Abstract: An apparatus is provided for practicing the method of forming a reduced size textured painting. The painting is prepared on a polystyrene substrate which has been previously heated and stretched substantially equally in two orthogonal directions, i.e., lengthwise and widthwise. After the stretching in the presence of heat, the substrate is cooled to room temperature and retains its stretched configuration. Acrylic or oil paint is then smoothly applied and the combination of paint and substrate is heated once again after the paint has dried. The heating shrinks the substrate back to its original, pre-stretched size, with the paint shrinking at a differential rate. As a result of the differential shrinking, the previously smooth paint assumes a textured surface on the now-shrunk substrate.