Texture
Texture is the element of art that works to incorporate the sense of touch into the artistic experience. Texture in art represents the way things actually feel, or the way they look like they would feel if touched. Artists allow us to experience texture in their work visually and physically. They may choose to incorporate physical materials into their work, or they may choose a particular style of two-dimensional art that provides the illusion of texture.
Artists can be creative with texture and use it to influence the overall feeling they are trying to express. When using texture it helps think of descriptive words such as soft, silky, gritty, fluffy, smooth, or rough, to help generate a mood, tone, or physical idea you want to display.
Artist: Frida Kahlo
– Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo was born in Coyoacán, Mexico (just south of Mexico City) in La Casa Azul (which is now a museum, see above photo) July 6, 1907. She grew up in this house with her parents and 6 sisters, during the Mexican revolution, which started in 1910. She loved to draw when she was a child, preferring to be alone than playing with her sisters. During her life, she had many, many medical problems and injuries that caused her a lot of physical pain; this is important to note because her pain and isolation is reflected in her paintings.
At age 6, Frida caught a disease called polio, which damaged her right leg. When she was 18 she was in a terrible bus accident that broke her spinal cord, collarbone, ribs, pelvic bone, leg, foot, and shoulder. An iron rail pierced her torso and through the terrible injury she was never able to have children. She was in an enormous amount of constant pain and had to be in a body cast for 3 months. Even after the case was removed, on and off for the rest of her life Frida would spend months at a time lying in bed in La Casa Azul or in the hospital: during this time in bed she painted what she felt and saw.
Frida was a strong voice for women, at a time when women did not have as many rights as they do now. The was an advocate for indigenous rights and spoke against commercialization and imperialism, sometimes between industrialized US and pre-industrial Mexico. Frida Kahlo died July 14, 1954.
Kahlo’s Style and Technique
Frida Kahlo’s art provides an in-depth look into the physical, mental, and emotional struggles she went through. Her various self-portraits provide a detailed analysis of what she was experiencing at different moments in her life.
Kahlo often experimented with mixed mediums to create texture in her work. She painted on a variety of surfaces such as a sheet of aluminum as featured in her famous painting, The Frame. She loved bold colours and believed that each had a deep meaning. Her work demonstrates a mix of fantasy and reality and a strong sense of symbolic elements that she used to express her feelings.
The Frame
Click through the slide show to see more art by Kahlo.
Now it’s your turn to be inspired!
As you can see from Frida Kahlo’s art, she was able to evoke lots of emotion using self portraits. Apply the element of texture to your own self portrait to highlight a specific aspect of yourself, or enhance a particular feeling you want to create. Watch the video for some quick tips and tricks to assist you. Follow the steps below for a unique texture infused self portrait:
- Start with the shape of the face, and add
a neck and shoulders. Try to capture the unique features of your face - Add eyes, a nose and
mouth. Continue adding characteristics such as hair, ears, freckles, glasses and eyebrows - Draw objects in the background that represents you and tells a story of your
unique identity - Layer colours – choosing colours to reflect your personality and feelings
- Fill the background with objects, patterns, and colours to add texture
- Experiment with mixed mediums. Texture can be achieved by combining paint, pencil, wool, fabric, and pieces of paper
MUSEO FRIDA KAHLO: The Blue House
Londres 247, Del Carmen, Coyoacán, 04100 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Exhibit your Kahlo-Inspired Art!
Can you imagine seeing your work displayed in an actual museum? Well here is your chance! Virtually hang your artwork, alongside Kahlo’s masterpieces at the Blue House Museum!
Follow the directions below to add your masterpiece to the map:
- Click on the ‘Seven Elements of Art Form’ link below.
- Select one of the seven categories
- Upload a picture of your art as the “featured image”.
- Under Post Title: put your First Name and Grade (Louise, Grade 5).
- Copy and paste the gallery address above to the Location field.
- For the Post Content section, answer any questions that were asked within the lesson, or tell us a bit about what inspired you to create your art and how you created it!
- Click Submit to drop your pin in the map so that others can view your art at the gallery.