Texture is a basic element of art. Anything that has a surface has texture. Texture is the way a surface looks and feels. It is experienced in two ways — with touch (tactile) and our eyes (visually). Fine artists often use texture in the following ways:
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- Create a focal point.
- Add interest.
- Provide contrast.
- Visually balance their compositions.
Texture is essential in paintings to make objects appear to be real. Even in abstract paintings, texture can enhance the viewer’s experience by suggesting certain feelings or moods regarding the artwork. Texture can also serve to organize and unify various areas of a composition.
Texture can either add to or take away from the overall effect of the composition. When it is used haphazardly or in the wrong way, it can confuse or clutter the painting. However, when used with deliberate skill, texture will bring a composition together, creating the illusion of realism and unity.
The Two Types of Texture — Tactile and Visual
Tactile texture is the real thing. It is the actual way a surface feels when it is felt or touched, such as rough, smooth, soft, hard, silky, slimy, sticky, etc. 3-D art such as sculpture and architectural structures are tactile because they can be felt. Examples of natural texture would be wood, sandpaper, canvas, rocks, glass, granite, metal, etc.
Even the brush strokes used in a painting can create a textured surface that can be felt and seen. The building up of paint on the surface of a canvas or board to make actual texture is called impasto. Painters may choose to apply their paints thickly or thinly depending on the overall effect they wish to achieve.
Visual texture is not actual texture. All textures you observe in photographs and paintings are visual textures. No matter how rough objects may seem to appear in a picture, the image’s surface is always going to be smooth and flat to the touch.
Artists can create the illusion of texture in their paintings by simulation or implying it through the use of various art elements such as line, shading, and color. It is created by repeating lines, dots, or other shapes to create a pattern. Varying the size, density, and orientation of these marks will produce other desired effects as well.
Common Textures
Although there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of different textures, all textures will fall under two broad categories — rough and smooth. For example:
| Rough | Smooth | |
| Course | Fine | |
| Bumpy | Slick | |
| Dry | Wet | |
| Flat | Wrinkled | |
| Scaly | Silky | |
| Glossy | Matte | |
| Sandy | Slimy | |
| Hairy | Bald | |
| Hard | Soft | |
| Prickly | Velvety | |
| Sharp | Dull | |
| Sticky | Slippery |
Your Next Art Lesson
If you enjoyed this lesson, be sure to check out another one in this series.
Basic Elements of Art, The — (An Introduction)
Basic Art Element — Color, Part 1 | Part 2
Basic Art Element — Texture — You are here.
Want More Art Lessons?
When you are finished with the Basic Art Elements lessons, why not move on to the Good Design Principles? To get started click on The Principles of Good Design: An Introduction
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UPDATED: 13 March 2023