Use Unconventional Tools to Create Texture It can be applied to rigid and flexible surfaces, is non-absorbent, and is very easy to work with. You can also apply the gesso with a palette knife or use different application techniques to create a wide variety of textures.Īnother great substitute for gesso is Gamblin Ground made by Gamblin Oil Colors. Thin applications of paint will have the appearance of impasto layers. The great thing about using gesso to create texture is you can brush it on and create paintbrush texture on the canvas even before you begin painting. However, in its dried state, it is more brittle than acrylic gesso and therefore should be used on firm supports such as wood rather than flexible support like canvas. Traditional gesso is thicker and better suited for creating textures for a surface that will be painted on with oils. Thin oil paint applied over canvas treated with acrylic gesso. While you can paint oils on acrylic gesso, there is debate on how archival it is. You also want to make sure that you don't apply it over any surface that already has oil or oil-priming. Acrylic gesso is more flexible than traditional but is also less capable of creating texture. There are two types of gesso, traditional and acrylic. Gesso is used to treat and protect the natural fibers of canvas. Prime the Canvas with Gesso to Create Texture If your desire is to paint mostly with impasto paint, then you will want to go with a medium or heavy textured canvas as the heavy texture allows for a better build-up of thick paint. When using a variety of paint applications, a smooth canvas has minimal influence on these applications and allows the paint to speak more for itself. You will have to apply very thick strokes of paint to overcome the influence of the canvas texture. If you apply thin paint onto a rough-textured canvas, the rough texture will dominate all the areas where the paint is left thin. Rougher canvas will have more influence over the final texture of the painting while smoother canvas allows the paint application to have more influence. If you can get your hands on some smooth-grade lead-primed canvas you can produce some really interesting effects that are almost impossible to produce on acrylic-primed canvas. Thin paint techniques work well on both rough and smooth canvas but seem to lend better to smooth oil-primed canvas. Combining these thin techniques with impasto paint can create an exciting abstract quality to your paint surface. You can also lightly rub the paint with a paper towel or palette knife to create random scratchy marks. The result is that any horizontal brush strokes will appear lighter in value, even if the paint used is the exact same color and value as the surrounding brush strokes.Īpplying oil paint that has been thinned to an almost a watery consistency can create interesting drips and run marks as the thin paint runs down the canvas. Since the light source will usually be from above, horizontal strokes will pick up and reflect light, causing a slight glare. One thing you will want to be aware of when using this approach is how the little ridges created by the brush tracks will pick up any light that shines on the paint surface. Experiment with this approach until you develop your own touch. If your paint is slightly stiff, or if your touch is ultra-light, the results will be more of an organic, random application of thick with minimal brush tracks. The late master artist, John Singer Sargent was one of the champions of this approach. This is great for achieving what is referred to as a "painterly look". This approach will result in strokes that show the small ridges or tracks created by the bristles of the brush. Applying the loaded brush with significant pressure will cause the paint to spread out and you will lose the impasto effect. It's important that you gently drag the brush rather than push it into the canvas. Now with your brush loaded, gently drag the brush over the canvas, holding your brush very lightly.
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