Mixed media art is exactly what it sounds like. It merges different mediums, techniques, and materials in order to achieve and create new forms of art. For example, sketching a drawing, painting over it, and then finally outlining with markers. This art form has virtually no upper limit in terms of the number of different combinations that can be utilized. Artists are given full freedom to explore and experiment to their curiosity’s content. Although a relatively new style, it is starting to gain traction. And seeing how it’s both flexible yet complex it’s easy to see the appeal to people.
Flexibility
The nature alone of mixed media art provides for a more flexible experience. Artists can use different materials that all have their own strengths and weaknesses. In doing this, the maximum potential of one medium or tool is realized. There are even artists who decide to merge both digital and traditional mediums together, only further demonstrating how malleable mixed media art really is. Seeing how all these materials each have their own characteristics yet find that they can mesh together so well, its no wonder that it has continued rising in popularity.
Techniques
Because of art’s long history, there have been many different techniques that have arisen from it. For instance, in sketching or drawing, there is hatching as a means to depict depth or tone. And using painting as an example, or coloring in general, there are many different techniques to achieve smooth transitions between colors, also known as a gradient. Knowing this, mixed media art can take advantage of all the different techniques that have been developed over time.
Complexity
Due to all the freedom mixed media art has it then becomes difficult for artists to think of what exactly they should do in their work. For this reason, no two works can be exactly the same in mixed media art because every artist has their own specialties and preferences. To create something beautiful, they must take all their best skills and work to make sure that they all weave together seamlessly. Leaning into something that artists are comfortable with can greatly improve art. For this reason, mixed media art can be one of the most challenging art forms, because there is no right or wrong way to approach it.
All in all, mixed media art is something that differs greatly from all the art forms that have come before. No matter how you approach it, there is no right or wrong way. And all this freedom can be daunting to most, but applying different techniques previously established, can create something entirely new and never seen before. If you’re someone who wants to learn mixed media art, the best thing you can do for yourself is to explore different mediums so that you would earn a bigger scope of understanding. Moreover, you could possibly learn more specialized skills in terms of art. Through this, you can gain a better grasp of what your strengths and weaknesses are. And with this information, you can begin to create a masterpiece that is uniquely yours.
Photo Attribution:
1st and featured image from https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-wearing-sunglasses-pasted-on-a-building-wall-2899707/
2nd image from https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-sitting-facing-laptop-computer-with-sketch-pad-57690/
