More Than a Feeling: An In-Depth Exploration of Textured Art

Beyond the Flat Canvas

In a world increasingly dominated by the smooth, glowing surfaces of screens, there is a primal satisfaction in encountering an object that engages more than just the eyes. Imagine standing before a painting so rich with physical dimension that it seems to possess a “living, breathing skin”.¹ You might feel an almost irresistible urge to reach out and touch it, to trace the peaks and valleys of its surface. This is the power of textured art. It transforms the passive act of viewing into an active, multi-sensory experience, reminding us of a world that is tangible, complex, and beautifully imperfect.²

Textured art is more than an aesthetic choice; it is a direct appeal to our fundamental sense of touch, a sense that can often feel neglected in modern life. The recent and explosive popularity of simple, plaster-based textured art, largely fueled by social media, is no accident.⁴ It can be seen as a collective response to the disembodied nature of our digital interactions. As we spend more time navigating flat, two-dimensional interfaces, there is a growing, subconscious craving for tactile engagement. This art form, in its many variations, fulfils a “primitive joy in creating” and an “endless curiosity for surface embellishment” that has been part of human culture for millennia.¹ This report will explore the multifaceted world of textured art, delving into its definition, its rich history, the materials and techniques used in its creation, and the profound psychological reasons why it captivates us so deeply.

What is Textured Art? A Multi-Dimensional Experience

At its core, textured art is a branch of visual art where the surface quality—its tactile or seemingly tactile nature—is a primary focus of the work. It moves beyond the two-dimensional plane to engage with the viewer in a more physical and immersive way.⁵

Defining the Form

In its simplest definition, textured art is an artwork that emphasises its physical or visual texture, adding an extra layer of dimension and interest.² In its popular contemporary form, often called “plaster art,” the main goal is to create simple, three-dimensional structural patterns on a canvas or board.⁴ Unlike traditional painting, where composition and colour are often the central elements, this minimalist style of textured art places its emphasis on the patterns themselves—arches, waves, ridges, and swirls created with thick pastes.⁴ However, this is just one facet of a much broader artistic landscape that encompasses two distinct but related forms of texture.

Actual (Physical) Texture: Art You Can Touch

Actual texture, also known as physical or tactile texture, is palpable and real.⁸ It refers to artworks that have a genuine three-dimensional surface with bumps, grooves, or ridges that can be physically felt.¹¹ This is the quality that transforms a canvas from a flat window into a sculptural object.¹ The physical topography of the artwork interacts with light in the real world, casting shadows and creating highlights that animate the piece and give it a dynamic presence.¹

Examples of actual texture are abundant throughout art history. The thick, energetic, and almost sculptural application of paint in Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night is a classic example of the impasto technique, where the paint itself creates a rugged, physical surface.¹⁴ Another example is a collage that incorporates materials like sand, fabric, twigs, or metal bits, directly embedding a variety of real-world textures into the artwork’s composition.¹

Implied (Visual) Texture: The Illusion of Feeling

Implied texture, also called visual texture, is a masterful illusion. It is the skilful rendering of texture on a completely flat, two-dimensional surface.⁴ It is a texture that we can see and perceive with our eyes, but cannot physically feel if we were to touch the artwork.¹

Artists create this convincing illusion through a deep understanding of how light interacts with different surfaces. By meticulously observing and rendering tonal nuances, shadows, and highlights, they can trick the eye into perceiving depth, roughness, smoothness, or softness.¹ Techniques such as fine brushwork, shading, cross-hatching, and stippling are employed to mimic the intricate patterns of a real surface.¹ Masterpieces like Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks, with its contrast between the figures’ smooth skin and the rough, craggy rocks, or a photorealistic painting of a shiny chrome diner by Ralph Goings, are prime examples of implied texture.¹⁴ The artist convinces us that we know exactly how those surfaces would feel, without a single physical ridge on the canvas.

While it is useful to define actual and implied texture as separate categories, many of the most compelling artworks exist on a spectrum between them, creating a sophisticated dialogue between the physical and the illusory. Consider the technique of sgraffito, where an artist scratches through a physical layer of wet paint to reveal a different colour underneath.² The resulting groove is an actual texture, but the line it creates is a visual element that implies form and depth. Similarly, an artist like Frank Auerbach applies paint so thickly that his portraits become sculptural reliefs.¹⁸ The extreme physical texture of the paint is undeniable, yet the way these ridges and globs are sculpted simultaneously implies the contours of a human face. In these cases, the physical texture enhances the implied subject, and the implied subject gives meaning and form to the physical material.

A Journey Through Time: The Evolution of Texture in Art

The human fascination with texture is not a recent trend but a continuous thread woven through the entire history of art. However, the purpose of texture has evolved dramatically over the centuries, reflecting broader shifts in how artists have perceived the function of art itself. This evolution can be seen as a journey from imitation to expression, and finally, to presentation.

Ancient Roots and Classical Forms

The story of textured art begins in prehistory. Early humans used the natural textures of cave walls and carved materials to bring their artistic visions to life.²⁰ Ancient civilisations continued this tradition through varied forms like intricate Mexican mosaics, French tapestries, and the carved reliefs of the Renaissance, all of which used physical surfaces to enhance their narrative and aesthetic power.¹ In these early stages, texture was primarily a tool of imitation—a way to make an artwork more closely resemble the real-world object or scene it was depicting.

The Rise of Impasto: From Renaissance Realism to Baroque Drama

The technique of impasto—applying paint so thickly that it stands out from the surface—first gained prominence during the Venetian Renaissance. Artists like Titian used the sensuous, buttery quality of oil paint to better convey the way light rippled across soft skin or cascaded over rich drapery.²² During the 17th-century Baroque period, masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn and Diego Velázquez refined this technique, using skillfully worked impastos to depict the minute details of wrinkled skin, the glint of armour, or the sumptuousness of fabrics, further heightening the sense of realism in their works.²

A Turn Inward: Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

In the 19th century, the purpose of texture began to shift. Artists of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements, like Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh, used impasto not just to mimic reality, but to capture a fleeting moment or a powerful feeling.² Van Gogh, in particular, weaponised texture for emotional expression. His thick, swirling brushstrokes were not merely a depiction of a starry night or a field of sunflowers; they were a direct visual translation of his turbulent inner world, making the canvas vibrate with energy and emotion.² This marked a crucial pivot from using texture for imitation to using it for expression.

The 20th-Century Revolution: Breaking the Canvas

The 20th century saw artists shatter traditional conventions, and texture became a central battleground for this revolution.

• Cubism and Collage: In the early 1910s, Cubists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque fundamentally altered the nature of the art object by introducing collage. They began adhering foreign materials—scraps of newspaper, fabric, and other found objects—directly onto the canvas.² This was a radical act that introduced actual, non-art texture as a core compositional element, blurring the line between the painting and the real world.²⁸
• Abstract Expressionism: Decades later, the Abstract Expressionists pushed this idea even further. For artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, the physical act of painting became the subject itself.² Pollock’s famous “drip” technique involved laying his canvas on the floor and pouring and flinging paint onto it, creating a dense web of texture that was a direct record of his physical movements and energy.²⁹ Here, texture was no longer imitating or even just expressing something else; the texture was the art. This was a move toward pure presentation.
• Beyond Paint: This period also saw artists exploring other textured media. Anni Albers and Sheila Hicks, for example, used the ancient craft of weaving to create richly textured abstract artworks, challenging the primacy of paint and canvas.³¹

Contemporary Frontiers: From Earth Materials to Digital Worlds

In the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st, artists have continued to push the boundaries of texture. Post-modern artists like Anselm Kiefer began incorporating heavy, symbolic materials such as straw, clay, and lead into his massive canvases to grapple with the weight of history.¹ Today, the evolution continues into the digital realm. Artists now use 3D modelling software and artificial intelligence to generate complex virtual textures, creating digital impasto effects or entirely new surfaces that would be impossible to make by hand.¹

The Artist’s Toolkit: Materials and Mediums

Creating textured art involves a diverse and exciting range of materials, from professional-grade artist supplies to common items found in a hardware store or even your own home. The choice of medium directly influences the final look, feel, and durability of the artwork.

Professional-Grade Mediums

For artists seeking archival quality and specific effects, a variety of specially designed products are available:

• Texture/Modelling/Moulding Pastes: These are artist-grade acrylic-based mediums designed to be mixed with paint or used on their own to build three-dimensional surfaces. Terms like “modelling paste,” “moulding paste,” or “structure paste” are often used interchangeably.⁴ They are formulated to be durable, flexible, and reliable for creating everything from subtle surfaces to dramatic peaks.⁴
• Gels and Mediums: Artists often use acrylic gels to alter the viscosity and transparency of their paints, allowing them to build up translucent layers or create thick, glossy textures.¹¹
• Specialty Pastes: For unique effects, artists can turn to specialty products. Crackle paste, for instance, creates a cracked, aged surface as it dries, while sand gel comes pre-mixed with fine aggregates to produce a gritty, uniform finish.¹⁷

The DIY and Hardware Store Approach

A major reason for the recent surge in textured art’s popularity is its accessibility. Many stunning effects can be achieved using inexpensive materials from a local hardware store.

• Joint Compound/Drywall Mud/Spackle: These building materials, designed for filling cracks in walls, have become a go-to for DIY artists. They are prized for their smooth, easily spreadable consistency, light weight, and affordability.⁴ However, they can be brittle when dry and may crack if applied too thickly on a flexible surface like canvas.³⁷
• Plaster of Paris: Another inexpensive option, Plaster of Paris is a powder that is mixed with water. It creates a hard, heavy, and durable surface but is known for drying extremely quickly, which requires the artist to work fast.³⁵
• Homemade Paste Recipes: Many artists create their own texture paste. A common recipe involves combining Plaster of Paris (for hardness and bulk), PVA glue like Elmer’s (for adhesion and flexibility), and acrylic paint (for colour and a less absorbent finish).³⁷

Additives and Unconventional Materials

The creative possibilities expand exponentially when artists incorporate additives into their pastes or apply them directly to the wet surface.

• Natural Elements: Sand, soil, pebbles, twigs, leaves, sea shells, dried flowers, and straw can be embedded in the artwork to add an organic, earthy quality.¹
• Textiles: Scraps of burlap, lace, yarn, embroidery floss, and other fabrics can introduce soft or woven textures.¹
• Found Objects: The list of potential found objects is limitless and can include glass chips, beads, metal bits, buttons, shredded paper, and even coffee grounds.¹

Tools of the Trade

Applying and shaping these materials requires a range of tools, many of which can be improvised.

• Artist Tools: Palette knives and painting knives of various shapes and sizes are essential for applying paste and creating sharp, defined marks. Brushes are used for both applying paste and painting over it.⁴
• Household and Hardware Items: Many artists achieve unique effects using everyday items. Sponges, combs, forks, spoons, and old credit cards are perfect for creating patterns. Putty knives and trowels from the hardware store are excellent for spreading paste over large areas.⁵

Mastering the Surface: Core Techniques for Creating Texture

Beyond the materials themselves, the true artistry of textured work lies in the techniques used to manipulate the surface. These methods can be broadly categorised as building up, subtractive (taking away), and imprinting (mark-making).

Additive Techniques: Building Up the Surface

Additive techniques involve adding material to the canvas to create a three-dimensional form.

• Impasto: This is the foundational technique of applying paint or paste thickly, allowing the brushstrokes or knife marks to remain visible.² The resulting sculptural surface catches light and shadow, adding a powerful sense of energy and expressiveness to the work.²⁴
• Collage: Originating from the French word coller (to glue), collage involves adhering materials like paper, fabric, photographs, or found objects onto the artwork’s surface. This technique introduces a variety of real-world textures and can add layers of conceptual meaning.¹
• Assemblage: Often considered the three-dimensional evolution of collage, assemblage is the art of creating sculptures by combining disparate, often non-art, found objects. It constructs a new form from pre-existing elements, giving them a new context and meaning.⁴¹
• Layering: This is a general principle that underpins much of textured art. Artists build up successive layers of different materials—thin washes of paint, thick applications of paste, collaged paper, embedded objects—to create a surface with profound visual and physical complexity.³³

Subtractive Techniques: Revealing What’s Beneath

Subtractive techniques work in reverse, starting with a built-up surface and then removing material to create a design.

• Sgraffito: From the Italian word sgraffiare (to scratch), this technique involves applying a top layer of wet paint or plaster over a contrasting, often dry, underlayer. The artist then uses a sharp tool to scratch or carve through the wet top layer, revealing the colour and texture underneath.²
• Carving & Incising: This is a broader term for any method that involves scratching or carving into a textured surface, whether it’s wet paint, dried paste, or a block of wood. The incised lines create both a visual pattern and a physical groove.¹
• Scumbling & Wiping: These more subtle techniques involve applying a layer of paint and then partially removing it. Scumbling involves dragging a dry brush with a bit of opaque paint over a surface to create a broken, textured color effect. Colourfully, wiping paint away with a rag or sponge can reveal underlying layers and create soft, atmospheric textures.¹

Imprinting and Mark-Making Techniques

These techniques focus on creating texture by making marks or impressions on the surface.

• Frottage: This involves placing a piece of paper over a textured surface (like wood grain or a coin) and rubbing it with a pencil or crayon to transfer the texture’s pattern onto the paper.¹
• Stamping & Imprinting: Artists can use a variety of objects—from custom-made stamps to natural elements like leaves or textiles—to press patterns directly into a wet surface of paint or paste.¹
• Expressive Mark-Making: This is a more freeform approach where the artist uses various tools (combs, palette knives, even their fingers) and spontaneous, energetic movements to create unique marks. These marks become a visual record of the artist’s gesture, conveying rhythm, emotion, and energy.¹¹

The choice between an additive or subtractive approach is more than a simple practical decision; it can reflect a deeper artistic philosophy. An artist who builds up layers with impasto or collage is acting as a constructor, creating a new reality on the canvas from disparate parts. In contrast, an artist who uses sgraffito is more like an archaeologist, excavating a hidden reality that lies dormant within the layers of the material itself. This distinction raises a fundamental question about the creative process: is art something made entirely new, or is it something discovered within the potential of the material?

Masters of Materiality: Artists Who Champion Texture

Throughout art history, certain artists have pushed the boundaries of texture, making it a signature element of their work. Their innovative approaches demonstrate how a focus on surface and material can convey profound emotional and conceptual depth.

Vincent van Gogh – Texture as Raw Emotion

Vincent van Gogh is perhaps the most famous historical champion of texture. He used heavy impasto not merely for visual effect, but as a direct channel for his intense emotions.² In iconic works like The Starry Night or his Sunflowers series, the thick, swirling dabs of paint are not just descriptive; they are visceral. The canvas seems to pulsate with a life force, capturing the energy and movement of his subjects.¹⁴ In his letters, Van Gogh wrote about his deliberate use of impasto, noting that certain subjects demanded it, and that these thickly painted works needed time to “ferment” like strong wine.²⁶

Jean Dubuffet – Celebrating the Unconventional

The French artist Jean Dubuffet took a radical stance against traditional, polished aesthetics, coining the term Art Brut (“raw art”) to celebrate work made outside the academic mainstream.⁵⁰ His fascination with raw, unprocessed surfaces led him to experiment with a host of unconventional materials. He mixed sand, gravel, tar, straw, and even butterfly wings into a thick emulsion, creating coarse, gritty paintings that critics sometimes likened to dirt.⁵⁰ In works like Soul of the Underground, he abandoned representation entirely to focus on sheer matter, using materials like aluminium foil and oil paint to evoke the texture of mineral deposits or the earth itself.⁵²

Anselm Kiefer – The Weight of History

Contemporary German artist Anselm Kiefer uses texture on a monumental scale to grapple with the immense weight of history, mythology, and national trauma.⁵³ His massive canvases are layered with heavy, symbolic materials. Lead, a recurring element, represents the base matter of alchemy, physical burden, and the toxic legacy of the past.⁵³ Straw evokes the German landscape and cycles of life, death, and decay, while ash is a direct reference to destruction and memory.³² For Kiefer, these materials are not just additions; they are the very substance of his work, imbuing his art with a profound physical and historical gravity.⁵⁶

Jackson Pollock – The Texture of Action

Jackson Pollock revolutionised the mid-20th century with his “drip” technique. By placing his large canvases on the floor and dripping, pouring, and splattering industrial house paint from all sides, he made the physical act of creation the subject of the artwork.⁵⁷ This process of “action painting” resulted in a complex, built-up web of paint with a tangible, glossy texture.²⁹ The interlacing ribbons of colour capture the colour of raw energy and kinetic movement. Pollock often pushed the texture further by incorporating sand, broken glass, nails, and other debris into his compositions, making the canvas a record of both his gestures and his environment.⁶⁰

Contemporary Innovators

The exploration of texture continues to be a vibrant field for contemporary artists.

• El Anatsui creates breathtaking, fabric-like tapestries from thousands of reclaimed aluminium bottles and copper wire, challenging our perceptions of waste, value, and material.⁶²
• Chiharu Shiota weaves immense, room-sized installations from thread, creating overwhelming and immersive environments where texture is both delicate and all-encompassing.⁶²
• Frank Auerbach, a contemporary of the School of London, takes impasto to its extreme. His portraits and landscapes are built up with incredibly thick layers of paint, which are then repeatedly scraped down and reapplied, sometimes hundreds of times. The resulting artworks are almost sculptural, capturing the accumulated experience of looking at a person or a place over a long period.¹⁸

The Psychology of Touch: Why We’re Drawn to Textured Art

Our deep-seated attraction to textured art is not merely a matter of aesthetic preference; it is rooted in the fundamental wiring of the human brain. The experience of viewing texture engages our minds on multiple levels, triggering sensory memories, emotional associations, and a profound sense of personal connection.

The Brain’s Sensory Crossover

Neuroscience reveals a fascinating phenomenon known as sensory crossover. When our eyes see a highly textured image, they send signals that the brain interprets using some of the same neural pathways as physical touch.⁶⁵ Functional MRI studies have shown that when a person looks at an image of a rough surface, the areas of the brain that process the physical sensation of roughness actually become active.⁶⁵ This is possible because of our “haptic memory”—a vast internal library of every tactile sensation we have ever experienced. When we see a texture, our brain references this library, allowing us to “feel” the grit of sandpaper or the coolness of silk with our eyes alone.³

The Emotional Language of Surfaces

Our psychological responses to different textures are deeply ingrained, likely stemming from ancestral survival instincts where the feel of a surface could mean the difference between safety and danger.³

• Smooth surfaces often signal safety, predictability, and calm. They can induce a state of mental clarity and serenity.⁶⁵
• Rough surfaces can be grounding and feel stable, but they can also evoke feelings of struggle, anxiety, or hardship, triggering a primal sense of caution.³
• Complex and patterned surfaces can be hypnotic and engaging. Studies have shown that looking at certain intricate patterns can reduce mental fatigue and stress by giving our wandering minds a clear path to follow.⁶⁵

An Immersive Aesthetic Experience

Our overall experience of art can be understood through the “Aesthetic Triad” framework, which posits that our response arises from an interaction between three key brain systems: the sensory-motor system, the emotion-valuation system, and the knowledge-meaning system.⁶⁸ Textured art powerfully engages all three. It provides strong input to our sensory systems; it triggers our emotion systems through its deep psychological associations; and it can lead to what researchers call “pleasure from understanding” as our knowledge systems work to make sense of the experience.⁶⁸

Notably, viewing art that we find personally moving activates the brain’s default mode network—a region associated with introspection, daydreaming, and self-reflection.⁶⁸ This helps explain why our connection to art can feel so personal and transformative, as the experience turns our focus inward.

These psychological mechanisms suggest that textured art can serve as more than just decoration; it can be a powerful tool for promoting mental well-being. The act of viewing a complex, textured piece can be a form of visual meditation, focusing the mind and reducing stress.⁶⁵ Similarly, the process of creating textured art—the repetitive, physical act of spreading paste or carving lines—can induce a state of flow, a mindful engagement with the present moment. In an overstimulated and often intangible world, the simple act of creating or appreciating a textured surface can be a grounding, therapeutic form of self-care.⁶⁸

Getting Started: Your First Textured Art Project

One of the most appealing aspects of contemporary textured art is its accessibility. You do not need formal training or expensive materials to create a beautiful and satisfying piece. This simple guide will walk you through creating your first artwork using affordable, easy-to-find supplies.

Materials List:

• A canvas (a new one, or an old one from a thrift store) ³⁶
• Drywall joint compound or spackle ³⁵
• A putty knife, old credit card, or palette knife ³⁵
• Acrylic paint or leftover wall paint ³⁵
• A paintbrush ³⁸
• Newspaper or a drop cloth to protect your workspace ³⁵
• (Optional) Primer or white paint ⁷⁰
• (Optional) A comb, fork, or other texturing tools ³⁵
• (Optional) A matte sealer or varnish ³⁵

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Prepare Your Workspace & Canvas: Lay down newspaper to protect your surfaces. If you are using an old canvas with a previous image on it, apply a coat of primer or white paint to create a neutral base and prevent the old image from showing through. Let it dry completely.³⁵
2. Apply the Texture: Scoop a generous amount of joint compound onto your canvas. Using your putty knife or credit card, spread the compound across the surface. Don’t worry about making it perfect; imperfections add character.³⁸ Experiment with different strokes—long and smooth, short and choppy, or swirling motions. Aim for a layer that is no more than about ¼-inch thick to prevent cracking.³⁵
3. Create Your Design: While the compound is still wet, use your tools to create patterns. Drag the teeth of a comb through the paste to make ridges and waves. Use the end of a paintbrush handle to draw lines or arches. Press objects into the surface and lift them away to create imprints. This is the most creative part, so feel free to experiment.⁵
4. Dry Completely: This step requires patience. Joint compound needs to dry thoroughly before you can paint it. Place the canvas in a well-ventilated area and let it dry for at least 16 to 24 hours, or potentially longer if the layer is thick or the air is humid.³⁵
5. Paint Your Piece: Once the texture is bone dry, you can apply paint. For a modern, minimalist look, consider a monochromatic scheme (shades of a single color) or neutral colours like white, beige, or grey.³⁵ Apply the paint with a brush, making sure to get into all the grooves and crevices of your texture.
6. Seal Your Artwork (Optional but Recommended): After the paint is dry, apply a coat of matte spray sealer to protect your finished piece from dust, moisture, and scratches. It also helps prevent the colours from fading over time.³⁵

Conclusion: The Enduring Allure of the Tactile

Texture in art is a language that speaks directly to our senses, bridging the gap between the visual and the physical. Its history charts a remarkable evolution, moving from a tool used to imitate the world, to a medium for expressing the deepest human emotions and finally to a subject worthy of exploration in its own right. From the delicate illusions of Renaissance masters to the raw, material-laden canvases of contemporary artists, texture has consistently provided a pathway to a more immersive and holistic artistic experience.

Our profound psychological connection to texture—rooted in the deep wiring of our brains and our most primal instincts—explains its enduring power. It allows us to feel an artwork with our eyes, activating memories of touch and grounding us in a physical reality. In our increasingly smooth and digital age, the appeal of the textured surface feels more potent than ever. It answers a fundamental human need for the tangible, the authentic, and the beautifully imperfect, reminding us that some of the most profound experiences are, quite literally, more than just a feeling.

Disclaimer

The interpretation of art is inherently subjective. The analyses and meanings discussed in this article are based on established art-historical scholarship and psychological research. Viewers are encouraged to form their own personal connections with the artworks.

For those attempting the DIY project described, please exercise caution. Always work in a well-ventilated area when using paints, sealants, joint compound, or plaster. Read and follow all manufacturer safety guidelines provided on the product packaging.

Reference

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