Words to Describe Art

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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