Is this done? I can't find my way through an abstract composition..

I want to talk about texture in abstract paintings. I work with a lot of students who come to me with questions about composition on highly textural paintings.. the texture is covering the entire surface. Some students collage tissue paper onto canvas and then paint over the texture. Other students use molding paste or gel medium to create texture. I’m not going to lie, texture is pretty cool to have in a painting. But is it ALL good?

I think what a lot of students don’t realize is that texture can crowd a composition. When texture is all over a canvas, it competes with marks, line and even color that is placed on the painting. I think “all over” texture is not the best use of texture placement because it does not allow the eye any place to rest as it travels through the paining. I think this is the feeling that beginning artists cannot put their finger on when they step back and try to figure out what to do next.

A painting with all over texture to mimic plaster or an aged wall is one thing. Paint can be placed to look aged and imperfect and paint can enhance the texture. So when I think about using a texture medium on a painting, I make a determination at that time what kind of painting it will be. But placing texture all over a substrate does produce limitations.

I recommend placing texture only on some areas of the composition. Use the “rule of thirds” method and connect the texture to at least one of the edges of the piece. That way, as you are painting, you will already have built in that place for the eye to rest in the painting.

A quick video tutorial on how to highlight texture. Use a contrasting color and hit the peaks of the texture with paint.

If you step back to review your work, and something doesn’t feel quite right, check the texture. Did you apply too much? Is the composition crowded with it? Placing texture with intention and purpose usually can help with this sort of issue. Drop me a comment to let me know if this helps!

Intentionally placed texture to frame this composition. Acrylic Skin and cheese cloth.

I just released a lecture series where I take you through three slides of my own work and talk about the choices I make throughout the paintings. For information on that series, please click here.