International Fine Art Academy

Ferrule: refers to the metal or plastic device that that aligns and anchors paintbrush bristles or hairs in an adhesive. The ferrule is attached to the handle by crimping or by binding wires. (See illustration.)

Filbert: brushes used to create soft edges, blend colors, and has the shape of a flower petal or leaf. (See illustration.)

Filigree: a technique used to produce fine intricate patterns in metal. Often used for metal beads, clasps, and bead caps.

Fine art: art created for purely aesthetic expression, communication, or contemplation. Painting and sculpture are the best known of the fine arts.

Works of art that are created specifically for their aesthetic value, such as painting and sculpture.

Fixative: a liquid, similar to varnish, which is usually sprayed over a finished piece of artwork to better preserve it and prevent smudging. Artwork media requiring fixative include drawings done in pencil, charcoal, and pastel.

Flat brush: a brush with a flat shaped end like a screwdriver. (See illustration.)

Foam core: a strong, stiff, resilient, and lightweight board of polystyrene laminated with paper on both of its sides used as backing for art prints before framing. Also referred to as "foam board".

Focal point: a specific area, element or principle that dominates a work of art; the area in a work which the eye is most compellingly drawn. The viewer's eye is usually drawn there first.

Folk art: Art of people who have had no formal, academic training, but whose works are part of an established tradition of style and craftsmanship.

Font: a complete set of characters in a particular size and style of type. This includes the letter set, the number set, and all of the special character and diacritical marks you get by pressing the shift, option, or command/control keys.

Fontography: The field of font design. A person who designs fonts is a "fontographer".

Foreshortening: A form of perspective where the nearest parts of an object or form are enlarged so that the rest of the form appears to go back in space; To shorten an object to make it look as if it extends backwards into space.

Form: the volume and shape of a three-dimensional work, perhaps including unfilled areas that are integral to the work as a whole.

Reddish-brown mold spots that appear on paper and textiles due to water exposure or high levels of humidity.

Fractal: a mathematically generated pattern that is reproducible at any magnification or reduction. A geometric pattern that is repeated at ever smaller scales to produce irregular shapes and/or surfaces that cannot be represented by classical geometry. (See illustration.)

Frame: something made to enclose a picture or a mirror; enclose in a frame, as of a picture.

Fresco: The technique of blending wet plaster with water based paint. As the plaster dries it becomes a lasting surface base. The term applies to the technique as well as the painting itself.

Fugitive colors - short-lived pigments capable of fading or changing, especially with exposure to light, to atmospheric pollution, or when mixed with certain substances.