Mixed media artists from around the world.

1. Mixed Media

2. The Tate Museum in London
describes mixed media as
‘artworks composed from a
combination of different media
or materials’. It began to make
an appearance, as we have
seen in our last presentation,
with artists Pablo Picasso and
George Braque.

3. This presentation introduces you to artists
that have used mixed media techniques in
their paintings. It will give you an idea of
what effects can be achieved with mixing
media and introduce you to some new
vocabulary and techniques associated with
combining different media. It will briefly give
you an insight to where these artists gained
their inspiration from for their work. It will
also give you some ideas so you can create
your own mixed media artwork.

4. One important term to keep in mind when creating works in
oils is ‘fat over lean’. This means means the first ‘layer’
should be applied relatively thinly-be given time to dry,
before a thicker layer is applied. Technically there should be
no medium (oil) in the base coat. Better to build up layers,
this helps to ensure the first layer is dry. Oils straight from a
tube (fat) and oils mixed with a linseed oil/damar take a
LONG time to dry-there must be less oil in the first layer that
the successive-if another layer is applied before the first
layer dries it results in different drying times which creates
instability and layer shrinkage/cracking. If you are working in
acrylics and oils-it is water-based first then oil. Again, when
working in acrylics-wait for 1st layer to dry before applying
another. When combining other mediums or objects
remember to wait for these to dry before continuing.

5. Cy Twombly (1928-2011)
Twombly was an American painter, draftsman, printmaker
and sculptor. He was associated with the abstract
impressionists. His work developed a more graphic
aesthetic as years progressed and he used various
mediums on the one support-oils, pencil, crayon, collage,
chalk-often working into the ground whilst the paint was
still wet (But he wasn’t applying a thick layer of oils over a
wet layer!) He had a distinctly personal calligraphy that
served to communicate literary messages. He was
interested in portraying history and time- His work often
consisted of layers-worked and reworked resulting in a
diffusion of scrawling graffiti, marks and obscured images
that echoed the passage of time. He spent a large part of
his life in Italy and travelling, returning periodically back to
America.
(MoMa, 2014).

11. Robert Rauschenberg 1925-2008
Rauschenberg was one of America’s greatest artists. He
influenced, and still influences, generations of artists.
Highly curious, he explored many mediums -his
blending of materials and techniques, resulted in what
he termed ‘combines’(assemblages) He was an
important figure in bridging and ex-tending ideals from
the dadaist’s inquiries influencing Abstract
Expressionism and Pop art right through to
contemporary art movements. He experimented with
many techniques, incorporating screen-printing,
painting, found objects, collage, sculpture and painting
into his work. He allowed viewers to create their own
interpretation of his work.(The Art Story
Foundation,2014)

17. Antoni Tapies-1923-2012
Tapies was one of Spain’s greatest modern artists. A
painter, printmaker and sculptor his works are often
large to huge in scale. Primarily self-taught, he
abandoned the study of law to pursue the life of an
artist. He used earth, metal, clay and marble dust,
organic and inorganic material, collage and found
objects in his work. Often very sculptural in
appearance his painting was strongly characterised
by heavy impasto. His work reflects the social and
polical events of the time. His name in Catalan
means ‘Wall’, very fitting as most works are very
textural, reminescent of old ruins. In later years his
work reflected Eastern influences. (Fundació Antoni
Tàpies, Alley 1981)

23. Jasper Johns 1930-
John’s used found objects, torn newspaper and mass
produced goods and imagery in his work and in doing so
broke down the boundaries between fine art and
consumer, mass culture paving the way for the Pop Art
movement’s aesthetic embrace of popular culture. He
often used icons and imagery in his work that was already
familiar to audiences-like the flag, numbers or his work
‘Map’. Like Rauschenberg, he admired Marcel Duchamp
and also left the interpretation of his work to the viewer. He
was also a fine printmaker, a sculptor , he made drawings
and participated in multimedia collaborations. He had a
strong influence on successive art movements, among
them Pop, Minimal and Conceptual art.(The Art Story,
2014)

29. Jim Dine 1935-
Jim Dine was a painter, graphic artist, sculptor, poet and printmaker.
His subject matter often dealt with ordinary objects from daily life. His
themes comprised of personal identity, memory and the body. As well
as paintings, he made many prints, both etchings and lithographs of
tools-we can saw here the link with personal identity, because both
Dine’s father and grandfather ran a hardware store. He is also quoted
as saying
‘ I don't deal exclusively with the popular image. I'm more concerned
with it as a part of my landscape. Pop Art is only one facet of my
work. More than popular images, I'm interested in personal images.'.
Dine( cited in Artcylopedia, np)
His early work were paintings, images on canvas with attached
objects, such as peices of clothing or garden tools. He often repeated
themes, interpreting them in different mediums and by the 60’s his
work was quite recognisable, and he is associated particularily with
the bathrobe and the stylised heart.

35. The next slide contains terms that
requires you to find and write their
definitions. These art terms and
techniques relate to the PowerPoint
‘Painting’ as well, so the vocabulary is
shared between the 2 presentations.
This is because both mixed media and
painting share some techniques and
materials- depending on the
medium(s) used.

36. Key Terms
Assemblage
Dry brush technique
Emulsion
Impasto
Prime/Priming
Gel medium
Gesso
Scumbling
Matte Medium
Underpainting
Transfer/Photo Transfer
Write the definition of each of these terms.
Look in the glossary section of the web-site.