Mixed Media Artworks are More than a Thousand Words

There is a famous adage which says that a painting can depict a thousand words. However, this cliché can be modified if placed under the context of mixed media art. Mixed media art is worth a million words. But what is mixed media art? Mixed media art, as the name implies, is a work of art that utilizes more than one (1) medium.This is the reason why it can exceed the words that a one-medium painting expresses.

There are various ways by which an artist can produce a mixed media artwork. Two (2) or more drawing materials can be used in order to come up with a painting. For example, a lovely picture of a lady on a canvass can be produced using oil, acrylic and watercolor. Some mixed media artworks also use collage materials. These simple items can be found in our homes like plastic bottles, magazines, newspapers,wood, scrap metals and fabric. In fact, for some people these products can already be considered as trash. This makes mixed media art more interesting because aside from expressing one’s ideas and thoughts, the artist can also help in saving mother earth. Plastic bottles are considered as non-biodegradable. They do not decompose. As such, they reduce landfill spaces and they pollute our oceans and rivers. It also takes huge amounts of fossil fuel, a limited natural resource, to produce them. Scrap metals, when used in a mixed media artwork, also saves the environment because instead of throwing it away, the artist recycles it. Old and defective appliances like television sets, cassette players and VHS players can also be employed in creating a mixed media artwork.

We can also derive a lot of mixed media art ideas from famous artists because a lot of them utilized the said type of artwork. Leonardo da Vinci used charcoal, black chalk and white chalk in coming up with a painting entitled, “The Virgin and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist”. The said artwork is currently located at the national gallery of the United Kingdom. In illustrating the biblical scene of the Annunciation, Leonardo da Vinci used tempera and oil. Tempera consists of colored pigment mixed with a binder that is soluble on water. This painting is the first artwork of Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo also used the same technique in “The Torment of St. Anthony”.

Mixed media artworks are not only limited from the legendary artists of the renaissance era. There are a lot of existing artists which are very passionate about this field of art. The perfect example of this artist is Serena Barton. Would you believe it? She mixes wasabi with common painting materials in some of her collection! Wasabi is a spicy green paste paired by the Japanese with sashimi and sushi. Rhea Carmi, an Israeli mixed media artist, combines sand with other painting media in several of her works. Other artists also use mud in their artworks.

In other words, there are countless ways by which an individual can create a mixed media art piece. The options are endless. One can use simple materials that can be found in one’s bedroom, garden, living room, kitchen or even bathroom. One only needs a huge amount of imagination to succeed in creating a mixed media artwork.

Here are some awesome Mixed Media Art Ideas for you to try out...

Quick Handmade Mothers Day Gift

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Creating Layers Online Tutorial
- Creating layers for mixed media art is really easy, watch the video in this article and you'll surely appreciate the importance on mixed media art layers.

“Wish” Art Journal Layout 

- If you want to learn how to create a layout for your Art Journal, this a very informative post about creating a nice Art Journal layout 

Faux Dichroic Glass 

- Creating something from different stuff is really cool and fantastic. If you want to learn about using glass for your artworks then this post is just for you.

Found Objects for Mixed Media Painting 

- Recycling is really important in our artworks. In this post, you'll discover other things that you can use for your mixed media art projects.

Utilizng Readily Available Materials for Mixed Media Art

All along Mixed Media Art has supported creative ideas to the stage of implementing them to success using materials that are readily available in our homes or those that are relatively cheap to buy compared to undertaking the corporate route of specialty with an entire range to choose from and which you are expected to match. This at times can be very frustrating.

Talking of readily available materials, visually textured backgrounds are easily created by use of text pages obtained from old books, magazines, conference proceedings or even knitting patterns. From them you can create a great background art since they are of different paper textures, font’s types and sizes. On these materials you may also find diagrams or sketches that will effectively add to the background layering. Words could also be used to add meaning and create a story

Old books are more preferred than the use of a book of value because from old books you can create many pages and the covers can be used as substrates for future projects. They can also be used as papermache to provide strength by shrining them together as well as creating interest and especially when knitting or dress making patterns are in play.

Tips When Making a Black Altered Book Page

The process and materials for making a Black Altered Book Page are fairly easy but when all is completed, the end product is so beautiful because of the brightness of active patterns and color. The tools and materials used include:

• Bottled American lamp acrylic paint
• 3 – 5 different sheets of origami paper that come into styles
• Scissors
• Small punch like heart, flower or star
• Aleenes Tacky glue or any other white one
• Sakura metallic gellly roll pen

The technique is also a straight forward activity

• Paint your page spread with black acrylic and let it dry
• Cut and punch origami paper and adhere with glue. Thin wood pulp Origami paper work better especially for punches and is less expensive unlike the washi papers that have toothy, fibrous texture and are more expensive. Washi paper is best for the corners and cut papers.  Glue is applied with a toothpick which helps to keep the other parts of the background better surfaces to work on.
• You can be creative and draw a pathway (or several of them) with one of your pens and write a favorite quote, something you want to say, or perhaps about your joy in creating art. 

You will fill the areas with your favorite patterns as you chose to fill the background with stars and symbols. Many great patterns can be obtained online and there is a lot of fun in creating these pages.

Using Cereal Boxes for your Mixed Media Art Projects

There are different ways that you can use cereal boxes and plastic sheets for your mixed media art projects. One excellent way to use the plastic sheet inside the cereal box is to use it as a protective covering for your altered book project to avoid the paint from getting around the edges of your book when painting or creating a layout. You can also use it as an alternative for plastic covers which can be bought in department stores. So instead of spending money for plastic covers, you can certainly use the plastic sheet inside the cereal box as the cover for your mixed media art projects.

And for the cereal box, you can actually cut the edges evenly and by doing that, you already have a cardboard that you can use as a book cover out from a cereal box or you can as well use if for paintings.

Creating mixed media art projects is really fun! While creating, you can actually discover things that you can reuse. Recycling things is a good practice since recycled materials are free, it can save you lots of cash and by recycling materials for your artworks, you are helping the environment.

Start creating and recycling now!

Stuart Morris, a Successful Artist

Becoming successful in anything is really not that easy. You will definitely need lots of patience and perseverance to reach your goals in life. Like with arts, there are some artists who prosper and there are also some who fail.

Let me introduce you to one of the most triumphant artist in the world today. His name is Stuart Morris. Stuart is a British artist based in East Anglia. Being an artist, Stuart loves using natural materials such as wood, rock and sand, whilst his bold use of color is a nod to the Post-Impressionists that captured his young imagination.

Stuart has an entrenched textile printing business and is the top charity fund raising in the UK. His company - "Stuart Morris" flourished through the years with different clients from home and abroad including heritage and charity organizations.

If you want to be successful like Stuart, here are Stuarts's top 5 tips for aspiring artists

Be single-minded and set your sights on what you want to achieve,

Be determined and don’t let anything stand in your way,

Work hard at your craft,

Release your inhibitions and let your personality come out in your artwork,

Be expressive – the best paintings are not necessarily ‘life-like’, but tell a story

Different Ways in Designing an Altered Book Layout

Designing an altered book layout is really fun and exciting since it brings out the artist in you. You can create a wide range of designs using the different supplies that you have to make your layout really beautiful.

When we talk about designing an altered book layout, there are lots of style that you can apply. You can add some borders to enclose the text in your altered book, you can also highlight the words you want to stress, and adding colors to your altered book layout by drawing anything relevant for your layout and many other things that will fit your layout. You are actually free to design the layout as long as you don't over design it.

With that being said, I know that you'll be able to create a fantastic altered book layout that you'll be proud to share with your family and friends.

So what are you waiting for ? Start creating and designing your altered book layout now!

Get that Gloves Off while Painting

Painting is among the famous art work today. There are lots of people expressing their artistry through painting using different techniques that will boost up the appearance of their work. When painting, there are different tools that you can use to paint. You can use a paintbrush, your hands with gloves and some other tools. These tools can help the artist to make his/her painting look good and beautiful.

However, There are painters who use their bare hands when painting. This is actually among the most exciting technique when painting since you can feel the paint in your finger tips and will make you more careful since you don't want your painting to be messy. Using your bare hands when painting is like going back to your childhood days where you just grab a paint, dip your fingers and stroke it anywhere - remembering the good old days which is really fun and exciting.

It is really nice to experiment sometimes. Painting with that gloves off will certainly make you feel free while painting making your artwork more expressive and personalized. Letting go of your inner child to express your thoughts and feelings can be an outlet to create that masterpiece!

What are you waiting for? Take that gloves off and start painting now!