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Venturing into mixed media
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Message
Posted
This mixed media thread seems quite sparse, the most recent post is last year (which could mean end of December, but even so that's still three months now).
I've often pondered on what it is that prompts some people to call their work mixed media. In some cases it's obvious of course and the artist sets out to utilise a variety of techniques in their work. On the other hand I have seen work described as mixed media which it appears to utilise maybe three different mediums. They didn't teach me when I was at college that there was a magic number before a work can be accurately described as mixed media without incurring the wrath of the British Society of Mixed Media Artists, if there is such a thing—but then they didn't teach me much at all so perhaps that's not surprising.
I've recently been exploring the use of those W&N Oilbars in combination with graphite and gesso and am moderately pleased with the results although I find the drying time of the oilbars very frustrating as I like to work quickly. As there are three mediums should I describe the drawings as graphite, oil and gesso or as mixed media? I lie awake at nights wrestling with this.
Posted
From all the literature that the Royal Watercolour Society gives out it is obvious that all forms of water soluble paint may be classed as and is acceptable to them as "watercolour". This includes gouache and even acrylic. Many American clubs and societies would also include casein paint with these.
Thought you'd like to know.
John
Edited
by johnk7
Posted
I'd take 'mixed media' to mean simply work in which no one medium predominates - although the fact is that one usually does, and I'd prefer to go with, eg, watercolour and oil pastel as the label. Trouble with 'mixed media' as a term is that it doesn't really tell you anything.
Ray Balkwill is an exponent of watercolour strengthened with pastel - that is mixed media; you couldn't enter it into a watercolour competition, at least not one with quite firm rules. But because he's explicit about his methods, we all know what's in his paintings - and that's what I want to know. It may not be what the general public wants to know; perhaps most of them wouldn't even care; but while I could probably identify the elements of his paintings just by looking at them, it would be quite frustrating to have them described just as mixed media.
John Kay is right about the criteria for RWS, I think - well, I'm sure he is. It does make me very slightly uneasy, though only really if anyone would say their painting were a watercolour when it isn't. I have a painting in Chromacolour acrylic which I think could be passed off as a watercolour - it even has granulation, as I remember - but naturally I wouldn't: it was an experiment using a finely ground acrylic as watercolour, and one of these days I must do more in the same vein.
Posted
First for Sylvia - I know that the term 'Mixed Media' is widely used but it still does not accurately describe the mediums which an artist is using so - as Robert Jones commented earlier "Mixed Media does not tell you anything". I personally would never use it to describe any of my artwork. It is far better to simply state the mediums used - generally artists rarely use more than two though no doubt exceptions can be found.
All Museum Curators give precise lists of the mediums of the work in their collections. For example you might see 'Pen, black ink, and brown washes'. That might seem over the top for the contemporary artist sending work to an exhibition. But, I think we should make it clear to potential purchasers what materials we use to produce our work
I would take issue with Robert Jones comment on Ray Balkwill. I don't know RB's work or how he labels it. I would prefer to see the label 'Pastel over Watercolour.' rather than 'Mixed Media.' It's sprung to mind that once on the way home from a day on the Malverns I looked in a smart Gallery in Ledbury where there was an exhibition of watercolours. Several of them had pastel additions. I didn't take to them at the time but perhaps I should look again more closely if the occasion arises.
To clear up the situation re. the RWS. The RWS - after a sometimes much heated debate - agreed the following definition: "A painting in a water-based medium on a paper-based support." The Society published a beautiful book titled "The Watercolour Expert." If you love Watercolour and run across a copy you won't be able to resist it - though you might have to extend your mortgage to buy it! And you're not in breach of any rules with your Chromacolour Robert.
Edited
by robK2
Posted
Maybe I'm unusual, or even a bit eccentric in this but if there is no information or just a one-word watercolour or similar, then I am very unlikely to place any comment; what can I say with such a lack of information? Any comment would and could be little more than of the what lovely colours variety (which is in reality an almost meaningless comment in these circumstances because you can guarantee that you're not seeing the same colours that the poster is). I'd go further and say that this might even be considered as a lack of respect for the viewer; I want you to look at and to like my work but I'm not going to tell you anything about it. And I most likely will very quickly pass on to something else; if the poster can't give it any time then neither can I—why should I?
It seems a shame because the galleries and forums here have the potential to be so much more.
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