Glossary

Background: area in a work of art that appears in the distance

Body language: the movements or gestures a person communicates

Collage: artwork made from different materials such as paper and fabric glued onto a surface

Composition: the way a subject is organized in artwork – the way lines, shapes, objects, etc. are arranged on the page

Foreground: area in a work of art that appears closer to the viewer (appears in front of the background)

Geometric: relating to simple shapes that include straight lines, circles, squares, and rectangles

Illustration: a picture or drawing

Imagery: use of expressive images in art

Mood: the emotion or feeling in a work of art

Narrative collage: a collage that tells a story

Painting with paper: Megan Coyle’s technique of gluing down magazine strips in such a way that they look like the brushstrokes in a painting

Portrait: artwork that depicts a person

Pose: how a person’s body is placed

Setting: where a composition takes place, the location

Sketch: a rough drawing often used in the beginning when making a work of art

Subject: what a work of art depicts

Texture: the appearance of something on the surface of a work of art

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