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Fine Art Reference and Fine Art Resources
Click on the highlighted links to receive information on a particular topic within our Art Reference page. You may click on the letters below to "jump" to a particular section of the page. All materials, text and images contained within the third-party links are listed for educational purposes only, and are subject to the Copyright restrictions outlined within their respective Web Pages. All third-party links will open in a new browser window.
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Acrylic: Thicker and stronger than tempera or watercolor paint, acrylic is a water-based style "plastic" paint. Acrylic paint allows Greg Fetler to "sculpt" his paintings onto canvas. See Sculpted Relief Art below.
Acrylic Watercolor: The method of using acrylics to apply classic watercolor techniques on canvas. View Greg Fetler's Acrylic Watercolors Gallery to explore his Watercolor Style Paintings.
Big Sur: Many of Greg Fetler's acrylic paintings have been created amidst the beauty and wonder of the Big Sur Coast in Monterey Bay, on Northern California's central coast. To view Greg Fetler's source of inspiration, you may take a virtual tour of Big Sur by visiting VirtualParks.org.
Brushwork: The characteristic way each artist brushes paint onto a medium, such as canvas. Greg Fetler specializes in highly detailed brushwork, which can be seen in several of his acrylic paintings, including Windsong and Forest Elves.
Canvas: A piece of strong closely woven fabric cloth of which the surface has been prepared for painting.
Cliff House of San Francisco: Greg Fetler once painted the historic Cliff House, in San Francisco, California, which is contained in his In Private Collections Gallery. You may take a beautiful, historic tour of The Cliff House San Francisco landmark by visiting SanFranciscoMemories.com.
Easel: A frame, usually made of wood, which is used by the artist to hold the canvas upright, or to exhibit the piece of artwork.
En Plein Aire: French phrase referring to the period in the 1700's when French landscape painters began painting outdoors in the fresh air. The term is used widely today to describe the art of painting natural objects in the open air, on-site, in order to quickly capture natural light and color. Many of Greg Fetler's landscapes and seascapes are painted using this method, including Big Sur Afternoon.
Fantasy: Imagination unrestricted by reality. Greg Fetler was inspired to paint his Magic Realism fantasy children series when he experienced the imaginary world created by his son Joshua at play with his young friends. The artist states, "In their world, dragons make great pets and little elves build miniature cities, travel around the world in giant balloons, and sail the deep sea in great ships."
Giclee (Giclée) Fine Art Print: Refers to a new high quality method of creating limited edition prints using digital printmaking methods. For a detailed description, view our Giclee process page by clicking on the highlighted link.
Image Size: Actual dimensions of a printed image. This refers only to the image itself and not to the size of the paper it is printed on.
Impasto: The thick application of paint on canvas in heavy layers or strokes, as in certain painting techniques. Greg Fetler uses this method in his Sculpted Relief Art style.
Impressionism: Referred to as the most important art movement of the 19th century, impressionism is still widely practiced today, and influenced many successive art movements. The term impressionism emerged in the 1860's and came from a painting by Claude Monet (1840-1926) entitled Impression Sunrise. The term became widely used to describe the painting methods used by artists of this time period, including French painters Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) and Paul Cezanne (1839-1906). You may read a biography and view selected works of Renoir by visiting The Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio. You may take a virtual tour, including a flash presentation, of Paul Cezanne's Studio by visiting Atelier-Cezanne.com. Impressionists usually worked quickly in open air, and were very concerned with capturing light, color and surface. You may take an online guided tour of the Impressionism art movement and turn of the century France by visiting Impressionism.org and clicking on "Experience Impressionism". Harkins Slough is an example of an impressionist-style painting in Greg Fetler's Acrylic Watercolors collection.
Iris Giclee Print: Fine art print made with the original Iris printer by using the Giclee process. The Iris printer is considered the highest quality printer for this form of fine art inkjet printing, and is used by Museums to create their Fine Art Reproduction Prints. Greg Fetler's Giclee Prints on Fine Art Watercolor Paper and Canvas are produced using the Iris Printer.
Landscape: Painting or artwork depicting an expanse of natural scenery that can be seen in a single view. The movement toward a landscape being primary in a painting, rather than the background, began in the 17th century. An example of one of many landscapes in Greg Fetler's collection is Julia Pfeifer-Burns, which was also painted en plein aire.
Limited Edition: A limited edition print is one in which a limit is placed on the number of prints produced in a particular edition, in order to create a scarcity of the print. Limited editions are signed and numbered by the artist. Once the prints in the edition have been sold out, the digital file is then destroyed by the Giclee Printmaker in order to maintain the integrity of the limited edition. The image will not be published again in the same form.
Magic Realism: An American art movement that began in 1943 to the 1950's which blends precise and detailed realistic images with the imaginary and fantastic. The art style had its early influences from the Surrealism movement. View the precisely detailed Magic Realism Gallery series of Children Fantasy Paintings and Giclee Prints by artist Greg Fetler.
Medium: The specific tool and material used by an artist, i.e., canvas, brush, acrylic paint. May also refer to the mode of expression employed by an artist, i.e., acrylic painting, digital art, sculpture.
Mixed Media The combination of two or more different mediums, such as painting, charcoal, collage, etc., combined in a single work of art.
Monterey Bay Peninsula: Greg Fetler lives on the beautiful Monterey Bay in Northern California, and has painted many landscapes and seascapes throughout the Peninsula. View current and historic photos of the Monterey Bay by visiting MontereyBay.org.
Moss Landing: Greg Fetler has painted many scenes of Moss Landing, located on the California central coast, including Moss Landing and Moss Landing Harbor. You may view beautiful photos of this historic fishing town by visiting Webshots.com.
Picture Book: A book that combines narration and illustrations to tell a story. Greg Fetler has written and illustrated The Synergy Song fine art picture book for children of all ages, including adults, to enjoy.
Post-Impressionist Movement: In reaction to the Impressionists, this style focused on the emotional content, structure and form of artistic subjects rather than on the importance of natural, fading light. The movement had its beginnings in the 1880's to 1900 in France. Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and French artist Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) were classic painters of this period. You may view the biography and a comprehensive Vincent Van Gogh artworks collection by visiting VanGoghGallery.com. You may view the Gauguin collection and take a virtual tour of the Gauguin room by visiting The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Realism: Art term referring to the accurate depiction of natural objects, without the addition of imaginative representation. In addition, it refers to a 19th century art movement in France, which moved away from the Romanticism movement by creating paintings that provided accurate representations of everyday life. You may view the Realism Painting and Giclee Print Green Valley Schoolhouse in Greg Fetler's Acrylic Watercolors Gallery. Early Realism artists include French artists Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875) and Jean Francois Millet (1814-1875). You may read a biography and view a Camille Corot collection of artworks by visiting The National Gallery of Art in Washington. You may read a biography and view Jean-Francois Millet selected works by visiting HumanitiesWeb.org.
Representational Art: Artistic piece, i.e. painting, in which it is the artist's intention to present a realistic portrayal of a particular subject matter.
Reproduction: An Original work of art that has been duplicated by photographic or other printmaking methods.
Relief Art: In Painting, any work that projects from the background. See Sculpted Relief Art below.
Romanticism: Movement in art during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that celebrated nature, as opposed to civilization, and valued emotion and imagination rather than rationality. Impressionism, as well as 20th century art in general, was greatly influenced by the Romantic movement. A collection of paintings by Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) can be found at The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Sculpted Relief Art: Greg Fetler states the following about this technique of painting, "Using a flexible acrylic medium, I will sculpt the textures onto the canvas, creating a striking 3-D effect. An exciting painting process follows, where moods and details are defined by the sculpture underneath." View samples of this art style in his Sculpted Relief Art Gallery.
Style: The technique or expression of an artist.
Seascape: A painting representing an expansive view of the ocean or sea. Pacific Grove Before the Storm is an example of a Seascape in Greg Fetler's Acrylic Watercolors collection.
Surrealism: Artistic movement, which began in the 1920's, dedicated to the expression of dreams and the activities of the subconscious mind, through fantastic imagery. The period was influenced greatly by Freud's focus on dreams. Early artists of the period include Salvador Dali (1904-1989) and Rene Magritte (1898-1967). Although the Surrealism movement influenced the creation of the Magic Realism art movement, Surrealists focus primarily on psychological themes, while Magic Realists tend to focus on alterations of physical reality. You may read a biography and view the Salvador Dali artworks collection by visiting the Salvador Dali Museum in Florida. You may read a biography and view Rene Magritte selected artworks by visiting Tate.org United Kingdom.
Synergy: Behavior of whole systems unpredicted by the behavior of their parts taken separately. R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), architect, mathematician, engineer, and cosmologist made the word "Synergy" a common one when he developed "Synergetics", a "Geometry of Thinking". You may read more about R. Buckminster Fuller, who found synergy to be a basic principle of all interactive systems, by visiting the Buckminster Fuller Institute. Josh and Friends learn about several basic scientific principles in The Synergy Song Picture Book when Greg Fetler combines Art and Science to illustrate the concept of "Synergy".
Technique: Method of working with materials to create a work of art. Greg Fetler uses the acrylic medium to "sculpt" his paintings onto canvas in his Sculpted Relief technique. He also uses acrylics to apply classic watercolor methods onto canvas in his Acrylic Watercolors technique.
Watercolor: A painting in which the artist uses water-based paint containing water soluble pigments.