Sunday, July 10, 2011

Contemporary Mixed Media Art

By Clara Berta


The roots of mixed media painting are in the the later part of Victorian years from around 1870 to 1914, referred to as "La Belle Epoque." Translated from the French, this actually means "the beautiful age," or "the gilded age." Fast advancements in science, technology and loosening social mores inspired artists of the time to discover unknown waters of creative expression. As a result, the arts went through a major transformation. New, progressive styles such as Impressionism and Art Nouveau started to cross over from the underground avant-garde into the mainstream.

In the visual arts, a mixed media painting is actually a work of art that uses several medium. A good example of mixed media might be a collage that has paint, seashells, and bird down. A fairly common technique for painters is mixing oil, watercolour and also acrylic paints into a single painting. Practically any combination can be utilized, restricted only by the artists' creative thinking and available materials. A mixed media collage has several design layers, each one made from a different medium. An artist can use any medium he / she wants, but paper, pencil, marker, as well as pen are usually employed in a mixed media collage. These types of collages can possibly be two-dimensional display art, like a painting on a canvas or a page in a scrapbook, or a 3D sculpture.

Another variation of contemporary mixed media painting is combining paint with other paper media including pen-and-ink drawings. Advances in technology also make it easier for present-day artists to combine traditional printmaking techniques with digital photography or images. Multimedia art, an associated form, was influenced by mixed media painting. Multimedia art differs from mixed media in that non visual elements can be utilized. An example might be mixing recorded music, dance and spoken word poetry to a single work. The various art supplies used by mixed media artists range from the conventional to the creative. Oil- and water-based paints are regularly utilized in mixed media artwork along with ink, pastels, and pencils. In preserving the non traditional facet of mixed media art, wide variety of materials is utilized in mixed media sculpture and collage art. Modern mixed media artists have been known to utilize string, buttons, newspaper clippings, and bits of glass or metal into their mixed media art installations.

Mixed media is typically made in layers. The artist selects each layer carefully and allows enough time for every layer to dry completely. Discovered things like bottle caps, matchbooks, or rocks are often used for effect. Bits of jewelry, mismatched buttons, pens, bolts, cereal boxes, screws and nails may well give some added visual colour as well as interest. Using these kinds of elements in a mixed media painting can provide brand new meaning to these kinds of seemingly insignificant stuff. This technique brings even more texture and depth to the artwork.

Only the creativity limits a mixed media artwork. A few mixed media artists work only with natural materials to send an earth-friendly message. Recycled materials are frequently utilized in mixed media art projects, allowing artists to express their creativity by repurposing daily objects as well as used objects. Aluminum containers, plastic bottles, along with locally made products could help tell a particular story through art.




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