Textured Art by Melissa McKinnon

With Textured Art: Palette Knife and Impasto Painting Techniques in Acrylic, you'll learn how to paint using impasto and thick paint techniques to create striking art. Author and artist Melissa McKinnon explains how to work with thick paint using brushes and palette knives to create painterly art that expresses your creativity. A detailed look at all the essential tools and materials, including instructions for adding thickening mediums to acrylic paint.

Melissa has tips for working on different surfaces and how that might affect your work, giving detailed advice on color theory and choosing a palette that suits your style. She also provides advice about how to use palette knives and brushes to get the most from working with thick paint – sculpting and molding large amounts of paint can seem intimidating, but Melissa explains how to control the paint to get the best results. There are also guided exercises in mark-making and experimenting with different tools and materials so that you can explore everything this medium offers and create truly original compositions you can be proud of.

The four key painting techniques used by the author include blending, creating texture, the direct paint method, and impressionist brush painting techniques, which are explained with step-by-step instructions and photography so that you can try each style. As well as the key painting techniques, tools, and materials advice, Melissa explains how to prepare canvases for a new artwork depending on the subject matter and composition, for example, how to create a blended background for a seascape or a textured base for a more detailed study.

In addition to key techniques, there are step-by-step instructions and photography for 12 projects based on landscape, floral and abstract themes. Melissa has designed a series of paintings that will allow you to try out the techniques and color theory you’ve learned and turn them into unique, expressive paintings of your own. These include some figurative landscapes as well as some more abstract paintings.

The collection of techniques and paintings in this book encourages you to practice observation: what catches your breath as much as it catches your eye? What causes you to pause, lean in closer, or zoom in a little further? Using the instructions in this book you will be equipped to take your practice further and continue to develop the skills you need to improve your artwork.