How to Start Textured Art (Beginner-Guide)

Are you new to textured art, and not sure where to start?

When people ask me how to start textured art, they often think they need a lot of materials or some kind of painting background. In reality, textured art is one of the most beginner-friendly ways to getting creative. 

In this post, I'll go through the basic materials, the process, and what you need to get started creating textured art.

What is textured art?

In its simplest form, textured art is just about creating three-dimensional textures on a surface. Common patterns include different arches, waves, ridges and spots which can be made using tools such as combs and palette knives.

Unlike traditional painting, where composition and use of colours are often central, in textured art the emphasis is on the three-dimensional structures. The colour palettes are often straightforward, featuring one or only a few different colours.

Getting Started - a quick video

Here is a quick video where I walk you through what textured art is, the basic materials, and how to get started without overcomplicating it.

If you’re completely new to textured art, I recommend watching this first, and then coming back to this post.

What you need to start textured art?

You do not need a lot to get started. And if you are just about to create your first painting ever, I'd start by getting just the bare essentials.

You can stock up on more supplies later (if you enjoyed creating and want to continue).

These are the basic materials you need to get started:

• Texture Paste
• Canvas
• Acrylic Paint
• Paintbrush
• Palette knife
• Plaster comb (if you want to create arches)
• Water and papertowels (for cleaning)

This might sound like a lot, but in reality the setup is very simple. Most of the time, I am just using paste, a palette knife, a brush and some paints.

The most important material for textured art is naturally the texture paste. High quality paste can be applied on almost any surface and is easy to work with. 

I use my own texture paste for my work. If you want to get the same, you can find it from here: textuuri texture paste.

The process

Even though different textured art paintings might look very different, the basic process behind them is often quite similar.

This is the simple version of the process where the textures are painted afterwards:

1. Mix the texture paste before use, and apply it on the canvas. 
2. Create the pattern with tools
3. Let the textures fully dry (depends on thickness, from a few hours to a day)
4. Paint the textures with acrylic paint
5. Let the paint dry
6. Varnish the artwork with regular acrylic varnish (skip this if you are making your first painting(s))

A different version of the process is where you colour the paste directly with acrylic paint before creating the pattern.

With this method, you first mix a little acrylic paint to the paste. Then you create the pattern and let the artwork dry. This type of painting, like the green 'Forest Tapestry' below, can be created from start to finish in one session.

Making Your First Textured Art Painting from Start to Finish

Now that you understand the basic materials and the process, the best way to learn is to try it yourself and create your first painting.

Below you can find a quick tutorial on how to make a simple coastal textured artwork. It is a simple and beginner-friendly painting that you can complete in a single session. 

For this painting, I used texture paste, canvas, acrylic paint, paintbrush and a palette knife.

Ps. If you’re interested in textured art, I send out short emails from time to time with new tutorials, tips and studio updates. You can sign up below.