Tools for creating texture in painting can be found at any art or craft supply store. Many artists find alternative uses for tools that are not originally intended for art-making. Some artists even make their own!

Historically artists made tools from feathers, bone, hair, twine, plant fibers, metals, and so on. Each tool was designed to optimize the desired result.

In this demonstration we will explore the effects of various conventional and unconventional tools and the unique textural marks they make with Heavy Body Acrylic, Heavy Body Acrylic mixed with Molding Paste, Williamsburg Oil and Williamsburg Oil mixed with Wax Medium.

We’d love to know what unconventional tools you use in the studio. Please share in the comments below this post!

Notice how the differences in texture are not only determined by the tool, but also by the media. Williamsburg Oils are inherently stiffer than Golden Heavy Body acrylics and will retain ridges. Heavy Body will increase in stiffness with the addition of a medium like Molding Paste and oils soften in Wax Medium.