What is textured art? 

Texture is one of the seven elements of art and it refers to how an artwork feels, or appears to feel. Texture can be both actual or implied. The artwork can either have actual physical textures or it may simply appear to have textures when in reality it is two-dimensional.

Simple Textured Art

Defining Textured Art

There is no set definition for what exactly categorizes textured art. In it's simplest form, textured art, also occasionally called plaster art, is a form of visual art where the primary focus is on creating three-dimensional textures.

In this basic form, textured art is just about creating simple structural patterns. 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.

This type of textured art is a really beginner friendly form of art. Although textures have been an important part of visual arts for ages, the textured art I am referring to has only recently over the past few years become widely popular, primarily through social media. The ability to being able to create visually aesthetic paintings relatively easily has attracted a lot of people with none to very little prior painting background into doing textured art. If you are intersted in creating this type of textured art, I recommend you check out my online courses.

What materials are used to create textured art?

Texture Paste

The primary component of textured art is, surprise surprise, the textures. Texture pastes can be divided into two categories: self-made and ready-made. Especially many DIYers like to create their own texture paste. Making the texture paste yourself can be more affordable, but the DIY pastes are less durable and less convenient, unless you know the exact products to use. The main ingredigent for self-made texture pastes is usually some sort of filler. By filler I mean the category of products used to fill cracks and holes in walls, like plaster, joint-compound or renovation filler. Depending on the type of filler used, and the creator's preferences, other ingredigents like paint, glue or water are mixed together with the filler. 

Ready-made texture pastes are products that have been designed and intended for creating structure on artwork. Different brands use different terms for their products. You might see terms such as modelling paste, molding paste, structure paste or texture paste used. These pastes are often a bit more pricier than fillers, but they are more durable and reliable to use. I use only ready-made texture pastes for my artwork, and only use self-made pastes for educational purposes. You can find comprehensive material lists with direct links to the products from both of my beginner-friendly textured art online courses, Introduction to Textured Art and Mastering Textured Art: From Beginner to Pro.

What tools are used to create the textured patterns?

What Type of Textured Art Do I Create?

Vortex, 100x100 cm, structure paste, silica sand and acrylic on canvas

I create both the standard textured art where the primary focus is on the three-dimensional textures as well as more complex, original artwork. In the more complex pieces, I go beyond the basic textured art and combine different acrylic painting techniques and elements from the abovementioned "standard" textured art into the abstract (more often abstract expressionist) paintings I create. I also place emphasize the composition and colour palette in my paintings. My style if quite versatile, with the common denominator across all my paintings being texture.

It's not always through the use of texture paste, as I also use other mediums and techniques such as sand, impasto and sgraffito to create texture on my artwork. I try to create artwork that is not just for the eyes but that also invites the viewer to touch and feel it, and most often I favour roughness over a polished look. 

Hurricane, 100x100 cm, silica sand and acrylic on canvas with sgraffito

In addition to the standard textured art, I seek to create more complex, one-of-a-kind original artwork, that is mostly inspired by nature. My main approach is to break down the themes and concepts of nature into textured patterns, shapes and colours. My work mostly follows the Scandinavian design aesthetic with a mixture of some wabi-sabi. Occasionally I also like to create really colourful and bright painting.

You can learn more about my style and background from the about me page.