Tutorial: Textured Canvas
Making complex textures on canvas is remarkably easy. It is mostly about layers. The image below is a texture for the background of a piece I am working on right now.
In the upper right, you see the portion that is in this particular tutorial. The other two images are an example of what you can do with this as the base for washes of paint.
Easy? Yup!
Here's what you need:
Canvas or board (may be primed or not)
Bowl of water
Wax paper
Paper towels*
Sponge or other cheap brush
Water-based, liquid adhesive**
*This technique can be used effectively with many other porous materials. Fabric, tissue paper, crepe streamers, etc. Even less porous materials, such as plastic grocery bags, will work. Each will have a different effect. Experiment! Play! Science!
**White school glue, such as Elmer's, will work, but may flake over time (even more complex textures!). I usually use matte Mod Podge. Gloss will create a different effect. You could use wood glue as well. Experiment! Play! Science!
Step-by-Step
Lay wax paper down under your canvas/board. Pretty textures are all fine and dandy, but I personally don't like gluing my art to the table.
Separate the paper towels until each sheet is 1-ply. Ya know. Like cheap toilet paper. Disclaimer: I would not recommend using cheap toilet paper for this particular project. [oops! I forgot to take a picture!]
Rip off the edges - manufactured or cut edges don't blend well. But maybe you want the hard lines. Remember: Experiment! Play! Science!
Optional:
get it wet. This will make the vein-y effect you can see in the image to the right. Just dip the towel in some water, gentle squeeze out the excess and carefully unfold it.
"Paint" a layer of glue onto your canvas. Use a cheap brush or sponge like the one shown here. You can get them 3 for a dollar and it means you don't have to worry about getting every little hint of glue cleaned out. If it doesn't paint well, mix in a little water. It should be pretty fluidic. Before the glue dries...
Slap on the towel and paint it down with more glue. Wrinkles are good. This is not something to be a perfectionist about.
Then just rinse and repeat steps 4-6 until your canvas/board are covered. This can be used as a flat texture by painting over it in a thick opaque layer or as a multi-dimensional texture by doing many layers of paint wash. Experiment! Play! Science!
