Here is a very simple art terminology guide...and I mean VERY basic ( mainly for beginner art buyers ) to help you when you are reading the descriptions from dealers online about the paintings they have for sale. I sell mainly oil paintings, but will also touch a bit on acrylic and watercolor mediums. The paintings I mainly show are  antique & vintage OIL paintings , the most popular medium, ( the art material the artist used to paint or sculpt with, here it is oil paint ).


Top Art is PRINT of a painting
Bottom Art is actual oil PAINTING


The most popular question I ever get asked about paintings , is how do I know a piece of art is a PAINTING or a PRINT ? For the average buyer who has not bought a painting before, only PRINTS of paintings , they are easily confused with what a real painting is. No. 1, if you are confused...get very close to the art and see if you can SEE actual strokes of paint...they are easily felt as well, though art historians freak out if someone touches art as it leaves a residue from their hands onto the painting. Simply wipe your finger on your clothing, use only a finger...not your whole hand and feel the art and you can FEEL the paint. ( WARNING: Do NOT do this in galleries or art museums, or I guarantee you will be talking to a guard ) . You can typically do this in antique malls, shops and at antique shows. If it is completely SMOOTH, then it is a print, NOT a painting. Please bear in mind as well that a lot of new decorator' s paintings are simply prints with a shellac overcoat with brushstrokes through it to mimic a painting. Also use a magnifying glass, that will show you that it is printed smooth on cardboard or paper and not an actual painting. Manufacturers liked to mimc a true painting by having raised areas in the cardboard , but with a magnifying glass you can tell that they are all uniform ( even ) , and also not in the paint but only in the cardboard or paper. A real painting has brushstrokes that are uneven, not exactly the same all over. Be sure to turn the art over and look at the BACK of the canvas and see that it is a darker beige/brown if it is supposed to be an antique painting. If it is STARK white, then it is new product, it may be a painting or more likely in decorator stores a computerized 'painting' with shellac/varnish overcoat. Ask the owner of the art if it is OLD ? If it is a PAINTING or a PRINT ? I say this as a lot of decorator stores sell reproduction 'paintings' to look like the original old art.

An original late 1800's oil painting, a seascape with gold GESSO ( decorative plaster on the outside of the frame)


Now I will briefly go through some of the terminology that art dealers online use in their descriptions to describe their artwork they have for sale.

OIL PAINTING: The most popular from of painting for over 500 YEARS. The colors are rich and deep compared to acrylic paintings. Most dealers and collectors of antique art feel that oil paintings COMPARED TO ACRYLIC OR WATERCOLOR have a  higher value , aesthetically and financially.



New acrylic painting on right, antique oil painting on the left
Antique paintings are always a little DARKER ( developed even more with age) than newer paintings

The other main types of paintings found online are ACRYLICS AND WATERCOLORS. I cannot go indepth on each one of them, but will tell you that acrylics have been more popular in MODERN PAINTINGS ( THE LAST 75 YEARS ESPECIALLY) compared to oils , as acrylics are an easier medium to use than oils. Most acrylic paintings are not as rich looking and their colors are not as deep as oils. I do not want you to think I do not appreciate acrylic paintings, I do...I simply prefer oil paintings. WATERCOLORS are fairly easy to spot as they are WATER-BASED PAINTS THAT ARE TYPICALLY A FAINT VERSION OF COLOR. They are almost always under glass, similar to prints but if you look very closely at them, and this may require a magnifying glass, you can see faint brushstrokes and possibly a signature.


ACRYLIC and OIL , the Difference

 The top painting is newer , painted in acrylic paint w/ yellow roses in  the Victorian style , see the bright yellow ? That is a clue it is acrylic as most oils are a muted , darker tone of  colors...especially antique paintings as the PATINA,( what age and time and the elements develop ), has mellowed out the artwork. The bottom yellow roses is an oil painting approx. 100+ years old. The yellow may be this muted or a deeper yellow, but never as bright as an acrylic. Oil paintings have more layers of thin paint applied which gives the art more ' depth '.

This by the way,  it takes a LONG time ( years and years ) to develop the discernment, please got to art museums and look at lots of old oil paintings and then you can train your eye to tell the difference.


 ART  TERMINOLOGY:

CRAQUELURE: This is the fine crazing ,( another term you will see in descriptions ), of lines in the top layer of the paint or varnish that happens with time, heat and humidity, extreme temperature changes, and transportation issues. It shows what kind of enviornment the painting has been exposed to. Below I show a painting with craqulure. This is not a huge problem for old art IF the paint is not completely cracking off and flaking extensively. This is an element that has been faked in many reproduction paintings and decorator paintings to give them an OLD look.




Craquelure or Crazing lines in oil paintings


CHIPPING or FLAKING Paint:
Many old paintings have some chipping or flaking off of the paint, if it is not too extensive...it can be repaired or enjoyed as is.
also
IN-PAINTING:
This is where a painting has been ' painted over ' to cover up flaws or touch up spots that have flakes off. If it is done well, I do not mind..often it is not. This can be fixed by a professional restorer.Below is an example of chipping paint plus in painting.

Chipping paint plus in-painting


IMPASTO:
This is thickly applied paint , where the paint is applied in thick strokes and the texture stands out in relief. Very common in Modern and some Impressionist paintings. Also Abstract art. This technique really is cool, and makes artwork ' pop'.


1960-70's Impressionist Modern painting done in Impasto technique


COA or PROVENANCE:
This is mainly in reference to higher end fine art where the COA ( Certificate of Authenticity) , is guaranteeing that the painting is what and by whom the seller says it is painted by. The Provenance is a record of ownership for a work of art, ideally from when it was created , and then from owner to owner...a written record. Many paintings on Ebay do not have this, they are simply artwork that a seller finds, may ask if there is any history behind it...and may pass that on to the buyer. Oftentimes , sellers are unable to tell you much more than a general description and time frame of the painting.


GESSO:
The decorative, delicate plaster on the outside of the wood frame, often chipped and broken off old original frames. I show a picture of some broken gesso at the very top in a landscape picture. Almost always painted gold. Can be professionally repaired.



CANVAS or LINEN or CANVAS BOARD or ACADEMY BOARD or WOOD PANEL:

These are all different materials that artist used to paint on. Canvas and linen are usually on stetchers ( or can be put on one), linen is rougher than canvas. Canvas board or artist board is simply a piece of hardboard or cardboard with a canvas overlay applied . I show examples of them in another guide I have on buying antique artwork.
Black academy board was used in the mid 1800's to early 1900's, it is black or dark gray , usually has some warpage to it. Many Victorian paintings are on black academy board. Wood panel paintings are typically from Europe ( very old ), where the name signifies they are paintings painted on different types of wood, usually indigenious to whatever area the artist lived.
The only other board used was masonite board from the 1940-60's, a very hard , heavy knubby board that was popular for a brief time. You can tell this one from it's weight.  Below I show a CANVAS painting on the bottom and a thinner CANVAS BOARD or BOARD painting on the top.


This is only a very brief reference guide for you , but I hope it can help someone who is just starting to collect art or for someone who always wanted to know what a term meant, but never asked. Any specific questions , you can email me through the ask a seller button. I cannot appraise your art , but I may be able to answer a question.
If this guide was helpful in ANY small way, please vote for it at the bottom.

Thanks very much ! Good luck on buying your art online,
Gina