Have You Ever Considered Creating Mixed Media Art with Your Photos?

In a world where it seems as though every idea has been done before, artists and photographers are looking for even more ways to create unique, concept-driven, and eye-catching work.

As a result, mixed media art has risen in popularity, with creatives looking to other art forms to transform their work to a whole new level. Whether you’re a ceramic artist, sketcher, painter, or more, you can certainly embrace the mixed media trend. Today though, we’ll be focusing on how photographers can create mixed media art with their very own photos.

Sounds interesting, right? Keep reading to find out how you too can get started!

What is Mixed Media Art?

To explore this subject fully, first we must talk about what mixed media art exactly is. Put simply, it’s when an artwork is created using various artistic methods, so an artist might combine their photograph with ink drawings, pencil sketches, and watercolors to create a whole new and unique look. It’s an experimental form of art that produces eye-catching and multi-dimensional work.

Methods of Mixed Media Art

In this section, we’ll be looking at many of the various art forms you can combine with your photography to create the mixed media look you’re after. It’s recommended that you don’t use all of them to enhance your photographic artwork, as sometimes simplicity is best. A good rule of thumb is to pair 1 – 3 of these techniques with your photo for a more cohesive piece of work.

Watercolor

Have you ever spotted a black and white photograph adorned with colourful watercolor paint to truly make it pop? This form of mixed media looks absolutely stunning and the soft, watered-down hues add a whimsical and enchanting look to your work. If you’re just starting to experiment with the art form and are a little hesitant, why not print your chosen photo on a piece of paper, ensuring that there is plenty of white space around it? Then, grab your paint brush and start applying the watercolors around your image to form a dreamy border.

Ink

Applying ink drawings over a photograph is another form of mixed media art and one that has become quite popular in recent times. You can easily experiment with colored or black ink by drawing shapes, designs, or adding text over sections of your image. A great tip is to print multiple copies of your chosen photograph before overlaying it with ink. This way, if you accidentally make a mistake, you can start all over again without any hassles!

Paint

Paint is a great medium to use if you want to get arty and block out certain parts of your photograph. You can also use it to enhance particular parts of your photo, or even to alter the colors entirely. Remember, when it comes to mixed media artworks, the sky is the limit!

Collage

If you don’t feel so confident with paint or ink, how about giving the scissors and glue a go instead? Mixed media artists also enjoy using a collage effect in their work, including layering material, paper, or even other photos. This can add a really interesting and multi-dimensional style to your photo, turning it into a piece with a whole new concept.

Other Materials

Thankfully, the mixed media magic doesn’t just stop there. After all, there are hardly any rules when it comes to creating art. Other artists enjoy layering their photographs with elements such as glitter, golden stars, stickers, confetti, maps, newspaper, and even pressed flowers. In fact, the more unique the material, the better! Why not sit down and brainstorm all of the various materials you can use that are found around your home? You’ll be surprised by how many different pairings you can think of!

Our Favorite Mixed Media Artists

There’s no harm in seeking inspiration from other mixed media artists and doing your research to gain some further ideas. Just remember to put a unique spin on the ideas to make them your own, because no one wants to be accused of plagiarism!

To help you along, we’ve listed some of our favorite mixed media artists below:

• Rocio Montoya
• Anna Bu Kliewer
• Kate Rabbit
• Sandra Chevrier
• Judy Neunuebel
• Marcelo Monreal
• Dr. Propolus

There you have it – an introduction to creating mixed media art with your photos! Will you be experimenting with photography and mixed media anytime soon? If so, we hope this overview has shed some further light on the topic.