Mixed Media Art Collages

Finding ways to keep myself entertained this winter has led me to the world of Mixed Media Collage!  I had a brief exposure to Mixed Media a few years back when I was in Ottawa Canada for a Girl’s Weekend spent with my college girl friends.  One of the days we were there we took a field trip to a small art studio and we each painted and embellished a canvas and created our own unique works of art.  I still have mine hanging in my laundry room.  That’s it there hanging on the wall in the photo below.    It was very simple and I still love it.  So after getting all my art and craft supplies and a trip or to to Hobby Lobby and Michael’s for even more supplies, I sat down and started working on my first canvas.

And now I have learned that there is a whole world of Mixed Media Art out there and lots of people willing to share their ideas, expertise, and talent on blogs, Pinterest, and Youtube. I have been Youtube binging on videos by Christy Tomlinson!  I love her work!  Her videos are so inspiring and informative and she shows you from start to finish how she creates her mixed media pieces.   I have seen so many really cool pieces of work elsewhere online and it has made me want to give it a try myself. I have become mini-obsessed with the artform.  You absolutely cannot do it wrong!  It’s such a fun and relaxing form of expression and it’s easy to loose yourself in it.  And that’s why I like it! 

 

I think what appeals to me most is the layering of media, objects, and color. For the piece I did, I started with a blank canvas that I applied a single coat of Gesso.  This helps everything else you add to your canvas really hold on tight!   At first I really didn’t have much of an idea of what I wanted to do.  The only thing I had that I knew I wanted to use was the flower I sketched and painted with watercolors that I painted on a page from an old dictionary that I picked up at Goodwill for 75 cents.  I am starting to become addicted to painting on those dictionary pages but that is a blog post for another day. 

Anyway…I also had a little bottle of the prettiest aqua blue paint that I knew I wanted to use.  My photos don’t do that color justice but it’s a rich beautiful color on the finished piece.  After covering the canvas in the aqua paint and letting it dry, I started deciding what I wanted to include.  The dictionary flower was a given and from there I cut out the large heart out of some scrapbook paper. The butterflys have been sitting in a craft drawer while waiting for a home.  More scrap book paper was cut for the tall border on the side, a few letter stickers that look like typewriter keys spelling the word “Grow”and some randomly place trios of white paint dots and I was on my way.

My favorite find were the flowers.  I found them at Hobby Lobby.  They were in the embellishment section of the store and the box had 65 petal pieces in it for $4.99. and I used my 40% off coupon on that.  I also picked up a package of mini brads that I used to assemble the flowers and they couldn’t be any cuter.  I randomly glued them on my canvas, and use a large script stamp to add some randomly placed script for interest.  Then it was time for the words I wanted to use.  In the past I have been frustrated when trying to decoupage images and photos I have printed myself with my inkjet printer.  After some investigation with the help of Google, I found a solution that I decided to give a try and it worked!  I printed out the words in the size and shape I wanted to use and then I took some regular clear packing tape and I covered all of my words with the tape.  I cut them out and then Mod Podged them to my canvas and darn it worked!  No smearing of the ink!  The tape also gave the words some weight and made them really easy to work with.  Next time I might also use the tape on the back side…I was so worried that even though they didn’t run or smear from the backside they might have if they sat in the wet Modge Podge long enough.  Better safe than sorry. 

  

And look here how much the small touch of outlining the works in a black Sharpie makes a before and after difference. 

So if you want to try something new, why not check out the world of Mixed Media?  There is an abundance of inspiration on Pinterest.  Just do a search on Mixed Media Art and enjoy the art show!