By Steve S Sanchez| Submitted On January 24, 2008 Mixed media art should not be confused with multi-media art, which integrates or moves between visual, aural, oral, computer-generated and other forms of expression in innovative ways and combinations. Mixed media artists, on the other hand, while usually remaining within the domain of visual art, invariably have an experimental turn of mind and are frustrated by the traditional requirement to stick to one of the classic media such as oils, watercolour, pastels or acrylics within a single work, or indeed within their oeuvre as a whole.
Inventive artists have always had the urge to widen their means of expression, whether by using the wrong end of the brush or mixing earth or sand into their paint. This impulse can be seen in paintings from every period, but in the past artists were very much constrained by the physical limitations of the materials they had to hand. Paints at their simplest are a mixture of ground-up pigments added to a medium which not only allows them to be spread evenly, but also retains and fixes them on the surface to which they are applied.
Deviating from tried and tested methods might lead to rapid degradation of the work and protests about quality, longevity and value for money from patrons. In the past there was probably a more pragmatic and utilitarian approach to art as a whole. People expected the art they bought to last, in conditions often a lot more variable and a lot less favourable than today. Storage vaults with climate-controlled atmospheres were a thing of the future; so were sophisticated conservation and restoration techniques.
There is still nonetheless a consensus of opinion among many contemporary artists, and their buyers, that applied colour and texture should not fade, rot, brush off or degrade unduly unless this process is a planned part of the work.
However, modern materials allow for this need while enabling a much wider number and combination of materials to be used within a single work. The artists of today have a hugely increased range of products at their service- not only clever new synthetic paints and finishes which prolong drying time and add to the colours and effects possible, but also, crucially, glues, compounds and carrier mediums which allow them to incorporate such materials as metal, plastic, fabric, plaster, and wood into a painted or collaged surface.
The technical possibilities for mixed media artists are almost unlimited. In the past, too, each period had its own ideas as to what constituted suitable subject-matter and techniques for artistic creation. These fashions in turn provoked rejection and innovation. Nowadays there is much less agreement among the art world and the public about what constitutes beauty or interest in the observed world. Almost nothing is off-limits in terms of subject-matter, and this is reflected in the matter of materials. What is more, a growing concern for the environment, coupled with this more dispassionate attitude to the physical environment, has led to an interest in creating art from recycled materials.
Today's throwaway society sends to landfill a myriad of manufactured materials which, in their almost unimaginable variety of colours, textures and characteristics, offer a particular challenge and delight to inventive artists. For the first time in history since prehistoric cave art, art materials can be had for the taking!
S S Sanchez is a freelance art expert for Jill Tattersall, a Lincolnshire, UK based artist.
Mixed Media Art And Home Decorating
By Clara B. Berta | Submitted On March 08, 2011 Home decoration will involve several things such as colors, furniture, fabric and a few additional accessories. For a few people, home decor might call for thousands of dollars while it just takes a few imagination by a few people to make spectacular changes. Working with a professional home decorating individual is always a better plan but it involves a lot of cash. A professional decorator will certainly provide a stylish as well as nice atmosphere to your property and they are well aware of the hottest trends. They have a very professional point of view as compared to an amateur decorator since they have both experience as well as talent. They can improve your uninteresting, non-happening place right into an exhilarating place to hang in. Most have a false perception that the room must be perfectly picked up as well as clean. This happens to not be the truth and absolutely no home must be this way. Keep in mind that your property can be untidy; it gets that way if it is lived in yet be sure that your home is nice and clean, this is actually the main thing. You happen to be living in your house thus it must be furnished exactly how you want it to be. While you are out searching for anything which is going into your house, do shop with the idea that anything will grow on you. When shopping in this manner, you will not be bound to anything which you do not prefer. Anything that is a print should be combined with colors but they should not be matched. This is effective in case you blend your favored color in any room with any add-ons that happen to blend with the print. When you use prints to decorate, tend not to use too many since your room will happen to look somewhat racy. Put a couple of pictures as well as a lamp perhaps a pair and an area rug. You happen to be decorating your property nothing else. A rug will make a good decorating tool for any room in your home. There are many various colors which are available which will warm any floor surface and also protect it. Plants ought to be suitable and ought to highlight the primary colors in your house. Occasionally, keeping the site quite simple is usually the best way to go. Try to get rid of as much clutter as you possibly can as well as make use of simple color combinations such as black and white. Installing rope lighting under the bed, some likewise have a light source night. No matter what you decide to decorate with, like if you opt to apply mixed media art, keep in mind that it is easiest to keep your job fun. Make sure you keep your home decorating simple and not overly difficult. Are you tired of looking at that plain white wall inside your home? Maybe it's time for you to consider mixed media art and collage art to transform your home into something more unique and stylish. Putting your own touch to the overall design will make your home represent your personality.
Where to Find Inspiration For Mixed Media Art
By Michelle G Brown | Submitted On August 08, 2010
When I sat done to write this article, I didn't know what I was going to write about. So I started thinking about where our inspiration come from. We can go online, there are 1,000 of articles and blogs and great artwork But it is SO easy to get distracted - check our Facebook, see what our friends are up to; post a few comments, follow blogs and comments to find new artists and artwork - before you know it - ONE WHOLE hour has passed..... how did that happen? - it may explain why it has gone dark out and your fingers and cold and cramping over the keyboard. Maybe a little inspiration has entered your head - but no art has been made. We can flick through magazines to look at techniques and colours But it is so easy to become overwhelmed by the glossy photos and the gorgeous pieces with lots of layers and put together with such mastery that we would never be able to copy it, let alone create an individual piece - before you know it - time has passed but no art has been made If we are looking for inspiration, there are times where new techniques and seeing what others have made is important; it feeds our minds and allows our clever brains to put an idea together with a colour scheme we saw with a technique we haven't done in ages.. And to get it done - we need to sit down at our art tables and DO IT. If inspiration doesn't hit when we have the time, I often start by gathering up the left over pieces on my table (sorting as needed, throwing away *cringes* if I must). Sometimes a colour will catch my attention, then I will go in search of other similar colours I have, or images that will match or fit my mood This is where the inspiration begins to get momentum. Sometimes that's all that I need to get an idea; gathering like colours. If that still hasn't got me inspired, when I've got some leftover pieces of paper and some matching colours, I will find some blank card and cut a few ATC's (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") or a greeting card base and put things together without too much thinking, as I usually would. In most cases, by now I am MAKING art in full swing with ideas pouring out of my head. Then there are other times where inspiration still hasn't hit. That's when I need to evaluate if making art is going to happen today - am I too sick or too tired or just my head is too busy thinking of other thinks? At these times I will dig out my sketchbook (a term I use loosely, as doodling book is more accurate) or a piece of paper and my coloured pencil (a simple 12 pack) and put colour on the paper. I'm not a drawer or fine artist (that's why I love mixed media art) but I can do squiggles and lines and attempt to shade. Some times I just write words, letting my mind wander... And I may not end up with a masterpiece, ready for the next glossy mag edition, but I have given myself permission to create something simple, giving myself a rest and hopefully added ideas to my brain to sort into inspiration for another time. Sometimes we can find inspiration and we are off and creating; other times it needs more encouragement to surface... then there will be those occasions where it is not happening - let's just accept that and get a few other things done, clear the desk (both physically and mentally). We are complex human beings after all, and there will always be another day to repeat the process, and find that inspiration. Happy creating, or doodling, for which ever mode you are in. Michelle Michelle Brown is a mother and an engineer, who is passionate about all aspects of mixed media art.
