Medium of the

Visual arts
Lesson Objectives:

➢ Identify the different mediums of visual arts.

➢ Enumerate some famous Filipino artist,

painters and sculptors.

➢ Illustrate something using the mediums of

visual arts
Medium
➢ is a Latin word that denotes by which an artist
communicates his idea.

➢ may be in the form of materials used by an

artist to interpret his feelings or thoughts
Visual arts in general are made by media that can be
seen and can occupy space. The medium can be two-
dimensional, such as painting or drawing; or it can be
three-dimensional, such as sculpture or architecture.
Technique

➢is the manner in which the artist controls

the medium to achieve the desired effects.

➢Technique is the ability by which the artist

fulfills the technical requirements of a
particular work of art.
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Watercolor pigments invites brilliance and variety of
hues

● The effects are rendered through some techniques

Watercolor
● Can be applied on wet plaster, canvas, wood, and
paper

● Challenge: Difficult to handle to showcase warm and

rich tones

● Sample work/s: Jedburgh Abbey from the River by

Thomas Gertin
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Painting method done on a moist plaster surface with
colors ground in water or a limewater mixture
Fresco ● Image becomes permanently fixed and impossible to
remove.

● Challenge: Must be done quickly because the moment

the paint is applied to the surface, the color dry into
plaster and the painting becomes an integral part of the
wall .

● Sample work/s: The Creation of Adam in the Sistine

Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo School of Athens by
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Mineral pigments mixed with egg yolk or egg white
and ore.

Tempera ● This egg-based emulsion binds the pigments to the

surface.

● Characterized by its film-forming properties and

rapid drying rate.

● Requires more deliberate technique than oil because

it does not possess the flexibility of oil.
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Favorite medium of painters during Middle Ages
and early Renaissance period (before oil was
adopted)
Tempera
● Challenge: The artist must be precise and exact
in his or her work.

● Sample work/s: The Last Supper by Leonardo da

Vinci- The Birth of Venus by Sandro Boticelli
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Stick of dried paste of pigment ground with
chalk and compounded with gum water.

Pastel ● Very flexible medium whose colors are

luminous.

● Challenge: In spite of richness and varied

effects of pastel, it is difficult to preserve the
finished product in its original state.
● When the chalk rubs off, the image loses
some of its brilliance
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION

● Early medium by Egyptians for

painting portraits on mummy cases.
Encaustic
● Done by applying wax colors fixed
with heat.

● Produces luster and radiance, making

the subjects appear at their best in
their portraits.
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Pigments are mixed with linseed oil and applied to
canvas.

Oil ● Flexible – the artist can use even his hands in

applying paint on his or her canvas.
● Easy to correct, repainting is without much
difficulty.

● Appears glossy and lasts long.

● Sample work/s: Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

Water Lilies by Claude Monet
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Used by contemporary painters today
because of its transparency and quick-drying
characteristics of watercolor and flexibility
Acrylic of oil combined.

● Do not break easily, unlike oil paints which

turn yellowish or darker over a period of
time.
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Usually done on paper using pencil, pen, ink, or
charcoal.

Most fundamental of all skills necessary in arts.

Drawing ●

● Considered as good training for artists because it

makes one concentrate on the use of life.

● Shading can also be used to make drawing make

more life-like and realistic.

● Sample work/s: Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches

S
THE POPULAR ART MEDIA
USED IN SCULPTURE
Two Major Sculpture Processes

➢ Subtractive process- t is a process in which

unwanted material is cut away.

➢ Additive process- s expressed by joining or

combining together small pieces of
materials.
Sculpture in general may be divided into
two types: relief and free-standing

➢ Relief -refers to figures which are

attached to a ground.

➢ Free-standing- can be seen from all

sides.
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Hard and brittle substance formed
Stone: from mineral and earth material.
Granite,
Marble, ● The finish product is granular and
Basalt, dull in appearance.
Limestone
● Sample work/s: Laocoon and His
Sons
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Usually colored green and
Fine widely used in China
stone:
Jade ● Ornamental stone for
carving and fashion jewelry
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION

From tusk of elephants

Ivory ●

● Hard white substance used to

make carvings and billiard balls
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Characterized by capacity, ductility, conductivity
and peculiar luster when freshly fractured.

Metals ● Can be shaped or deformed under great pressure

without breaking

● Bronze: can resist any atmospheric corrosion; best

suited for sculptures in open and outdoor spaces

● Brass: does not rust and take a brilliant polish

● Copper: resistant to atmospheric corrosion

MEDIUM DESCRIPTION

● advantage of wood is that it is cheap,

readily available, and easy to cut.
Wood ● The grain of wood that can be seen,
adds to its beauty.

● limited in size and burns easily.

MEDIUM DESCRIPTION

● Natural earthy material that is plastic

Clay/ when wet.
Terra ● Generally fragile so ideal to cast into
Cotta another durable materials
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION

● Hard, brittle, and non-crystalline.

Glass
● Used in making figurines
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION
● Easy to carve because it can be
subjected into a variety of treatments.
Wood
● Lighter and softer to carve than stone
● Should be treated to preserve its
quality

● Commonly used: dapdap, white lauan,

oak, walnut, mahogany narra, and dao.
Arts
Other Media used by
artists depend on visual
art types
Stained glass
● is a common art in Gothic Cathedrals and churches.

● It is made by combining small pieces of colored glass,

held together by bands of lead.

● The pictures in the stained glass commonly depict the

lives of saints and in effect, also serve as a religious
instruction among Christians.
Tapestry
● fabric is produced by hand weaving colored threads
upon a warp

● The woven designs often end up as pictorials, wall

hangings, and furniture covering.

● During Middle Ages, they were hung on the walls of

palaces and in cathedrals on festive occasions to
provide warmth.
Mosaic

● is an art of putting together small pieces of

colored stones or glass called tesserae to
create an image

● The stones are cut into squares and glued on

a surface with plaster or cement. Mosaic is
an important feature of Byzantine churches.
Architecture

● art of designing and constructing building.

● Functional definition: to fulfil a need that

leads to its creation.

● Materials: stone, wood, brick, concrete, glas

SOME FAMOUS
FILIPINO PAINTERS
Fernando Amorsolo
● He was a portraitist and a painter of
rural Philippines landscapes.
● His paintings often portrayed
traditional Filipino culture, customs,
fiestas, and occupation
● . He developed the backlighting
technique that brilliantly depicted
the luminous golden glow of the
sun’s rays on his subject
Fabian dela Rosa
● He was noted for being an outstanding
painter of women’s portrait.
● o best remembered for painting
landscapes and everyday scenes with
women depicted as simple yet regal in
doing daily activities such as weaving,
chatting, going to church, planting rice
in the fields and washing clothes
Carlos“Botong”Francisco
● He was in the forefront of modernist art in
the country
● One of his favorite subjects is fisherfolks
● images of his women subjects came from
mythology, history, legends, customs, and
contemporary life.
● His greatest works include the “Blood
Compact,” “First Mass at Limasawa,” “The
Martyrdom of Rizal,” and the “The Invasion
of Limahong.”
Jose Joya
● He pioneered abstract expressionism
in the Philippines.
● His canvases were characterized by
“dynamic spontaneity” and “quick
gestures” of action painting
● His works were influenced by the
tropical landscapes of the Philippine
Islands.
Ang Kiukok
● he fused influences from cubism,
surrealism and expressionism.

● Some classified his style as “figurative

expressionism.”

● He favored subjects as fighting cocks,

rabid dogs and people enraptured by
rage or bound in chairs.
Juan Luna
● “Spolarium”

● His other masterpieces are the

“Death of Cleopatra” and the
“Blood Compact.”
Vicente Manansala

● A Philippine cubist painter and

illustrator.
● His canvases were described as
masterpieces that brought the
cultures of the barrio and city together
● “Madonna of the Slums, Jeepney,
Station of the Cross”
Hernando R. Ocampo
● He was credited for a new mode of
abstraction that exemplifies Philippine
flora and fauna and portrays sunshine,
stars and rains
● utilized fantasy and science fiction as the
basis for his works.
● art is described to be “abstract
composition of biological forms that
seemed to oscillate, quiver, inflame and
multiply like mutations.”
Damian Domingo
● He was active in the early part
of the 19th century painter of
miniature portraits and
religious images
● He was known for his
miniature portraits on ivory
and oil portraits on canvas.
Mauro Malang Santos
● a self-taught painter who began his
career as a comic strip illustrator.
● His paintings have been said to
celebrate the Philippine landscape, its
people traditions in happy fiesta colors
● Women are his favorite subjects and
also Philippine landscapes where nipa
huts and shanties take on a quality
among squalor. His colors are generally
Benedicto “Bencab” Cabrera

● His skillful and soulful depiction of

social issues, most especially those
most relevant to Filipinos, is believed by
many to be the foundation of his
success
Creativity
takes courage