Inspiring examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums

Let’s start with one of the best examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums: turning ordinary brushstrokes into sculptural marks.

When you mix heavy gel medium (often labeled “heavy,” “extra heavy,” or “high solid”) with your acrylic paint, your brush and palette-knife marks hold their shape instead of sinking flat as they dry. Think frosting on a cake, but it actually dries hard.

Here’s how this plays out in real life:

• You squeeze a bit of heavy gel onto your palette and mix it with your color until it’s the consistency of soft butter.
• Using a palette knife, you drag the mixture across your canvas in short, broken strokes, leaving ridges and peaks.
• As it dries, those ridges stay visible, catching light and casting tiny shadows.

This is a perfect example of using gel to create impasto-style texture without burning through your paint supply. Many artists now use this approach in contemporary abstract work, where thick, confident strokes are a big part of the visual impact.

Scraped, carved, and combed surfaces: examples include tools from your junk drawer

Another set of great examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums comes from what you do after you put the gel on the surface.

Instead of just brushing it on and walking away, try treating the wet gel like soft clay. Spread a layer of clear or matte gel medium over your surface, then:

• Drag a plastic comb through it to create repeating lines.
• Use the edge of a store loyalty card to scrape geometric patterns.
• Press in the side of a fork for organic, wavy grooves.
• Use the blunt end of a brush to draw spirals, crosshatching, or even letters.

These are real examples of how everyday tools can become texture-makers. The gel dries clear (or translucent), so you can glaze color over the top later and watch those carved lines pop.

This approach is especially popular in mixed-media and art journaling communities online (2024–2025 has seen a big rise in “process videos” where artists carve and scrape gels on short-form platforms). It’s low-pressure, experimental, and oddly relaxing.

Gritty, sandy, and stone-like textures: an example of building believable surfaces

If you want your painting to feel like a rocky path, a weathered wall, or an old sidewalk, acrylic gels mixed with texture additives are your best friends.

An excellent example of this is using a gel medium combined with pumice, sand, or fiber paste. Many paint brands sell these ready-made, but you can also mix fine, clean sand into regular gel medium for a DIY version.

Here’s a simple method:

• Spread a thin layer of gel mixed with pumice or sand over your canvas.
• Let it dry completely so it forms a toothy, gritty surface.
• Paint over it with washes of color, allowing darker shades to settle into the low points.

The result is a surface that looks and feels like stone. These examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums are especially useful for:

• Landscapes (rock faces, gravel paths, tree bark)
• Urban scenes (old walls, concrete, rusted metal)
• Abstract work where you want contrast between smooth and rough areas

If you enjoy learning how real stone and mineral surfaces interact with light and color, resources from geology or materials science departments at universities (for instance, the U.S. Geological Survey) can give you visual references that translate surprisingly well into painting.

Fabric folds, drips, and flowing textures: softer examples of using acrylic gels

Not all texture has to be sharp or gritty. Some of the best examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums are actually soft, flowing, and fabric-like.

Soft gel or regular gel can be used to create gentle ridges and folds:

• Apply soft gel in sweeping, curved strokes, almost like you’re painting the shape of draped fabric.
• Gently push and pull the gel with a soft brush or silicone tool, letting it mound up in some areas and thin out in others.
• Once dry, glaze transparent color over the raised areas to emphasize the folds.

You can also create dimensional drip textures:

• Load a brush or palette knife with gel-heavy paint.
• Touch it to the top edge of your canvas and let gravity pull it downward.
• Encourage drips by adding a bit of fluid medium, but keep enough gel so the drips dry raised and tactile.

These are excellent examples of how gel mediums can mimic the look of cloth, wax, or melted material. Many contemporary painters are using these techniques to create layered, fabric-like surfaces that hover between painting and sculpture.

Embedded objects and collage: real examples from mixed-media artists

Mixed-media artists have been offering some of the boldest examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums in recent years. Instead of just painting on a flat surface, they build it up with objects.

Gel medium works as both an adhesive and a textural layer. Examples include:

• Embedding lightweight papers, lace, or fabric scraps under a layer of gel, then painting over the top.
• Pressing in string, twine, or yarn while the gel is wet, letting it dry, and then dry-brushing paint over the raised lines.
• Adding small, flat objects like dried leaves, pressed flowers, or ticket stubs, then sealing them with gel.

One powerful example of this approach is building a memory or travel painting: you might glue down ticket stubs, receipts, or paper maps with gel medium, then layer paint and more gel on top to create a textured, story-filled surface.

If you want to explore the safety side of using found objects (especially if you’re working with kids or in a classroom), guidelines from art education programs at universities, such as resources from The Kennedy Center’s arts education materials, can help you choose appropriate materials and adhesives.

Layered glazes over raised gel: subtle examples of depth and light

Not every example of texture has to scream at you from across the room. Some of the best examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums are quite subtle and only reveal themselves when the light hits at an angle.

Here’s a simple approach:

• First, create a raised pattern or shape with clear gel: maybe waves, circles, or random organic shapes.
• Let it dry completely so the surface is hard and transparent.
• Then apply very thin glazes of color (paint diluted with gloss or matte medium) over the raised areas.

Because the gel is slightly higher than the rest of the surface, the glaze catches differently, creating gentle shifts in color and shine. In strong light, those raised areas glow and cast tiny shadows.

Examples include:

• A calm seascape where the waves are subtly raised with gel and glazed with blues and greens.
• A floral painting where petals are built up with gel and then glazed with saturated color.
• Abstract panels where the entire surface is gently textured, then layered with translucent color fields.

This kind of work benefits from understanding how light interacts with glossy versus matte surfaces. While it’s focused on photography and vision rather than painting, resources from institutions like Harvard’s Vision Sciences Lab can deepen your understanding of how we perceive highlights, shadows, and depth.

Crackle, age, and weathered effects: dramatic examples of surface storytelling

If you love the look of old walls, peeling posters, or weathered doors, acrylic gels can help you fake age without waiting 50 years.

Some gel mediums are formulated to crack as they dry. Others can be layered with contrasting colors to create chipped or peeled effects. Here are a few examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums to suggest age and history:

• Apply a thick layer of a crackle-style gel over a darker underpainting. As it dries, fine cracks appear. When you glaze a lighter color over the top, the darker lines show through.
• Use gel to build slightly raised edges around shapes, then lightly sand or dry-brush the tops so the high points look worn.
• Combine gritty gel (like pumice) with thin, uneven paint layers to mimic flaking plaster.

These examples include both subtle and dramatic aging effects. They’re especially popular in 2024–2025 among artists leaning into “distressed” and “wabi-sabi” aesthetics, where imperfection and decay are part of the visual story.

Planning your own experiments: turning these examples into your practice

Seeing examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums is inspiring, but the real magic happens when you start testing them yourself.

A simple way to organize your experiments:

• Dedicate a few small panels or pieces of watercolor paper taped to a board.
• On each one, try a different idea: carved gel, embedded paper, gritty paste, glazes over raised lines, etc.
• Write notes on the back about what gel you used, how thickly you applied it, and how long it took to dry.

Over time, these test pieces become your personal library of examples. Instead of guessing, you can flip through and say, “I want that stone texture” or “I like that soft fold effect.”

If you’re concerned about ventilation, skin contact, or long-term safety of acrylic products, organizations like the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and art-material safety resources (often linked by university art departments) provide guidance on safe studio habits, even for water-based media like acrylics.

FAQ: Real-world questions about texture and acrylic gel mediums

Q: What are some simple examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums for beginners?
Start with three easy ideas: mix heavy gel with paint and apply it in thick knife strokes; spread clear gel and comb lines into it; or brush on gel, let it dry, and then glaze color over the subtle texture. These are forgiving, low-stress examples that show immediate results.

Q: Can you give an example of using gel medium in a landscape painting?
Yes. You can use gritty gel or pumice gel to build up a rocky shoreline or mountain path, then paint over it with thin layers of earthy browns and grays. Another example of landscape texture is using heavy gel to create raised tree bark or thick snow on branches, then dry-brushing lighter paint on top to highlight the texture.

Q: Are there examples of using acrylic gel mediums in more realistic, detailed work, not just abstract art?
Absolutely. Examples include using a thin layer of gel to create subtle skin texture in portraits, building up raised areas for jewelry or metal details, or adding gentle ripples to water surfaces. The key is to use less gel and finer tools so the texture supports the realism instead of overwhelming it.

Q: What’s an example of combining different gels in one painting?
You might use a coarse pumice gel for a gritty ground, soft gel for flowing fabric-like folds, and heavy gel for thick palette-knife strokes in the focal area. These combined examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums can make a painting feel layered and rich, with each area offering a different tactile experience.

Q: Do I need expensive gels to try these examples, or can I start with one product?
You can start with a single heavy or regular gel medium and still explore many of the examples described here: carved lines, thick strokes, embedded papers, and glazes over raised areas. As you get more comfortable, you can add specialty gels like fiber paste or pumice to expand your range of textures.

The bottom line: the best examples of creating texture with acrylic gel mediums aren’t locked away in fancy studios. They’re in the small experiments you do on scrap paper, the way you drag a comb through wet gel, or the first time you realize a raised wave on your canvas actually feels like a wave.

Start small, stay curious, and let these examples guide you toward your own favorite textures.