Art is about more than just color. You can create an amazing piece with only black and white, or you can use the most unexpected colors in your work–and still make it beautiful. There are many different ways to express yourself through art, but texture is another way artists often employ to evoke a certain feeling or mood. This blog post will take a look at 50+ examples of texture in art so you can start incorporating this technique into your own artwork!
A painting’s ability to convey the reality of its subject matter depends on its use of texture. It’s not just in figurative art that texture can improve the viewer’s experience; it can also imply the viewer’s own emotional responses to the work. A composition’s various elements can be better organized and brought together by using texture.
The texture is a powerful asset that artists can create depth and dimension in their work. This blog post highlights 50+ examples of texture found in art ranging from paintings, sculptures, drawings, and more. These pieces showcase the diverse range of textures used by some famous artists and lesser-known ones.
What Is Texture in Art
Through texture, there are many ways to express how an object looks or feels in art. Surface texture can be used by sculptors and architects to create texture in three-dimensional works of art. Two-dimensional paintings can be given the appearance of texture by painters to suggest how an object or subject matter would feel if touched.
Texture can be defined as the tactile quality of such an object’s surface at its most basic level. We can experience discomfort, pleasure, or familiarity when exposed to it because it appeals to our sense of touch. To elicit strong emotional reactions from viewers, artists rely on this knowledge. The texture is an important part of many works of art for various reasons.
As examples of Texture in art, consider rocks. A natural rock can be rough or smooth, but it is always hard when handled. The use of line, color, and shape by a painter portraying a rock would give the impression of these qualities.
Many different adjectives can be used to describe textures. The two most common are rough and smooth, but they can also be categorized into more specific qualities. These terms are just some of the more common ones you’ll hear when discussing a rough surface. Words such as polished, slick, velvety, flat, or even can describe smooth surfaces.
2 Types of Texture in Art
In art, the texture is a fundamental element. Examples of texture in art can be found on anything with a surface. A surface’s texture describes how it looks and feels. We experience it both through touch (tactile) and through our eyes (visually).
Tactile Texture
It’s all about the feel. A surface’s tactile qualities, such as roughness, smoothness, softness, and hardness, are all examples of tactile qualities. Tactile works of art include architectural structures and sculptures in three dimensions. There are many examples of natural textures, such as wood and sandpaper.
It is possible to see and feel the surface texture created by the brush strokes used for a painting. Impasto is a technique for creating texture on a canvas or board by layering paint. To achieve the desired effect, painters can implement their paints thickly or thinly.
Visual Texture
The actual texture differs from the visual texture. In photos, all textures appear as visual textures. Despite the appearance of rough objects in a photograph, the photograph’s surface will always be smooth and flat.
By incorporating line, shading, and color into their paintings, artists can imply texture. The pattern is created through repeating lines, dots, or any other shape to create a design. It is possible to achieve different desired effects by adjusting the density, size, and orientation of these marks.
Importance of Texture in Art
There is a strong relationship between the texture of a piece of art and its emotional impact. Just painting a rose on plain white paper doesn’t produce the same effect. While people might take different meanings from the rose carved on splintered wood, the difference in symbolism will certainly generate more ideas and emotions.
Making people think is what art is all about. This way, it liberates everyday symbols and images from their surface meanings to produce new interpretations. We experience the world primarily through our sense of touch, and texture is central to our sense of touch. Art that utilizes textural techniques is infinitely more intriguing than art that does not use the textural technique and engages our sense of touch in an immersive way.
50+ Examples of Texture in Art
Examples of texture in art can be seen everywhere in art. Try noticing the textures around you to begin to correlate the world around you with the artwork you see or create. It is all about feeling when you touch smooth leather, coarse carpet, or fluffy clouds in the sky. You can make your experience richer and richer if you regularly exercise your ability to recognize texture.
Let’s take a look at 50+ examples of texture in art listed below:
1. New Zealand, Red House, Oil Painting
The foreground next to the river is painted using both physical and visual texture in the painting above. The artist painted a thin coat of grays and dull greens to create the illusion of rocks, soil, grass, and so on. To render the plants in the foreground, he applied thick daubs of dull yellow with his brush. This creates a striking contrast between the smooth texture and the thick texture.
2. 3D Botanical Painting
The enchanting botanical paintings of Joshua Davison provide a real treat to the eyes. By carefully building up layers with a palette knife, he creates a 3D texture effect with oil and acrylic paint.
3. Clouded Minds by Lifrancis Rojas
Rojas’ paintings are known for her intricate textures and bright colors that convey a sense of movement. Her unique style is defined by the organic materials she uses.
4. Watertower by Nathalie Kalbach
The tactile textured artworks are inspired by street art. Spray paint can create several textures, including one that uses deli paper. Natalie presses the paper into the wet paint and twists it, allowing the first color to show through. This adds texture and pattern to the painting. In “Watertower,” you can see how easily she uses spray paint to create textured art.
5. Clouds Texture
The clouds here had a thick texture, whereas the general sky had a relatively smooth texture. This gives the picture a feeling of depth. The clouds in this painting have also been painted in thicker paint in areas that receive light, while the shadows are left a bit thinner.
6. Impasto Petals
A great way to create texture and attention-grabbing effects is to mix impasto with acrylic paint. In this way, this floral décor item is made by artists.
7. Frederick Judd Waugh, Seascape
Artists used thick paint to depict turbulent water, which mimics the water’s flow texture. His brush often follows the movement of the water because he feels how it is moving. He uses less texture and contrast in calmer areas.
8. Secrets On The Lake, Dan Scott
An art texture is a visual representation of a painting’s surface quality. In this case, it refers to the surface quality of the painting. The texture is often overlooked, but it’s a powerful tool. This example of texture in art by Dan Scott depicts the landscape of a lake with greenery surrounding it using both tactile and visual textures. This painting contrasts nicely with the rough blades of grass because the sky and clouds have a smooth finish.
9. Brushstrokes With Figure: Ski Slope
Textured ski slopes are formed by smears of white. Experiment with it to see what you can create.
10. Acrylic Alcohol Texture Painting
Amazing things happen when acrylic paint and alcohol are combined. Spritz 70% rubbing alcohol onto the board while the paint is still wet. It creates a gorgeous surface with mottled patterns and plenty of visual texture by changing paint viscosity and moving the paint from the alcohol drops.
11. Claude Monet, Misty Morning On The Seine, 1897
A paint’s physical texture can only provide so much value. If you wish to create the illusion of texture, you will need to use other visual elements. The artist uses clever arrangements of color, contrast, brush strokes, shapes, etc., to imitate the subject’s texture underpainting.
For example, using long, consistent strokes of bright colors with little contrast might be the right choice for painting glassy, calm water. See Claude Monet’s harmonious water painting above for an example.
12. Brushstrokes With Figure: Waves
Golsa Golchini does a fantastic job bringing brush strokes to life with miniatures. It is amazing how a blue acrylic paint line can turn into textured waves.
13. The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh, for example, used a thick, broad stroke of color in his paintings to redefine texture in the nineteenth century. This textured style of brushwork is seen in the painting “Starry Night.”
14. Leonid’s Vibrant Inspired Art
A discussion about textured art ideas would not be complete without the mention of Leonid Afremov. Leonid’s colorful paintings are often dominated by urban scenes painted with palette knives.
15. Abstract Textured Portrait
With a palette knife and oil paints, Salman Khoshroo creates a satisfying portrait that sits somewhere between sculpture and painting. It takes him a long time to complete a portrait after he starts with a mound of paint.
16. Frederick Judd Waugh, Winds And Seas
As you paint the turbulent seas, you may use short, choppy strokes with various colors, using sharp contrasts among the elements to emphasize the texture. Among the great masters of this technique was Frederick Waugh.
17. Palette Knife Patterns
Her passion for vibrant colors and mesmerizing patterns has led Tat Georgieva to become a confessed texture addict. She uses a palette knife and heavy-bodied acrylics to create her paintings, working from the center out.
18. Coming Down From Mont Blanc by John Singer Sargent
Sargent’s watercolor shows the illusion of mountain and land textures, yet it is actually rather smooth. Color, contrast, and other visual elements have been used to achieve this effect. In contrast to oils and acrylics, watercolors cannot provide you with a thick layer of physical texture like you can with other media.
19. Sgraffito Paintings
Sgraffito painting is something you may not have heard of. Scratching through a layer of paint reveals another color underneath creates a textured effect like this painting. You may use whatever is available to you, such as the end of your paintbrush, a pencil, or a pen that is out of ink.
20. Abstract Acrylic Texture Painted on Watercolor Paper
21. Texture Palette Knife Red Flower Painting
22. Blowing off Steam by Lifrancis Rojas
23. Tactile Texture Art
24. Aschenblume by Anselm Kiefer
25. Color Palette Knife Thick Texture Canvas Painting
26. Abstract Textural Flowers 14 by Vadym Vasylenko
27. Abstract Silver Textured Oil Painting
28. DIY Texture Art
29. Impasto Acrylic Painting
30. 3 Water Lilies Oil Painting by Amita Dand
31. Ocean Wave Texture Art
32. Textural Countryside View landscape
33. Roulette Roses Floral Texture Painting
34. Colorful Abstract Texture of Oil Painting
35. Blue Green Gradient Texture Abstract Artwork
36. Oil Painting, Basic of Urban Art by Kate Kulish
37. Silver Frequency Textured Metallic Canvas Art
38. Playing Cards Colorful Abstract Textured Painting
39. Colorful Tree Thick Texture Oil Painting
40. Black Square by Kazimir Malevich
41. Spring Flowers Landscape Oil Painting
42. Leaves Textural Painting
43. Abstract Textural Portrait
44. Blooming Lupines Textural Floral Painting
45. Heavy Textural Blue Green Aqua Oil Painting
46. Daisy Vintage Flowers Painting
47. Floral Texture Canvas Art
48. Iris Oil Painting by Marina Skromova
49. Textural City Skyline Landscape
50. Faded Texture Green Palm Leaf Wall Art
51. Doted Texture Artwork
52. Rain, Steam and Speed by J. M. W. Turner
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you explain texture?
An object’s physical properties and appearance are described by the size, density, shape, arrangement, and ratio of its elementary parts referred to as its texture. A texture can be characterized as soft or hard, smooth or rough, coarse or fine, matte or shiny, and so on.
What is texture in visual art?
Line, color, and shading are all examples of visual textures created by an artist using various artistic elements. Touching an object allows us to feel its real surface qualities, which we mean by “actual texture.”
How is texture used in drawing?
There are various ways in which artists utilize texture to enhance their artwork. Using texture in a piece of art can help direct a viewer’s gaze. It is possible to use rough or smooth textures in different parts of the composition to emphasize or ignore certain aspects.
What is texture in design elements?
A design element such as texture help to give shapes and forms their distinctive appearances. A texture that you can feel with fingers is tactile, while the visual texture is used to describe texture that an artist has created on a flat surface. The tactile texture’s depth, width, and height make it a three-dimensional object.
Final Words
The texture is one of the most important elements in art. Texture plays a significant role in the way we interact with art. Along with line, shape, color, form, space, and value, it is one of the seven formal artistic elements. It can help create a more complete and realistic work; it’s also fairly self-explanatory to comprehend, making it easy for viewers to understand what they’re looking at.
Textures are used by artists all over the globe and come in many different forms, from oil paint splatters on an abstract canvas to intricate marble detail on sculptures. We hope you find these 50+ examples of texture helpful as you explore this element further.