Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (support base). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. Painting is a mode of creative expression, and can be done in numerous forms. Drawing, gesture (as in gestural painting), composition or abstraction (as in abstract art), among other aesthetic modes, may serve to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention of the practitioner. Paintings can be naturalistic and representational (as in a still life or landscape painting), photographic, abstract, narratively based, mythological or religious in theme – or any combination thereof. A portion of the history of painting in both Eastern and Western art is dominated by spiritual motifs and ideas; examples include: Buddhist wall paintings depicting Gautama Buddha’s life story as well as Hellenistic Fayum mummy portraits featuring Greek mythological figures; Christian frescoes on the life of Jesus Christ; Islamic geometric patterns and calligraphy decorating mosques; Japanese ukiyo-e prints with their rich variety of subjects including kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; folk art like Navajo sandpainting from Native American cultures; contemporary street art incorporating graffiti style images into murals etc.. In East Asia Calligraphy has long been appreciated as an independent art form equal to painting. Some painters have incorporated calligraphy into their regular practice by using it for preliminary drawing sketches or adding it onto finished works as part decoration.