I’ve really enjoyed adding texture to my abstract pieces where the feeling is more important than the detail. In several of the canvases I’ve worked on, I started by adding a thick gesso to the canvas and allowing the surface to dry with lines and bumps that intrude on the paint. You can see some of that here:
Downstream Montana Spring
November Rockies
August Desert
High Tide in the Northwest
The final one on the right is a small piece where the underlayment of gesso was less obvious than the impasto texture the trees and the ocean. The latter one was more of a study that I’ll need to pursue further, and you may see that method turn up in future pieces.