Playing With Mixed Media

From time to time I like to play with mixed media.  For those who are unaware of what mixed media is, it is a whole bunch of different art mediums put together to make one piece of art.  What I really like about mixed media is that you can experiment with all kinds of things and make one big mess!  It is a great art project to do with kids!  A word of caution: if you are not in the mood for lots of mess and play, then perhaps don't attempt until you are in the mood.  What I really love with mixed media is that you can't mess up your piece of art.  You just keep layering over and over until you get a look that you like.

There are some rules, like anything, but you can totally break them all!  One thing to keep in mind is you do want to try to make a piece that is pleasing to the eye.  Sometimes the best way to know this is to try some different things.  If you are using a lot of texture, colour, or symbols, you will want to make sure they are balanced in your picture.  They all draw attention so see what works as you layer different mediums on your canvas.

I usually start with either a board of some kind (cupboard doors or old pieces of wood work well) or a
canvas.  Today I am using a canvas.  I have already painted the whole canvas using different shades of blue.  You will also want to have a dryer (I use a hair dryer) available to dry your work in-between layers.  After I have a base, I begin to cut out or rip out decorative paper images.  I glue these on by either using Mod Podge or make my own mixture (white glue and water).  Today I have the idea of houses in mind, so I've begun to take different paper, burlap, decorative tissue paper (my favourite) and rip out or cut the shape of whimsical houses.  I also love to use name tags.  Oh, I should mention that before I glue any of these down, I have already glued a layer of tissue paper over the whole canvas to give it some really cool texture.



I begin to glue down my houses by adding some paint.  I add some distressed ink (works awesome and I highly recommend) and I use my ink pad to line some of the edges of my houses.  I continue playing with paint and things kicking around in my craft closet, such as bubble wrap, and create some neat pattern.  Really, you can spend a fortune on mixed media!  There are tons of really great stamps available.  I recommend Tim Holtz stamps!  There also are keys, stickers, and lettering that you can put on.  The sky is the limit!  I will be doing one like that in the future, but for now I want to show you that you can also use what is kicking around your house!

After I have layered enough and painted enough I take out my trusty paint pen and begin to doodle my homes making them more defined.  I also use some indian ink to do this.  After adding a few touches to my sky and some gold ink splatters, I call this finished.

So there you have it!  Really you can't go wrong.  Just be free to create, and have fun!  If you have some little ones around, include them in on the fun they will love it!
Happy creating!

Trish