Textures

Textures add a 3D element to paintings and give them rich and interesting surface. It's easy to do lovely impasto brush stokes that are visible, but there is no need to waste pigments in paint for that. Acrylics can be mixed with gel mediums and oil with wax. There is also an option to create very dynamic and interesting textures and build a painting on top of that, that is what I usually do.

I made these 4 pieces as a test for making different textures to see what I like working with the most.

I used different binding materials combined with different things and interesting tools to apply it to build up my textures.

Here is a list of everything I used:

Binding materials:

• Modeling paste
• Gesso
• Crackle
• Gel medium
• White glue

Mixed elements:

• Sand
• Tiny pebbles
• Aluminum foil
• Egg shells
• Cloth
• Paper

Tools:

• Different knives
• Hair comb
• Plastic bag
• Fork

I'm not going to say how I used all, I leave those for you to try and play with.. Also try other things and I'd appreciate it if you share it with me!

I only have few warnings, avoid organic materials! They can look fine for a while but they might rot away with time, especially in a humid environment. Even sand should be left in an oven for some time in high temperature to kill all the bacteria.

I mentioned Crackle, many different brands have that product, yet every one of them is very different.. So I found these videos that showcase how they work.

Kroma Crackle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd5A0RD_CHs

Golden Crackle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP7r9fDlGDs

There are so many good videos out there that offer so much information, I often lose track of time while watching them.

Anyway, Enjoy! ^^