Design Basics Texture resource material: Design Basics by David A. Lauer and Stephen Pentak (pages 153 through 163) Launching the Imagination:Two Dimensional Design by Mary Stewart (1-15 through 1-17) Texture refers to the surface quality of a two-dimensional shape or three-dimensional volume. Tactile texture can actually be felt. Visual texture can be created using multiple shapes or through the simulation of physical texture. Appealing to our senses, texture creates a unique connection between image and audience. Each material has its own textural quality. The smooth surface of Eadweard Muybridge's photograph portrays the illusion of the galloping horse. The reality of the paper on which it is printed is not the focus. Albrecht Durer's engraving of a horse is more strongly textured. The embossed ink and the masterful cross-hatching give the print a wonderful texture. Deborah Butterfield creates sculptures of horses with strong textural surfaces. Physical variations in a surface can create powerful textures even when the artwork is primarily two dimensional. Lee Bontecou's collage extends out from the wall. The dark, open ovals invite entry into an even more extensive world, which seems to exist below the surface. Texture can be created through multiplication of individual marks or shapes. As the density of the words increases, the words begin to fuse together, creating variations in the visual texture while reducing verbal clarity. Texture can be created through an invented pattern that simulates a textured surface. Belgian artist Rene Magritte was a master of textural illusion. In The Red Model II, a pair of shoes metamorphose into the bare feet that rest on the sharp gravel ground. In the background, a wooden wall presents an even more convincing illusion. Here, representation is used to raise a series of questions rather than to supply simple answers. Density and orientation are important aspects of both visual and actual texture. Finer marks, tightly packed, can suggest spatial distance. Tightly oriented marks on Karen Hendrickson's Betta give an illusion of fur for fins. Illusory Texture and Trompe L'Oeil: Taken to the extreme, illusory texture can so resemble reality that a deception occurs. By replicating architectural details, Richard Haas created an amazing dialog between illusion and reality in Trompe l'oeil,the French term meaning "to fool the eye," can become simply an exercise in technical virtuosity, or it can significantly alter our understanding"of reality. In large scale, as on a city wall, a trompe l'oeil painting can actually appear to extend an archetectural space. Marks and Meanings: Every mark an artist makes can add to or subtract from the composition as a whole. When the texture is random of discordant, the composition will suffer. When the texture is deliberate and appropriate, the composition will improve. In Van Gogh's The Starry Night, the texture of oil paint serves three distinct purposes. First, it creates an invented texture that simnulates the tactile surface of the trees in the forground. Second, it brings great energy to every painted shape: we feel the wind; we become mesmerized by the glowing whirlpools of light. Finally, we become connected to the artist himself. His hand is clearly evident in every mark. He speaks to us with each brush stroke.