Elements Of Artwork

Creating Texture for Added Interest and Appeal

One element in our world that is stimulating to the eye and touch, one that captures our interest and inspires a personal attachment when enjoying artworks, is texture.  Even slight texture can grab our eye and hold it when that texture is applied with skill.  Many artists consider the finishing textures they give their work their trademark.  This visual “icing” is one element that can captivate a viewing audience.

Each painting, drawing and sculptural material has its method of textural application and each is created at a precise time during the process.  Drawing, acrylic painting, watercolor, oil painting and sculpture can be textured to give that final “touch” to the artwork.

When graphite artists want to create texture, they can accomplish it in a number of ways.  The fastest is to rub the drawing instrument over the paper while the paper is sitting on top of a rough surface.  This will cause the underlying texture to come to life on the drawing.  Experimentation will yield neat materials that can be rubbed and that yield distinct and unique patterns.

Another way is to manipulate the surface by using a change in material application.  For instance, stippling or dotting on the paper with the point of a graphite stick or other instrument will yield a new look.  If the drawing is otherwise smooth in nature, cross-hatching will give an immediate textural change, even if it is only visual rather than actual.  Extreme darks and lights are in themselves great eye catchers that are not textures at all, but appear to be.  These types of visual excitement offer the graphite artist many options for implied texture.

Acrylic painting offers a huge opportunity for the development of texture.  The heavy application of thick paint creates its own texture.  The surfacing of the canvas—prior to painting—with modeling paste, heavy or thick gesso and even embedded found materials (coffee grounds, sand, tiny pebbles, etc.) can create many degrees of texture.  Different brush strokes and pressures can sculpt the paint into shapes that can add visual interest and appeal.  Acrylic is one of the easiest materials to manipulate and, therefore, lends itself to all levels of textural surfacing.  Acrylic paints also offer excellent coverage capabilities, so the textural elements can be toned appropriately.

Watercolor painters have devised many appealing textural methods and ways to engage the viewer.  The very nature of watercolor’s fluid, soft appearance makes the perfect ground upon which to add line work, specks or splatters to create implied texture.  Because the surface of a completed watercolor is smooth, bold textural creations like extreme darks with bright lights sprinkled on them (such as painting rocks or tree trunks) is an instant magnet for the viewer’s eye.  Another method for the creation of texture is low profile scrapes and scratches through dried, painted surfaces to reveal the paper color beneath.  A sharp blade scrubbed across a darkly painted area will skip and shutter and leave a broken line that doesn’t look out of place and will give an enormous level of contrast and interest.  Such textures are subtle but very effective.

Oil painting is one of the media in which actual painting of textures is the most common way to create them.  For ridges, ruffles or translucency, oil painting stands alone in its ability to captivate the viewer.  The layering of tones can create a depth and texture that is like no other.  You can mix materials with oil paints, but few artists do.  Such additions will affect the drying, adhesion and perhaps the finished color of the tone.  And most oils are created with such a smooth and finished surface that such additions would alter the overall sheen and quality of the art.

Sculptors, depending on their medium, have many ways to create textures.  Clay and plaster artisans have only to work the surface into whichever surface quality they desire.  Since many bronzes start with either a wax or clay master, there are hundreds of tools and methods that can add interest to these sculptural surfaces.  Wood artisans work in the opposite way in that they must create their textures as they remove or deplete the material in which they work.  They, too, have many surfacing options:  gouges, files, chisels, etc.

When asked which element of a painting is most liked, the overwhelming answer is often texture; it captivates and entertains.  Although it seems simple, texture is vital to many artworks.  One of the most famous examples is the work of Van Gogh. What would it be without texture?

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 18 No. 10 — August 2008