A simple textured art material guide for beginners

When I started textured art years ago, I had no idea what materials I needed. I showed photos of finished paintings to the salespeople at my local arts & crafts and hardware stores, trying to figure out what would work.

In this post, I'll show you the basic materials you need to get started with textured art as well as some key tips.

You don't need a studio or expensive tools. Just a few simple materials are enough to create your first textured art paintings.

Quick Video: Textured Art Materials Overview

Here's a quick look at the basic materials used in textured art.

The Basic Materials

These are the essential materials you need to start creating textured art:

• texture paste
• canvas
• acrylic paint
• paintbrush
• palette knife

Below is a simple explanation of each material and what it's used for.

1. Texture Paste

Different brands call their products by different names, so instead of texture paste you might sometimes see terms such modeling paste, molding paste or structure paste used.

This is the main material of textured art, and where the quality matters the most. I use texture paste so much in my work that I ended up starting my own brand of texture paste. If you want to use the same paste I use, you can find it from here.

Texture paste can be easily moulded with different tools such as palette knives and combs. You can also use it together with stencils and piping bags. It's water-based and easy to clean off tools.

It is meant to be used together with acrylic paints. You can colour it directly or paint over once dry. 

Texture Paste is really forgiving because if you make a mistake, simply flatten the paste and go again. This makes it ideal for complete beginners. 

Beginner tips:

• Always mix the texture paste thoroughly in the jar before use
• Don't spread the paste too thick in one layer
• Allow the paste to fully dry before painting on top
• To preserve the paste, ensure you close the lid fully after use

2. Canvas

Good quality texture paste can be applied on almost any surface. For beginners, I'd still recommend using a preprimed stretched cotton canvas as the base. 

If the first 3 words were confusing, don't worry. Preprimed means that the surface has been primed with gesso already at the factory. This means it is ready to use.

You can just start creating on top of it immediately, which makes it very convenient for a beginner. 

Most of the canvases sold at normal arts & craft stores and general stores are preprimed cotton canvases. You can recognize them from the white surface. The label also often says something like universally primed, preprimed or ready to use. 

Beginner Tip: If the canvas feels a bit loose, apply a little water on the back. As it dries, it pulls the fabric tighter.

3. Tools

You can use pretty much anything (so even household items, kitchen utensils etc.) to mould texture paste, but I'd recommend starting with a simple set of palette knives. 

Out of all my tools, I use palette knives by far the most. If you get a good set, it will also last you a long time (the previous knife of mine that broke lasted 4 years of almost daily use).

Other commonly used tool is a plaster comb (sometimes called as notched trowel) that is used for arches. You can find them from hardware stores. 

4. Paints & Brushes

Texture paste is meant to be used together with acrylic paints. As a beginner, I would get one or two different colours, and start with those. 

There are big differences in the qualities of the paint. Although you don't have to get the high-end professional acrylics, don't go for the absolute cheapest ones either. 

A few of my favourite acrylic paint brands are Lefranc & Bourgeois and Liquitex. I've found them to work well with my texture paste.

Although you can colour texture paste directly with paint, oftentimes it's better to paint over it once dry.

If you plan on making more than just one painting, consider getting a set of small acrylic paintbrushes from an arts & craft store and then a few larger brushes from a hardware store.

You can paint with more unconventional tools as well. One of my favourites is a regular kitchen sponge.

5. Optional Tools

If you want to take it one step further, you could also get some of these optional tools and materials:

• a plaster comb
• a palette for mixing paint & paste (I'm using just an old bathroom tile)
  
• masking tape
• sponges
• spatula
• piping bag
• sanding paper

If I Was Starting Textured Art Today

If I was starting textured art today, this is all I would buy:

• a canvas
• a set of palette knives
• a jar of texture paste
• 1 acrylic paint
• a paintbrush

And as my first painting, I'd create something fairly simple but still beautiful like this.

How To Get Started

If you are new to textured art, these guides will help you get started:

• How to Get Started With Textured Art (Beginner-Guide)
• How to Colour Textured Art (3 Easy Techniques)

You can also find the texture paste I use from here.

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