AVOID these common MIXED MEDIA MISTAKES

do you ever hear the words mixed media and just want to run the other way if this is you then i'm here to help after teaching mixed media techniques for several years i realized that there is a few common mistakes that my students often make that brings them a lot of frustration but could be easily avoided so today i'd love to share with you some simple mixed media tips that not only will help alleviate that feeling but would also save you time the first tip is using thick paper it sounds simple but if you're going to use paper as a substrate then it's important to use thick mixed media or watercolor paper i wouldn't recommend anything lower than 100 pounds i usually work with either 140 pound watercolor paper or 120 pounds mixed media paper but 100 pounds is the thinnest i would ever use when you buy a paper pad art journal or paper pack the weight of the paper is usually listed on the packaging the thicker the paper the less likely it will rip soak or tear when adding the wet mediums but there's also another way to avoid these unfortunate mistakes which leads me to tip number two priming priming is like the base coat we add to our walls before painting them like our walls our surfaces need gesso as a base for two very important reasons one it will protect the surface especially if you're using paper as it could ruin very easily and two to help the paint stick better to the surface as gesso has grit but it's not as porous as paper let me show you what i mean i have this paper which i'm dividing into two parts i'm adding white gesso to one side and then drying it well now i'll spray both sides as you can see on the non-gessoed side the spray gets absorbed directly into the paper when i turn the paper around you can see that in the non-gessoed side the collar went right through it while the other side is protected showing you do's and don'ts of mixed-media is great but it's pointless if i don't show you how to create a finished project so today i'm going to be creating an art journal and the first thing i'm doing is priming the pages with the same white gesso as a base it not only protects my page but it will prepare it for the next few layers i apply sealing sealing is usually just as important as priming especially if you're using papers tissue or fabrics on your surface i have split a paper here again into two sides and i'm gluing some thin book paper onto it on one side i'm just gluing the paper without sealing it and on the other side i'm sealing it thoroughly to seal my surface i used an artist gray gel medium to show you how your page could possibly get ruined i am going to spray both sides with green you can see that the wet color completely soaks the book paper on the non-sealed side while the sealed side gets protected even when dried the paper is more fragile and can get ruined or frayed just by rubbing my finger on it not sealing your papers once you glue them could lead to devastating results it could tear them fray them or completely soak them depending on how thin they are why should we cause ourselves unnecessary stress when it's such a simple step i'm applying the book pages to my art journal as well to add some layered texture to the background and it also adds some script design i love using book pages as they're free because i have so many books just sitting on an old bookshelf collecting dust you could cover the whole background or like i did here just tear the paper and glue it in pieces in some places once dried i add a thin layer of white gesso again to prime the surface as the gel has a slippery finish and could resist the paint then i dry everything really well which leads me to my next tip drying i can't emphasize enough how important this tip is and trust me it's my least favorite as i'm such an impatient person but if you want things to work out well dry dry dry having a heat tool is super helpful especially if it's one that diffuses heat let me show you what happens if you don't when applying paste paste gives you a wonderful 3d effect when applied through a stencil but if it's not fully dried it will smush i can't tell you how many times i've done that in the past not only with paste but even when applying paint or gesso to the surface and one extra tip when you're drying do not focus the heat tool on one spot as it can bubble up or burn your surface move the dryer around back and forth or in a circular motion to avoid that blending colors blending colors sometimes is one of the most difficult steps as we need to understand color theory however one of the most common theories for blending colors is to stay within color families use warm colors with warm colors and cool tone colors together let me show you what i mean i'm spraying green onto my paper right here and then spraying orange it immediately turns into brown if brown is what you want then by all means mix them together but if your intention is to blend colors then use colors from the same family like i did here with the blue and green notice they blend nicely without being altered now let me show you what happens when i mix warm colors together in my art journal here i'm spraying orange first then yellow and finally some pink no matter what type of coloring agent you use you will get the same results of course there are warm colors that mix beautifully with cool ones such as yellow and blue or red and blue and as you continue to learn more about color theory you will be able to expand your knowledge on how to combine colors from both families together and here is another tip for you one of the most rewarding aspects of mixed media is the finishing touches they literally bring a project to life i really feel this step is so important i often use things like stamping for texture or for a focal point like i'm doing here with my own designed brush texture stamp this is one of my favorite stamps and all i did is stamped cut and glued the brushes side by side to the top of my page then i use some black paint to create beautiful splatters which is one of my favorite techniques for a finishing touch adding a border and some doodling are two more amazing tips that help frame the whole spread i believe that once you understand and become comfortable with these tips it will open up so many amazing possibilities to your mixed media projects i have another amazing video for you right here with even more helpful tips on color theory and finishing touches the more tips you learn the more you will broaden your knowledge and start feeling so much more confident when creating click this video right here to get you started

Channel: Keren Tamir

Views: 36,189

Rating: 4.9386301 out of 5

Keywords: keren tamir, keren tamir art, mixed media, art, mixed media art, artwork, artist, mixed media artwork, mixed media artist, art journaling, art journal, art journaling heals, tell your story, tell your story through art, healing through art, healing through art journaling, a guide to art journaling, art journal process, art journaling pages, art journal collage, mixed media collage

Id: vtRh0mUigu4

Length: 7min 32sec (452 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 20 2021