Definition of "impasto" [im•pas•to]

• The application of thick layers of pigment to a canvas or other surface in painting. (noun)
• The paint so applied. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In this painting as in most of my oil paintings, I used bold colors and brushstrokes of thick paint called impasto, to create a textural rhythm in order to introduce a more intense feeling in the work."
• "He will learn the secret of that transparency, of that sumptuous richness of impasto, which is in itself a delight to the eye."
• "Seeing him eye a Picasso, Rockefeller took the man's hand and placed it on the impasto."