pulls out the various descriptions of nouns.

Hopefully it’s more than just a novelty and some people will actually find it useful for their writing and brainstorming, but one neat little thing to try is to compare two nouns which are similar, but different in some significant way — for example, gender is interesting: «woman» versus «man» and «boy» versus «girl». On an inital quick analysis it seems that authors of fiction are at least 4x more likely to describe women (as opposed to men) with beauty-related terms (regarding their weight, features and general attractiveness). In fact, «beautiful» is possibly the most widely used adjective for women in all of the world’s literature, which is quite in line with the general unidimensional representation of women in many other media forms. If anyone wants to do further research into this, let me know and I can give you a lot more data (for example, there are about 25000 different entries for «woman» — too many to show here).

The blueness of the results represents their relative frequency. You can hover over an item for a second and the frequency score should pop up. The «uniqueness» sorting is default, and thanks to my Complicated Algorithm™, it orders them by the adjectives’ uniqueness to that particular noun relative to other nouns (it’s actually pretty simple). As you’d expect, you can click the «Sort By Usage Frequency» button to adjectives by their usage frequency for that noun.

Special thanks to the contributors of the open-source mongodb which was used in this project.

Please note that Describing Words uses third party scripts (such as Google Analytics and advertisements) which use cookies. To learn more, see the privacy policy.

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Darling, it was so evocative!

It’s easy to join in a conversation about art in English. Just be sure to call everyone darling, to have outrageous opinions that nobody really understands, and to wear at least one item of statement jewellery at all times.

Of course, these are stereotypes. The best way to feel confident discussing art in English is to learn the words and phrases commonly used in the art world – and that’s exactly what this article will help you to do.

outrageous	very unusual and intended to shock people
statement jewellery	large jewellery that is designed to attract attention
the art world	the area of activity that involves making, buying, selling, displaying, promoting and writing about art

Going to a gallery

Most cities and large towns have a public gallery that is funded by the government. Public galleries generally have a permanent collection (which may be free) and also stage temporary exhibitions (which usually have an entrance fee). Large public galleries, such as the Tate Modern in London, hold at least one blockbuster exhibition each year. If you are a member of the gallery, you may be invited to attend an opening. You might also hear about new acquisitions before anyone else.

As well as public galleries, there are commercial galleries at which the artworks are on sale. Especially in small towns, they tend to show pieces by local artists.

permanent collection	the works of art which are always on display in a gallery
temporary exhibition	a group of artworks shown together for a fixed period
stage/hold an exhibition	display a group of artworks to the public
blockbuster	a very popular exhibition of work by a well-known artist or artists
opening	an event at which people can see an exhibition for the first time
new acquisition	a work of art that the gallery has bought recently
pieces	works of art

Categorising works of art

Though lots of artists would like to believe their work defies categorisation, in reality we tend to discuss art based on the medium used. Well-known categories of artwork include drawing, painting, sculpture and photography, but today all kinds of novel forms can be found both inside and outside of galleries. These include video and new media pieces; performance pieces; conceptual pieces; and installations. Other popular media include textiles, ceramics and printmaking, while works in mixed media combine different materials and techniques.

defy categorisation	be difficult to clearly describe as one thing or another
medium (plural: media)	the material/technique used to create a work of art
new media	materials/techniques that are modern and technological
performance	the artist uses bodies, voices and/or movement to make the artwork
conceptual	the idea is the most important thing about the artwork
installation	the artist puts objects into an existing space, e.g. the room of a gallery
textiles	materials such as cotton, silk and wool
ceramics	clay objects which are made hard by baking at high temperatures
printmaking	creating images by preparing a block of (e.g.) wood, applying ink to it, then printing onto (e.g.) paper

Special notes on drawing and painting

Drawing and painting are the oldest of the visual arts, so they have lots of specific vocabulary of their own.

Drawing is typically done in graphite (i.e. pencil), charcoal, pastel or ink. A quick drawing, especially one in which the artist tries to copy something in the real world, is known as a sketch; the art of sketching naked human models is called life drawing, while an artwork that shows a naked person is called a nude. Important skills for drawing include composition and perspective.

Paintings are commonly created with oil, watercolour or acrylic on a surface of paper or canvas. Traditional types of paintings include portrait, landscape and still life, though abstract works have also been popular since the 20th century.

composition	the skill of arranging multiple elements in a pleasing way
oil	thick, slow-drying paint that contains oil
watercolour	thin, quick-drying paint that contains water
acrylic	quick-drying paint that contains man-made ingredients
canvas	strong cloth that is used to make tents and boat sails
still life	a picture of a group of objects, such as flowers or food
abstract	communicating with colour and shape instead of with realistic images

Working in the art world

As well as artists themselves, lots of different people keep the art world moving including agents, dealers and critics. Within a gallery setting, you might also expect to find a director who is in charge overall, curators, handlers and assistants (also called attendants).

agent	someone who represents and promotes artists
dealer	someone who buys and sells works of art
critic	someone who writes about art, especially reviews of exhibitions
curator	someone who selects and presents artworks for exhibitions
handler	someone who carefully packs and unpacks works of art
gallery assistant	someone who greets visitors and answers questions

Discussing works of art

If you fancy yourself as a critic, there are certain words and phrases that occur frequently in writing and discussions about art. A selection of them is given below, but the best way to develop this kind of vocabulary is to read reviews and art books as often as you can.

Positive descriptions

Her work . . .

• is moving – it is effective at making people feel sadness or sympathy
• is evocative – it brings strong images or memories to mind
• is visionary – it considers the future in an intelligent way
• really spoke to me – it connected with my own life experiences

Neutral descriptions

Their work . . .

• is bold/delicate – it gives the impression of being physically strong/weak
• is controversial – it divides public opinion
• is Instagrammable  – people love to take photos of and with it
• is a bit out there – it is weird and/or hard to understand, but not necessarily in a bad way

Negative descriptions

His work . . .

• is disturbing – it is likely to cause someone to be offended or upset
• is derivative – it seems to copy existing works of art
• is amateurish – it does not show a high level of skill
• left me cold – I had no emotional or intellectual response to it

Yes, but is it art . . . ?

Painting and sculpture are obvious examples of fine arts – but what about other visual forms such as architecture, graphic design, video games and graffiti? Does it make sense to separate the fine and applied arts? Who decides the meaning of art, anyway?

fine arts	activity that produces objects with no practical function
graphic design	combining images and texts to make (e.g.) magazines and adverts
applied arts	activity that produces functional objects whose appearance is also important, such as furniture or jewellery

What a load of rubbish

Not everyone likes art, of course. Some people find modern art, in particular, inaccessible and pretentious. A number of clichés can often be heard in response to pieces of contemporary art – most of which would cause artists and art-lovers to roll their eyes.

• My five-year-old could have done that! – it looks like a child made it
• Look at the state of that! – it looks messy, as though no skill was needed to make it
• Money for old rope! – there is nothing new, special or interesting about this
• What a load of rubbish! – said in response to any art that the speaker does not like

inaccessible	difficult for ordinary people to understand
pretentious	trying to be more serious or important than it really is
cliché	a phrase that is used often and shows a lack of original thought
roll your eyes	move your eyeballs upwards or in a circle to show you think something is boring or annoying

The art world is a strange place, but the surest way to fit in – apart from wearing all-black outfits and rings as big as your hands – is to practice speaking like the arty types hanging around galleries. So ciao for now, darling, and see you at tomorrow’s opening!

arty types	people who dress and/or behave in a way that shows a strong interest in the arts

For many people there is nothing more highbrow (meaning cultured and intellectual) than having knowledge of the art world.  Although it’s largely a matter of opinion and preference, having the words to describe the art you see can be a useful and impressive skill.  Here’s our pick of the key words you can use when describing art.

Abstract

Abstract means ‘nonfigurative’ or ‘in the mind’ and abstract art refers to anything that exists independently from a recognisable thing in the world, such as a face or tree, instead focusing on form, colour or shape.   It expresses the artist’s ideas or feelings rather than depicting the exact appearance of a physical object.  The abstract movement was really a response to the fundamental changes happening at the end of the 19^th century when many artists felt compelled to develop a new form of art to reflect the changes in science, technology and philosophy.  Essential abstract artists include Wassily Kandinsky, Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.

Aesthetic

This is a great word to use at an art exhibition.  All art is concerned with beauty and the study of the principles of beauty, and the word aesthetic means just that; the creation and appreciation of beauty.  It can also be used as a noun to describe the set of principles underlying the work of a particular artist or artistic movement such as the abstract or cubist aesthetic.  The word stems from a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art, beauty and taste and is part of the study of the sensory.

Avant-garde

This word, from the French ‘advance guard’ or ‘vanguard’, is used to describe art that is experimental or innovative.  Avant-garde pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable and breaks with the status quo (current situation).  It may shock an audience because it is so different from what has gone before.  Many artists aligned themselves with the avant-garde movement and continue to do so today, inspiring not only painted works but art installations, music, theatre, film and literature.  Essential avant-garde artists include Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol and Yoko Ono.

Cubism

Cubist art relates to an early 20^th century style of painting in which the artist paints several different views of a person or object in a single painting, usually using straight lines.  Cubism was part of the avant-garde movement pioneered by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.  The style of cubism transformed European painting and sculpture and inspired movements in music, literature and architecture.  Cubism is widely considered the most influential art movement of the 20^th century.

Evocative

The word evocative means strongly suggestive or reminiscent of something and an evocative piece of art expresses something very clearly, causing the viewer to have a very strong reaction to it.  Another great word to use to define a piece of art, it really is a powerful way of describing the bringing to mind strong images, memories or feelings.

Minimalism

The minimalist movement originated in New York City in the late 1960s and was really the culmination of the reductionist leanings that had been surfacing since the turn of the century.  Minimalism emphasised the extreme simplification of form by use of basic shapes and one-colour palettes of primary colours, objectivity and anonymity of style, often rendering the works unrecognisable to the viewer.  Minimalism takes only the essential elements to create a work and is most notable for its absence!  Essential minimalism artists include Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt and Dan Flavin.

Postmodern

Postmodern art is easiest to describe as modern day art that utilises non-traditional methods to create the final piece.  This can be anything from the use of spray cans or multimedia techniques such as video, to pickling a shark in formaldehyde.   Postmodern art blurs the boundaries between fine and ‘high arts’ and low art and pop culture.   It might recycle past styles and themes or re-appropriate them for a modern context.  It’s also sure to create some form of controversy along the way.  Essential postmodern artists include David Hockney, Damien Hirst and Banksy.

Seminal

A seminal piece of art, writing or music is a new and different work that influences other works that come after it.  If you’re lucky enough to see a piece of art that is deemed ‘seminal’ then you’re witnessing something very special indeed.  Furthermore, if you deem a piece of art seminal yourself, then you are experiencing an internal moment of realisation that might be considered ‘ground breaking’ or ‘life changing’!

elegant.

How do you describe art style?

Art styles describe the way the artwork looks. Style is basically the manner in which the artist portrays his or her subject matter and how the artist expresses his or her vision. All of these stylistic elements are defined by the choices artists make as they compose their artwork.

How do you describe color in art?

Color has three main characteristics: hue (red, green, blue, etc.), value (how light or dark it is), and intensity (how bright or dull it is). Colors can be described as warm (red, yellow) or cool (blue, gray), depending on which end of the color spectrum they fall. Value describes the brightness of color.

How do you compliment a piece of art?

Some Compliments That You Can Use Instead!

1. You are such a great artist! [works every time!]
2. I really love your art!
3. Your art is so cool!
4. Great job!
5. You have put a lot of work into this piece and it has paid off!
6. Congratulations!
7. You are awesome!
8. This art could step on me and I’d thank them for it.

What is an example of artistic style?

An art style is a set of distinctive characteristics that are shared between artworks….Movements.

Movement	Time Period (approximate)	Associated With
Abstract Expressionism	1946 – 1970	New York
Pop Art	1950 ~	America Andy Warhol
Contemporary Art	1970 ~	Living Artists

What are some good adjectives that start with B?

So what are your favorite describing words that start with B? Mine are, bold, beaming, brave, blissful, breathtaking, beloved and blessed. These are all examples of positive adjectives beginning with B.

What are the best words to describe art?

Here is a list of words that describe Art. Art words are listed in alphabetical order. Wide.

Do You need Words to describe and critique art?

She has written for art magazines blogs, edited how-to art titles, and co-authored travel books. To talk about paintings, and art in general, you need the vocabulary to describe, analyze, and interpret what you’re seeing. Thinking of the right words becomes easier the more art terms you know, which is where this list comes in.

What’s the best way to describe a painting?

The idea isn’t to sit and memorize it, but if you consult the word bank regularly, you’ll start to remember more and more terms. The list is organized by topic. First, find the aspect of a painting you wish to talk about (the colors, for instance), and then see which words match or fit with what you’re thinking.

Here is a list of words that describe Art. Art words are listed in alphabetical order. Wide.

What are some adjectives that start with the letter B?

brawny: (of a person) possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful blessed: worthy of adoration, reverence, or worship; blissfully happy or contented bad: feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough’ is occasionally used colloquially for `bad’)

Are there any descriptive words to critique art?

There are many words that can help you be descriptive when it comes to critiquing art. In fact, there are words to comment on every single aspect of art. The line, tone, movement, texture and shape are just a few ways in which art can be critiqued. However, the following list will go into more depth of the words that you can use to critique art.

What are 229 words to describe art-simplicable?

Elements Allegory Arrangement Style Subject Matter Symbolism Texture Time Tone Tradition

How do you describe art?

Art, in its broadest sense, is a form of communication. It means whatever the artist intends it to mean, and this meaning is shaped by the materials, techniques, and forms it makes use of, as well as the ideas and feelings it creates in its viewers . Art is an act of expressing feelings, thoughts, and observations.

How would you describe your art style?

Use words such as lustrous, shadowy, radiant, glossy, and saturated when describing colors. These words articulate the depth of the color. Describe it using words that connect your artwork to the smell and feeling of everyday objects. Put yourself in the mindset of the average person.

How do you describe good art?

Use words such as lustrous, shadowy, radiant, glossy, and saturated when describing colors. The average person will see your artwork in a different light if you describe it using words that connect your artwork to the smell and feeling of everyday objects.

What is an example of description?

The definition of a description is a statement that gives details about someone or something. An example of description is a story about the places visited on a family trip. Published a description of the journey; gave a vivid description of the game.

What is the role of color in art?

Colour is often one of the most exciting components of a painting. In both figurative and abstract painting, colour can be used for its decorative beauty, to create mood and to express or arouse an emotion. In nature and in art, colour has a profound effect on the viewer.

What is another name for color in art?

Hue is another name for the word color. Hue is one of the three properties of color.

How do you appreciate art?

How to Appreciate Art When You’re Not an Artist

1. Learn a Little Bit Every Day. Learn about art, a little bit a day.
2. Try an Art Project. Try doing a project.
3. Take a Class. Try going to a paint night or class.
4. Write What You Know.
5. Visit a Museum.
6. See Through Different Angles.
7. Analyze One Thing.
8. Think About Your Feelings.

How do you appreciate art words?

try these compliments:

1. I’ve never seen anything like it.
2. Your work reminds me a little bit of _________________ (name a famous artist – but NOT Thomas Kincaid.)
3. You are really hitting your stride.
4. My friend/co-worker should really see this.
5. I recognized it as your work immediately.

Words Used to Describe Works of Art and
Pictures

a determiner

used before the name of a famous artist to
mean a picture by that artist.

abstract adjective

art abstract art expresses the artist’s ideas or feelings
rather than showing the exact appearance of people or things.

accessible adjective

accessible art, music, literature etc is
easy to understand and enjoy.

aesthetic adjective

relating to beauty or to the study of the
principles of beauty, especially in art.

artistic adjective

relating to any form of art, including
painting, music, literature, acting, and dancing.

artistic adjective

relating to drawing, painting etc.

artistic adjective

painted, arranged, or done in a way that
shows skill and imagination and looks beautiful.

arty-crafty adjective

British informal made
by someone who enjoys creating and decorating things themselves, but who you
think lacks skill.

avant-garde adjective

avant-garde music, art etc is very modern
and may shock people because it is so different from what has gone before.

baroque adjective

art, music relating to the very detailed style of art, building,
or music that was popular in Europe in the 17th and early 18th centuries.

camp adjective

art or entertainment that is camp
deliberately does not follow traditional ideas about what is considered good in
order to produce a humorous effect.

cubist adjective

art relating to an early 20th-century style of painting in
which the artist paints several different views of a person or object in a
single painting, usually using straight lines.

esthetic

an American spelling of aesthetic.

evocative adjective

formal an evocative work of art expresses something very
clearly and makes you have a strong reaction to it.

figurative adjective

art figurative art represents people, objects, and scenes,
rather than representing feelings or ideas as abstract art does.

folk adjective

folk art, traditions, stories etc were
developed by people in a particular region and have become traditional there.

folksy adjective

made or done in a way that is intended to
remind you of traditional art, customs, or stories.

formal adjective

relating to the form or structure of
something such as a piece of writing, art, or music.

freehand adjective

drawn without using a ruler or other equipment.

Gothic adjective

art Gothic styles of building and art were common in
Europe between the 12th and 15th centuries.

grandiose adjective

designed to look very impressive, but
really looking artificial or silly.

graphic adjective

relating to drawing.

lifelike adjective

a lifelike picture, model etc looks like a
real person or thing.

literary adjective

relating to books that are considered to
have value as art.

magisterial adjective

a magisterial work is written by someone
whose knowledge and opinions are respected.

mature adjective

the mature work of an artist, writer etc
is produced when they are no longer young and have developed their skill to a
high level.

minimalist adjective

relating to minimalism.

monochrome adjective

art using different shades
of a single colour.

naturalistic adjective

art, literature a naturalistic painting, novel etc shows people and
things as they are in real life.

painterly adjective

with a style or appearance that reminds
you of a painter or painting.

pictorial adjective

consisting of pictures.

postmodern adjective

relating to postmodernism.

pre-Raphaelite adjective

art typical of a style of art popular in late 19th century
England that used a lot of detail and bright colours and showed a very romanticized view of life.

pulp adjective

pulp books, magazines, and films have not
been written very well, and are often about sex or violence.

pure adjective

a pure form of art does not have any
practical purpose, such as selling something.

realist noun

art, literature relating to realism in art or literature.

representational adjective

art representational paintings and other works of art show
things as they really are.

Romantic adjective

relating to the style of literature, art,
and music known as romanticism.

satirical adjective

literature satirical writing or art uses humour to criticize
people or things and make them seem silly.

seminal adjective

formal a seminal piece of writing or music is new and
different and influences other literature or music that comes after it.

silk-screen adjective

printed by silk screen, or related to this
method of printing.

spacey adjective

informal spacey music or art seems to have been created by
someone who takes drugs that change the way that they think.

stereoscopic adjective

a stereoscopic picture is designed so that
when you look at it through a special piece of equipment, it looks solid and real.

stylized adjective

in a style that is artificial rather than realistic like life.

surrealistic adjective

art, literature connected with surrealism.

three-D adjective

a three-D film, picture etc looks as if it
has height, depth, and width.

three-dimensional adjective

used for describing images that look as if
they are three-dimensional.

untitled adjective

an untitled poem, book, painting etc has
not been given a title.

aesthetically adverb

artistically adverb

expressionist adjective, noun

freehand adverb

Impressionist adjective

lithographic adjective

modernist adjective

mural adjective

pictorially adverb

pointillist adjective

postmodernist adjective

satirically adverb

scribbled adjective

surrealist adjective

three-D noun

uncompromisingly adverb

from life

if you draw, paint etc from life, you use
a real object or person as your subject instead of copying a photograph or
picture