Art Paintings

The earliest art discovered showcases alluring animals including lions, deer, and bears daubed on cave walls in France with natural pigments like charcoal and ocher. Masterpieces may be on canvas, paper, wood, or even velvet, glass or metal. Oil, watercolor, and acrylic are the most commonly-used paint media, but decorators and collectors may also find less-common methods for portraying images including encaustic, gouache, pastels, and spray paint.

Art historians refer to modern art as work created between the 1880s and 1960s while art from after 1970 is called contemporary art. Expressionist modern art can be found from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Contemporary realistic landscapes and original gallery oils add a touch of magical realism. Artists in modern and contemporary art eras created realistic, impressionistic and abstract work, and the primary difference in the two eras is simply the date the artist created the canvas.

Find large surrealist or contemporary gallery oils for bold decorating needs.

Contemporary art mixed media may be an abstract, still life, or impressionistic work.

Acrylics may be created during the 1950s or 60s, but most of them date post-1970.

The size of each art piece may or may not include a frame, but typically, the canvas, paper or wood will be measured in width and height dimensions in inches. Canvases or boards smaller than 12 inches in height or width are considered small while those smaller than 6 inches are mini canvases. Mid-sized canvases up to 36 inches in height or width may fit many interior spaces while large work over 60 inches in width or height usually adorns living room walls or entertainment areas.

Frames can enhance artwork and support decorating themes in homes or commercial spaces. Unframed canvases can be framed in a unifying way to enhance a decorating theme throughout a home or business. Artists may also offer framed paintings as a way to enhance their arts presentation. Oil and acrylics will often be inset into wood frames, which may or may not be carved, stained or hand-painted. Watercolors are framed with archival mats, which help to preserve the vibrancy and light fastness of pigments.

Art is so diverse, with thousands of styles and different subject matters, that having categories and styles of painting help art enthusiasts find and select the paintings that suit their taste. Some primary painting genres include landscape, portrait, nude, animal or nature, abstract, sports, and still life. Subject matter further categorizes painting. Landscape paintings can depict mountain, ocean, desert, farm, or city scenes. Portraits can be formal oil paintings of well-off patrons from the 18th century or simple sketches of a child playing by the beach.