A Mixed Media Treasury of
Techniques and Ideas
Sandrine Pelissier
Les Cabines de la Plage en Bretagne
Mixed Media on canvas, 24 x 24 inches
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Contents
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas ..................................................... 1
Part 1: with Watermedia on paper (Watercolor, Inks and Gouache) ........................................ 4
Drawing with dry pastels and adding acrylics ...................................................................................................................4
Painting a layer of gouache on top of a watercolor painting ............................................................................................6
Drawing with colored pencils on top of a watercolor background ...................................................................................8
Sewing on paper ................................................................................................................................................................9
Drawing on top of the figure with watercolor crayons .....................................................................................................9
Drawing some areas of a painting .................................................................................................................................. 10
Adding highlights with oil pastels ................................................................................................................................... 11
Splashing water on top of a watercolor painting ........................................................................................................... 11
Using gouache for white highlights in watercolor .......................................................................................................... 12
Part 2 : With acrylics and mixed media on canvas ................................................................... 12
Scrubbing off layers of paint ........................................................................................................................................... 12
Drawing with dry pastels on top of Acrylic ..................................................................................................................... 14
Using dry pastels as an outline for painting with acrylics .............................................................................................. 14
Adding Thread and other small materials to a painting ................................................................................................. 14
Painting with India ink on top of newspaper collage ..................................................................................................... 15
Using encaustic medium mixed with pigment or oil color ............................................................................................. 16
Adding oil pastels on top of acrylic ................................................................................................................................. 17
Spraying water on wet paint to have it dripping down .................................................................................................. 18
Spraying alcohol on wet acrylic paint ............................................................................................................................. 19
Adding watery layers of paint ....................................................................................................................................... 20
Painting underneath layers in contrasting colors ........................................................................................................... 21
Adding texture with modeling paste .............................................................................................................................. 22
Adding texture with tape, paper or tissue paper ........................................................................................................... 23
Adding texture with fabric and thread ........................................................................................................................... 25
Incorporating pieces of drawings into a new painting ................................................................................................... 26
Using a spatula to spread paint ...................................................................................................................................... 27
Painting with a eye dropper filled with ink, or diluted liquid acrylic or watercolor ..................................................... 28
Spreading paint with a credit card.................................................................................................................................. 28
Scratching off paint with a straw, skewer… ................................................................................................................... 29
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Stamping ......................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Mixing gesso and pumice to draw with dry pastels on canvas ..................................................................................... 31
Incorporating charcoal drawings or lines in a mixed media painting ............................................................................ 32
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Part 1: with Watermedia on paper (Watercolor, Inks and
Gouache)
Drawing with dry pastels and adding acrylics
On this portrait I did some contouring with dry pastels, and then painted the
background with acrylics. Some pastels did mix with the acrylic paint giving a
nice effect. When you are using pastels you will have to fix them with fixative. I
am using Krylon workable fixative. Always spray outside and in a well
ventilated area. Fixative will make the colors a bit darker.
A bird’s eye view of Charlotte
dry pastels and acrylic
You can also paint a background in Acrylic on top of another layer of Acrylic, ink or watercolor. I often use this as an opportunity to add effects on the edges of my figures. If you paint a black background for example with India ink and then paint on top a layer of white acrylic leaving some of the ink showing at the edges, you get a very interesting effect.
Acrylic on top of a black layer, leaving spaces around edges show. Detail of Indigo Mania- Mixed Media on paper- private collection
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Acrylic on top of a black layer, leaving spaces around edges show, Detail ofEmpty Space- Mixed Media on paper- Collection of the Artist
Acrylic on top of a black layer, letting edges show. Detail of ADD series: Why didn't anybody tell me before about the smudged lipstick –
Mixed Media on paper- Collection of the Artist
ADD series:Why didn’t anybody tell me before about the smudged lipstick- mixed media on paper- Collection of the Artist
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Day Off - Mixed Media on paper- Collection of the Artist
Painting a layer of gouache on top of a watercolor painting
Adding gouache in particular in background areas is a nice way to have some opaque areas next to some
transparent areas.
White gouache can be mixed with any watercolor, to give it some color. I usually like to use a blue-grey.
They keep me company, watercolor and gouache on paper
Interesting textures with gouache painted over watercolor
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Vermillion, watercolor and gouache on paper
Blue watercolor and gouache painted over an orange layer
Multi-colored Days, watercolor and gouache on paper
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Drawing with colored pencils on top of a watercolor background
Once watercolor has dried, you can draw on top with watercolor crayons. Using them dry or dipped in water for a
stronger color.
The flower motif was drawn with colored pencils
Thinking, watercolor and mixed media on paper
Some subjects need a bit more definitions and straight lines, like cityscapes. I will sometimes draw those lines
with watercolor crayons on top of the dry painting, like here:
Here I did draw some of the building lines with watercolor crayons.
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To draw volutes, flowers and other details in those paintings, I used the watercolor crayons dipped in water.
Here for volutes and flowers
Here for the stars and the spaceship.
Sewing on paper
Sewing on paper works great, you are just limited by the length of the machine arm. Here is an example:
And here along edges.
Drawing on top of the figure with watercolor crayons
This is a great way to add details and energy to a portrait. Here I drew some lines on top of the painting once it
was dry, as if I was drawing the face again in a very loose way. I a used red watercolor crayon, so the lines can
be visible looking closely at the portrait but will blend in from a distance.
Here, on the face.
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Day off, watercolor and mixed media on paper
And here along edges.
Drawing some areas of a painting
Same idea here, I did draw on the watercolor paper in some areas with watercolor crayons .The area under the
drawing has just been painted with a very light watercolor wash.
The hand and scarf are drawn with watercolor crayons
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Adding highlights with oil pastels
The white highlights on the hair are drawn with oil pastels, before painting, the pastels act as a resist for the
watercolor paint.
Adding highlights with oil pastels
Splashing water on top of a watercolor painting
I really like this technique because it allows me to let go a bit of control especially on my watercolor portraits. I
splash the painting with water and let the paint move where it wants to, I can always dry areas I don’t like while
they are still wet or brush off with water parts when the paint has dried.
Splashing the painting with water
Tales of a lucky hat, watercolor and gouache on paper
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Using gouache for white highlights in watercolor
For small areas, gouache can be more convenient than scrubbing off paint on a watercolor painting.
On this painting I did use gouache on some of the white highlights.
Part 2 : With acrylics and mixed media on canvas
Here are a few techniques I am using in my mixed media paintings on canvas and sometimes paper, the main
medium is often acrylic.
Scrubbing off layers of paint
I like an aged look for my paintings and also complex colors, so I often scrub off paint with a sponge, and
sometimes with sand paper. When the paint is fresh I will just use water, on older paint I might use alcohol to
help remove the acrylic.
Scrubbing off layers of paint
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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One tree: The finished painting
Some paint scrubbed off
Waiting : The finished painting
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Drawing with dry pastels on top of Acrylic
Dry pastels are a good way to try on ideas on your painting because you can always wash the pastel with water if you
don’t like it. You have to fix the pastels with fixative spray; sometimes I also paint on top of the pastel with gel medium to
fix it.
Drawing with dry pastels on top of acrylic, then fixing them with working fixative spray.
Using dry pastels as an outline for painting with acrylics
Of course this will give less resist than oil pastels, but you can still draw with dry pastel and paint with acrylic, the paint
won’t adhere in the parts where you did use the pastel and get mixed a bit with the pastel around the edges.
Painting clouds with a dry pastel outline. I did wash up the pastel when the paint was dry.
Adding Thread and other small materials to a painting
When adding thread, you have to fix it to the canvas or paper, I like to use a heavy layer of gel medium.
Thread add interest to a painting and come sometimes look like a very sharp drawing line.
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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The thread is enclosed in a layer of gel medium
Painting with India ink on top of newspaper collage
I am using gel medium to glue newspaper on my paintings, once the medium has dried, you can add layers of
acrylic or India ink on top the newspaper collage to make it less visible.
Trees with Newspaper collage
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Painting on top of the collage with India ink and white acrylic paint.
Using encaustic medium mixed with pigment or oil color
Using encaustic medium mixed with pigment, here in the background. Encaustic adds a nice mat texture
encaustic medium mixed with pigment
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Adding oil pastels on top of acrylic
Most of the time I will add touches of oil pastels on edges to make them more interesting. When adding oil
pastels or anything with oil, you can’t use an acrylic varnish and will need to use an oil varnish, in spray so the
oil pastel doesn’t dissolve in the varnish.
Oil pastels are very convenient to draw lines on top of the acrylic paint, they add texture as well.
Detail of oil pastel on the edges to add texture and color
Another detail of the painting
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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The finished painting. Tofino Surfers, mixed media on canvas, 24 x 24 inches
Spraying water on wet paint to have it dripping down
Before spraying.
Here I sprayed water on the red and yellow paint to have them diffuse down
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The finished painting: Les cabines de la plage en Bretagne, Mixed media on canvas, 24 x 24 inches, private collection
Spraying alcohol on wet acrylic paint
This will make interesting textures on the paint. For this technique to work, the paint has to be quite liquid
(diluted in water).
Drips of alcohol on wet acrylic paint
I had the painting lying flat so the alcohol drops could stay in place
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Here another example with darker paint
Adding watery layers of paint
I do that sometimes with acrylics, or inks or watercolors.
Here a layer of white ink on the sky.
sea wall, the finished painting
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Painting underneath layers in contrasting colors
Here the areas of the blue green buildings have been painted orange.
Feom Vancouver to the mountains, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches
All light areas have been first painted in black.
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Exhibition : Acrylic on canvas
Adding texture with modeling paste
Modelling paste was spread on the board and left to dry before painting. Some painting has been scratched as well in later layers.
Fall colors at the end of the day
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Adding texture with tape, paper or tissue paper
Adding dry wall tape to add texture to a painting.
Buzzing trees
Pasting tissue paper with gel medium to add texture before painting.
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Fall evening in the forest
Piece of paper collaged on canvas before painting.
The lonely road
Here the tissue paper collage has been highlighted with dry pastels.
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Week end escapade at the beach
Adding texture with fabric and thread
Tree made with thread and highlighted with dry pastels.
Fabric collaged on canvas with gel medium
Thread Tree, mixed media on board.
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Incorporating pieces of drawings into a new painting
A drawing on technical paper collaged underneath the painting.
Winter day walk
Here also a piece of drawing underneath the painting.
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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The Picnic Spot- Mixed Media on Canvas
Using a spatula to spread paint
I like the look of paint spread with a rubber spatula, you can get the same effect by using painting knives, or a plastic card,
a piece of rubber...
Using a spatula to spread paint.
Somewhere 11, mixed media on canvas, 30 x 30 inches, private collection
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Painting with a eye dropper filled with ink, or diluted liquid acrylic or watercolor
Painting with an eye dropper
Seaweed Shore- Mixed media on canvas
Spreading paint with a credit card
Scrapping off paint with credit card
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Fields : A Camaieu in Pink
Scratching off paint with a straw, skewer…
Scratching off paint.
Stamping
Stamping on modelling paste and letting it dry before painting.
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Stamping and paper collage in layers under the painting.
Stamping under layers of dry pastels.
Spring at the Cabin, mixed media on canvas, 30 x 30 inches
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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Stamping on wood panel and acrylic
Painting the stamps with acrylic and medium
Mixing gesso and pumice to draw with dry pastels on canvas
A mix of pumice and gesso was spread on the area where I wanted to draw the pears with pastels.
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Pears, mixed media on canvas.
Incorporating charcoal drawings or lines in a mixed media painting
I like drawing with charcoal on wood panels, the texture of the wood gives an interesting look to the drawing,
Here are two examples:
Lake Louise, mixed media on wood panel
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You can see the texture of the wood on the drawing here
People at the beach, mixed media on panel.
Adding lines of charcoal on a mixed media painting. They will have to be fixed with workable fixative before painting on
top.
More coming soon...
A Mixed Media Treasury of Techniques and Ideas
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This e-book is a compilation of ideas I used while painting on paper and canvas with various media. To see
complete tutorials on most of the paintings shown here, you can check out my e-book or book :
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