VLOG - Texture Tips

Jul 10, 20232 min read

blue green yellow abstract art shapes — Creating visual & surface texture

Check out a few of the ways I create surface and visual texture in my paintings. They're a couple of my go-to options when I'm treating larger areas of space, especially when I'm working with just paint - no collage.

This is one of the studies I did for my 'Wall of Curiosities' where I was keen to explore bold and simple compositions - and that meant keeping the shapes interesting in some way!

I use spatulas, old store loyalty cards, scraps of T-shirt material, and a mixture of wet and dry brushes, along with airbrush medium. Glazing medium works well too, but a bit differently as it's thicker and more tacky. It's always great to play around with some of these possibilities on a small scale, and over time, with plenty of practice, they've become a pretty reliable part of my art making tool kit.

Lots of actors affect how these work on any given day. My studio is very open so I'm often at the mercy of the weather; rain, humidity and whether there's a gale force wind blowing through, all change the way these tips work in practice. If you have a lovely stable studio environment, you'll probably have more luck in using them consistently with predictable results!