Six textured surfaces you can stand next to
A textured painting has paint, paste, paper or metal standing up off the support. It throws small shadows and catches light on its ridges, so it looks different from the side than from the front, and different at noon than at dusk.
The six below are originals by Sergei Troshin, each built from different materials. All of them can be seen at the gallery in Markham by appointment.
Call +1 (416) 919-8331
Hamsingolden paste and rust tones on canvas
Morning Forest in Meißenwax paste, resin and diamond dust on board
Traces of the Forgottenrusted texture and metal pieces
Whisperwood and rust on panel
Treasure Behind the Wall IIcollage and diamond dust on wood
Over The Horizonridged acrylic under epoxy on fibreboard
What builds height and what only catches light?
Every material on a textured surface does one of two jobs. Some raise the surface and give it shadows. Others lie flat and send light back to you. Most pieces here use both, and the mix decides how a work changes during the day. A painting whose texture is mostly relief changes with the angle of the light. One that relies on shine changes with where you stand.
Reliefcasts shadow, changes as the light moves
Wax paste and modelling paste hold the shape they were given. In Hamsin (2025) the artist combed golden paste into swirling ridges and set a ringed spiral in the upper corner, and in side light each ridge has its own shadow.
Collage adds edges. In Treasure Behind the Wall II (2024) torn and crumpled wallpaper stands off a black ground, and the artist describes the work as layers of wallpaper peeled back to the pattern of the wall beneath.
Rust and metal bring their own grain and small hard edges. Traces of the Forgotten (2025, 30 by 48 inches) is built from rusted textures and scattered metallic pieces around a fractured circle.
Shinestays flat, flares from one angle
Diamond dust and gold sit in the top layers and add almost no height. From one spot they flare, from another they disappear. Morning Forest in Meißen (2023) has both, over a deep blue made with natural dyes.
Resin and epoxy cure to a hard, glossy film. On Over The Horizon (2020, 24 by 24 inches) the epoxy follows the ridges, so they stay raised and turn glossy. Read what a resin finish really does before you hang a sealed piece opposite a window.
Metallic paste does both jobs at once: it builds a ridge and the ridge shines. That is why Hamsin appears in both columns. More on the flat kind of sparkle in diamond dust, gold and light.
Is textured art always on canvas?
No. Here most of the heavy texture is on wooden board, panel or fibreboard, and canvas carries the lighter work. A stretched canvas is fabric under tension and gives a little when it is handled or when the air in the room changes. A rigid board does not move, so it can hold a thick, stiff build of paste, collage and resin. The gallery's note on canvas, wood or board goes through every support named on the artwork pages.
How should a textured painting be lit?
From the side, or with a fitting aimed across the wall at an angle. Low light hits one face of each ridge and leaves the other in shadow, and that is what lets you see the surface. Light straight on lights every face equally, so the relief almost disappears, and on a sealed piece it adds glare.
In a house that means a wall beside a window rather than opposite it, the end wall of a hallway you walk toward, or a lamp off to one side. Ceiling lights over the middle of a room usually flatten texture. The Canadian Conservation Institute's note on track lighting covers aiming a fitting at artwork. Board, paste and resin weigh more than canvas of the same size, so ask the weight before you buy fixings and read how to hang a heavy painting.
How do you clean a textured painting?
Mostly by leaving it alone. The Canadian Conservation Institute's note on basic handling of paintings warns that bare hands leave oils, moisture and dirt, and asks for clean gloves whenever a painting is moved. Raised texture has more edges for a hand or a cloth to catch on.
Do
- Use a dry, soft cloth on a smooth sealed coat, as the gallery's care note suggests.
- Hang it out of direct sun and away from a heating vent.
- Lift it by the frame or the edges of the board, with gloves.
- Ask about the specific piece if you're unsure how it is sealed.
Don't
- Rub raised paste, collage or rust, even with a dry cloth.
- Spray glass cleaner or polish on resin. It looks like glass but it isn't.
- Put it behind glass by habit. Glazing adds reflection and hides the surface you bought it for.
The full list, with the difference between raw mixed media and a poured coat, is in how to look after an original.
Can you judge a textured painting from a photograph?
Only partly. Below is the same work twice: the whole board as the catalogue shows it, and a detail shot taken closer. In the full view the blue reads as an even colour. Up close you can see the scratched pale marks and the cracked gold of the border. In the room there is a third version again, because the diamond dust only shows when you move.
If you can't come in, these are the questions worth asking on a call. More of them are in what to ask before you buy.
- How far does the deepest part stand off the surface?
- Is it sealed, and how glossy is the seal?
- What does the whole piece weigh, frame included?
- Which parts change most when the light comes from one side?
- Is it on canvas, board or panel?
Prices are on request for every work and there is no online checkout. Each piece is one of a kind and leaves with a certificate signed by the artist. See the full catalogue on the artworks page, or read about Sergei Troshin on the about page.
Questions about textured art
What counts as textured art?
Any work whose surface stands off the support far enough to cast its own shadow. On these pieces the texture comes from wax paste, collage, rust, metal and resin, with diamond dust and gold adding shine on top. Thick paint of this kind is also called impasto.
Is textured art always on canvas?
No. Lighter texture sits on canvas, as on Hamsin. The deep builds here are on wooden board, panel or fibreboard, because a rigid support does not flex under a thick, stiff layer.
How should a textured painting be lit?
From the side, or with a fitting aimed across the wall at an angle. Light straight on removes the shadows that make the surface visible, and on a resin coat it adds glare.
How do you clean a textured painting?
Don't rub raised texture and never spray anything on it. A dry, soft cloth is fine on a smooth sealed coat. Handle the piece by its edges or frame with clean gloves.
Can you judge a textured painting from a photograph?
Only partly. A photo fixes one angle and one light, so relief and shine are the first things it loses. Ask on the phone about depth, seal and weight, or come and look at the piece from the side.
The six textured originals on this page
Come and look at it from the side
Call +1 (416) 919-8331 and ask about any of the six: how deep the surface stands, what it weighs, whether it is still available and what it costs. Viewings are by appointment in Markham, daily from 9:00 to 18:00.