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. An example of mixed media might be a collage that has paint, seashells, and bird down. A very common method for painters is mixing oil, watercolour and also acrylic paints to a single painting. Basically any combination can be used, confined only by the artists\’ creative thinking and available materials. A mixed media collage has multiple design layers, each made from a different medium. An artist can utilize any medium he / she wants, but paper, pencil, marker, and pen are usually employed in a mixed media collage. These collages can either be two-dimensional display art, like a painting on a canvas or a page in a scrapbook, or a 3D sculpture.

Another variation of modern mixed media painting is mixing paint with other paper media such as pen-and-ink drawings. Advances in technology also make it less difficult for today\’s artists to mix traditional printmaking methods with digital photography or graphics. Multimedia art, a related form, was influenced by mixed media painting. Multimedia art differs from mixed media in that non visual elements can be utilized. A good example may be combining recorded songs, dance and spoken word poetry into a single work. The various art materials used by mixed media artists range from the traditional to the creative. Oil- and water-based paints are frequently used in mixed media artwork along with ink, pastels, and pencils. In preserving the non traditional side of mixed media art, wide variety of materials is used in mixed media sculpture and collage art. Modern-day mixed media artists have been known to make use of buttons, strings, newspaper clippings, and pieces 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.