mels artistic journey: Texture, the element of art that stimulates sight and touch

Sunday, April 7, 2019

Texture, the element of art that stimulates sight and touch

The texture is the element of art that refers to the way things look or feel. It is the character of a surface and can be both tactile and visual. Texture stimulates two different senses: sight and touch.

Use texture to add subtle interest to the surface

Types of texture:

Tactile or real texture: is the physical quality of a surface, such as rough, smooth, sticky, fuzzy, soft or slick. A real texture is one you can actually feel with your hand, such as a tree trunk, sandpaper, brick, animal fur, etc.

Visual or Implied texture is the visual quality of a surface. Visual or implied texture can be simulated or invented. The simulated texture is the type of composition that is created to look like something it is not. Visual texture is an illusion of texture created by an artist. For example, Paint can be manipulated to give the impression of texture, while the paper surface remains smooth and flat.

Incorporating texture into the creative process adds another dimension. Painters use different mediums, paint strokes, and surface treatments to create the illusion of texture.

In textiles, texture starts with fabric selection. When selecting fabric, you consider the weave of the material, whether it be tightly woven to reflect the light or a courser weave like burlap.

With the development of technology, the photographic image now has a role in our textile pieces. The ability to print images onto lengths of fabric means the print on the material also plays a vital role in adding textural interest to our works. Learning to apply digital images to fabric was a pivotal moment in my practice.

Additional levels of texture can be added through the use of hand stitching, thread thickness, quilting, trapunto, beads, buttons, acrylic mediums, puff paint, Tyvek, fabric burning, adding ribbon, lace, applique, and fabric manipulation through pleating, folding, seam construction etc...

Texture, along with the line, shape, form, colour, space and value are known as the elements of art, the essential design ingredients.

The elements of art help the artist to:

create visual interest or a focal point
to create contrast within a design
to help visually balance a design

Artist across the mediums draw on these elements to create interest or contrast in their works. Sometimes these elements work together and other times the stand alone.

drawing inspiration from the different types of texture

Everywhere, every day we are surrounded by natural and artificial texture. As you gather and collect inspiration keep an eye out for texture. Use a combination of words, sketch and digital image to obtain ideas. Many photographers use macro photography to capture the feel of a subject. Macro mode enables you to get in close, examine the detail and crop the scene. Interested in exploring macro photography further here are a couple of useful articles.

How To Create Your Own Unique Textures and Apply Them To Your Photography by John Davenport

How To Take Amazing Smartphone Macro Photos by Max Therry

The random smoothness and roughness of texture are what draws us in to touch and get a closer look. In addition to photography and sketching, you can use rubbing to capture the character of the texture. In school, you probably placed a piece of paper over the surface, and with a B pencil or charcoal, you lightly rubbed to reveal the pattern.

This same exercise can be done by laying a piece of fabric across the texture and using a Shiva Oil Paintstik or similar fabric crayon rub across the texture.

Prewash the fabric to remove any sizing.
Place the textured surface under your fabric.
Tape your fabric in place to prevent it from shifting too much.
Oil paint sticks are self-sealing, using a piece of paper towel gently remove the film.
Lightly rub the paintstik across the fabric, an image of the textured item under the material will appear.
After applying the colour, allow the painted fabric to dry 3-5 days, then heat-set to make the colours permanent.
Place a piece of baking paper on the surface of your ironing board, then a bit of old muslin (an old tea towel works well too) and set your iron to the proper setting for the painted fabric, e.g. cotton setting for cotton fabric etc.
Put the painted fabric paint-side down on the muslin (or tea towel) and press for 10-15 seconds in each painted spot.

Once the paintstik rubbing has been heat-set, it is colourfast, washable & dry cleanable. Not only have you captured the texture but you are have also created a unique piece of fabric.

One of the great things about texture is that you can find it everywhere. The more you look, the more you'll discover, you can also make your own texture. Observe your surrounds and enjoy some creative playtime while building your texture library.