ADDING TEXTURE

Texture—whether physical or visual—provides variation and relief and adds greater impact and interest to your work. Physical texture is something you can feel by running your fingers over it. Visual texture is an illusion you can create with the materials you use while the surface remains flat.

USING GEL MEDIUM

While gel medium is routinely used to adhere heavier-weight elements to a piece, it can also be used to create texture.

STEP 1 Apply the gel with a brush thickly over the surface. You can then create texture with any of your available tools, such as putty knives, credit cards, tape rolls, forks, etc. Let the gel dry completely.

STEP 2 The gel dries as a clear coat, so it can be used either as an underlayer or as a top layer.

USING GESSO

Gesso is an opaque primer that makes surfaces more receptive to paint. To adhere textural elements as an underlayer, first coat the surface with gesso, lay down the textural elements, smooth, and coat again. Add more coats for buildup. Some of the elements you can add are listed here:

• Natural: leaves, seeds and other flat items in nature

• Man-made: cheesecloth or gauze, lace, drywall tape, produce bags, crumpled tissue paper, etc.

• Gesso: drizzle onto the surface to create an interesting textural effect

Drywall Tape

Cheesecloth

Lace

A light wash of color may be used over gesso, gel, or texture paste to enhance the textures.

Use acrylic paint to drybrush stipple and stencil through produce bags or drywall tape, and apply light on dark colors to create the look of texture and depth.

ADDING VISUAL TEXTURE

The appearance of texture can be achieved with paint strokes, dark and light tones, or a vast array of other techniques.

With collage you can use images of texture from magazines and specialty papers to create visual texture.

Spackle and plaster are also good textural materials. You can make marks or embed sand, small beads, and other items in these textures, as with other materials.

ADDING OBJECTS

Use cheesecloth, gauze, drywall tape, screening, produce bags, lace, and other materials to add visual texture and interest. To attach these textural items to your piece use acrylic gel under and over them. Add embellishments, such as flat game pieces, keys, feathers, and coins.

Produce bag

Lace

Coin

Reeds