Mixed Media

Just what are art media? Well, anything that you use to create a work of art. Rather broad definition, isn’t it? But that is the point. Anything you use to create a work of art is a medium. And you can mix it up! While many of us in our day-to-day art are purest, using a single medium to create a work of art, you do not have to be. Either with your day-to-day artwork nor in special works.

Mixing media however, does take understanding of them. Some media mix readily, others do not. In order to know, you have to experiment with them. it is not enough to simply read about them and follow the rules. Acrylics under oils, don’t mix colored pencil and graphite. You need to understand why and what are the results. Sometimes these bad results are exactly what you want! So playing with art and art materials are an essential part of art education.

I have to admit, that I did not have a lot of respect for mixed media. I did not understand it. Mostly I thought of it as bad collage. It is not. What it boils down to is using what you need to get your vision across.