Impasto Thick Painting

Italian for "dough or paste," impasto denotes a painting technique in which undiluted paint is applied thickly like toothpaste onto a canvas so that it stands out from the surface. Color is mixed on the canvas itself to achieve a required color.

Oil is most suited for this method due to its viscosity, slow drying time, and thickness. Impasto offers some advantages, such as the reflection of light in new ways that the artist can control. Also, it can convey feelings and emotions such as in Van Gogh's paintings. Thirdly, it can convey a three dimensional impression, such as wrinkles.

To mimic this process digitally, one needs to be familiar with styles. Using styles to give a lift to the brush will allow for layers to applied to each stroke as if done on a real canvas. Bevel and boss are great tools to encorporate this technique onto the brush stroke itself. One can also underpaint in order to create a more in depth feel to the artwork. To keep away from a mechanical look, apply variety and various stroke directions to give the feel of a real brush.

Willem de Kooning (www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/de-kooning-willem.html) was an abstract expressionalist who used impasto.

Frank Auerbach (www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/frank-auerbach.html) was a German impastoist.

Jackson Pollock (www.jacksonpollock.org) was an impasto impressionalist who would abstract in extreme ways.