Lesson 4: Colour

Texture Makes The Difference!

Add this definition to the glossary you are creating. Texture is: “Making Something Look Like It Would Feel If You Touched It.” The reasons we attempt to do this are numerous. Here are some of them.

1. By making a subject textured we make it look more convincing. We can convince the viewer that they it is real and that they could reach right out and touch the object.
2. It is a challenge! Trompe L'oeil artists make the rendering of textures the main focus of their art and so do many abstract artists.
3. But purely realistic artists like Van Eyke do too. and so it is a very major under taking and one that cannot just be ignored.
4. To evoke emotions. Many emotions are evoked by touch. By incorporating touch into the picture we have appealed to those viewers who need to literally 'feel to feel.' A good example of this need to 'feel to feel' is evidenced in the drawing "Never Tickle A Dragon With A Feather." This a picture of a dragon being tickled by a feather focuses on the feather and the expression of the dragon and minimises all other sensory details within the picture.

Do some of the exercises offered here and if they are not your cup of tea store the knowledge for later. With in the world of art one can never have too much knowlegde. At some stage in the future you will burning desire to be able to capture texture. It is a good idea to consciously develop an awareness of texture as it ocurrs naturally in the environment around you. If you have a digital camera snap all kinds of shots of all kinds of different textures and keep them in an online gallery such as webshots. (Free)

Here is a variety of ways you can achieve a textured look. Approach the list below as a series of exercises. Take the same texture : for example a piece of hesion and try to represent this cloth by -

1. Contrast of Light and Dark. Build it up through copying the shading.
2. Patterning. Draw the cloth using simple lines with a fine tipped black felt pen (or a hb pencil) to capture the patterning of the weave.
3. Collage. Collect photos from magazines or take your own. Arrange them into a collage.
4. Rubbings. Place thin paper over the cloth and with a very soft pencil (6b) do a rubbing so that it picks up on the rough weave.
5. Sculpturally Moulding. Crumple the cloth into a ball and place it into wet plaster. (cover it in vaseline [petroleum jelly]) This will work so long as you only do a small scrap.
These last two are added as a side note to draw your attention to the idea that there are many, many ways to build up texture - don't attempt colour and mixed media yet. Store your ideas for later.
6. Contrast of Colour
7. Mixing Media.

By experiencing the sheer joy of building layers, and creating visual effects the artist can build up a repertoire of skills. By journaling these techniques daily you will perhaps come up with a wealth of abstract ideas that can be utilised whenever inspiration is not so easy to access.





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