Gesso & Texture Paste

Gesso or texture paste is such wonderful stuff to create your texture with. Its an acrylic medium that is alot thicker than paint and it dosent shrink as much. You can just use it as your texture coat or you can put it over other textural techniques to blend your layers together and create your painting surface.

You can apply gesso with;

• Brushes


• Fingers


• Spatulas


• Forks


• Corrugated card

You could try anything and see what sort of effect you get, there are no rules. After applying the gesso you can then smear it around or scratch into it or add some sand or rice or even scratch words into it before you leave it to dry.

I basically create my whole painting in the textural layer. It gives the work so much more depth when I go to apply colour and opens up endless possibilities, its so much easier and more effective than working with a completely flat surface.

The Art of Texture

Before you start painting, to give your work a richer more 3d effect, put down some texture. One basic but very effective technique is just to glue some fabric or canvas onto your stretched canvas or board, then put a good thick layer of texture past or gesso over the top. You can scratch into the gesso or add some sand etc to add another dimension. This will give you a beautiful rich textural base to then create your masterpiece upon.