painting

Pluralpaintings

1. 1
   picturenouncountable

   An illustration or work of art made using paint.

   A bold abstract painting dominated the gallery's main wall.

   Collectors paid millions for paintings attributed to the old master.

   UsageUse by for the artist and of for what it shows: a painting by Monet of water lilies.

   Similarpicture, canvas, artwork

   Note

   Robert W. Chambers's The Younger Set (1907) shows a typical contrast: "I'd rather have a painting than an etching." The countable form names a single work. The uncountable art form names the whole craft.

2. 2
   art formnoununcountable

   The activity of creating art with paint, regarded as an art form.

   He devoted his retirement to painting and sketching outdoors.

   The academy taught painting alongside sculpture and printmaking.

   UsageUsually no a or the when it names the art: she studies painting; painting and sculpture.

   Note

   This names the discipline rather than the job: what an academy teaches or a critic discusses. It is often named alongside other arts, as when Michelangelo is said to excel in both painting and sculpture. Only context separates it from the act of applying paint. Painting a house is labor, while conversation about painting, like the conversation in Chekhov's "An Artist's Story," is conversation about art. Source

   Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Michelangelo excelled in painting and sculpture. ngv.vic.gov.au
   • Chekhov wrote the story known in English as An Artist's Story. en.wikipedia.org
   • An Artist's Story includes conversation about painting as art. en.wikisource.org
3. 3
   doing it nowverb

   Present participle of paint.

   The volunteers are painting the community center this weekend.

   He was painting the railings when the storm rolled in.

   UsageTakes its object directly, even as a noun-like subject: painting the fence took all day. Only the noun needs of: the painting of the fence.

4. 4
   coating jobnoununcountable

   The task or process of coating a surface with paint.

   The painting of the old bridge required three coats of primer.

   After the painting of the kitchen, the room smelled of fresh paint for days.

   UsageOften the painting of + the thing painted: the painting of the bridge.

   Similardecorating, coating

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