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Whether the artist wanted to paint expressive portraits, landscapes or abstract works, they have long found that the texture of paint can be an integral part of the painting experience. Painters found that this effect could be utilised to show form and texture and, by the nineteenth century had developed it further into the technique now known as impasto. As the nineteenth century progressed, artists started using this technique for it’s own sake, creating works using this method alone.

Van Gogh exploited impasto extensively in his pictures to impart shapes and patterns that helped convey the emotion in a work. Impasto can also have a role in creating depth within a painting. If used in along side washes and thin glazes, thick layers of paint can be used to help create the illusion of perspective.

It is quite probable that van Gogh would have added a little wax to his commercially prepared paints, this would have helped produce a rich creamy paint ideal for impasto, it dries solidly without wrinkling, to with an even matt finish. Traditionally, the chosen type of wax for artists to use was beeswax. Beeswax can be purchased in blocks, pellets or small lumps, the white bleached version is the best option for artists. It should be mixed into oil paints after melting 1 part wax with 2 parts stand oil, and then mixing into the paint with a palette knife. Although beeswax melts at fairly low temperatures, it still remains stable and long-lasting. The wax should be gently melted it in a water bath, in the same way you would melt chocolate. You can adjust the consistency by adding more oil if the paint is too stiff or wax if it’s too runny.

With the addition of wax in their paints, artists found an ideal medium for creating brush marks and textures in the heavy layers of paint typical of the impasto technique. Even so, where paint is applied in thick layers in this manner, it will take the painting a long time to dry.