Artists use line, color and other elements of design to create the illusion of various textures in paintings.  

                          by Sanchia Lin                          

The word texture is used to describe the surface character of materials.  It is primarily experienced through the sense of touch.  However, artists can use line, color and other elements of art to create the illusion of various textures in flat drawing and paintings.

In the good old days, masters used to teach students how to render objects and texture.  Each texture had its own rules or procedure.  After mastering these skills, the student or professional painter will able to create from the imagination and still seem true to life.

Now, the learning methods of art have changed dramatically.  Students or professional painters are allowed to freely experiment with new approaches of creating textures in paintings.  Through my research, I have found out that a material or texture is characterized by its highlight.  The smoother and harder an object, the sharper and the brighter the highlight.

Some objects are so dark and softly textured that no light is reflected and shadows are not discernible.  The highlight of a metal must be kept dull and low key if it is in shadow.  However, transparent textures are rendered with almost no paint, just shadow and highlight.

In addition to the use of highlight, a silk painter can also use salt and alcohol to create textures on your silk.  The textures of above thumbnail is a good example.  To see its full picture, please click on it.  For more texture applications on  silk paintings, please check our page, Design Center-Jean Louis Mireault.

                             ---- to be continued