Mixed Media Collage

An easy step-by-step guide for beginners

Doris Charest

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Why I started this class.• First, thank-you for signing up for this course. I am

happy to have you onboard. This is the first step in learning all about Mixed Media Collage. This course is structured for success so I hope you will love learning about these new techniques.

have been teaching this class for many years. Often my students would take the class over again because they said there were so many details they forgot steps and needed a refresher.

So, this on-line class is meant to cover everything that I teach but instead of taking the class over again, you have it with you forever.

Mixed media is my favorite for of painting. I love the exploration of textural elements and color.

I have several awards for this type of work and I find that I am always intrigued by the variety of work that I can create with a few simple materials.

I have done several different series’ and explored themes such as dreams, florals, and still life. I am currently working on landscape.

• You will learn what tools you need.

• You will learn the basics about pencils, brushes, painting surfaces and acrylic paint

• You will learn how to create your own painted papers

• You will learn about colour families and how they make a better painting

• You will learn how to collage papers onto a canvas or other painting surface

• You will learn how to add photocopy transfers

• You will learn how to combine collage, acrylic paint and transfers to create a unique artwork

• You will learn what ‘archival’ means, about copyright issues, a short history of mixed media

• You will learn about the variety of paintings that you can create with mixed media

What you will learn

All About Doris Charest

4 Whitehall Crescent, St. Albert, AB T8N3G4 E-mail:dorischarest@gmail.com

Education: BED University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB BFA University of Calgary, Calgary, AB MED in Visual Art Education, University of Alberta, AB Solo Exhibitions 2010 Views of St. Albert, Art Beat Gallery, St. Albert 2009 Featured Artist, Capital X, Edmonton, AB 2008 Flora, Le Bookstore, St. Albert, AB 2007 Prairies, Allied Art Gallery, Spruce Grove, AB 2007 La Nature et sa Richesse, Alliance Gallery, Calgary, AB Group Exhibitions (Selected) 2013 Fear-Graduation Show for MED, CAVA, Edmonton, AB 2013 Still Life, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC 2012 Landscapes, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC 2012 Rhythm, Pava Gallery, Edmonton,AB 2012 Love lies bleeding, Edmonton & Calgary, AB 2012 Exploration, Cava Gallery, Edmonton, AB 2012 Inspired by Travel, Leighton Centre, Calgary, AB 2012 Passages, Loughheed House, Edmonton, AB 2012 Abundance of Nature, Cava Gallery, Edmonton, AB 2011 Where are we going?, Herbert Coutts Library, U. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB 2011 Summer, Art Beat Gallery, St. Albert, AB Awards and Honors 2013 First place-Still life, Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver, BC 2011 Sylvie Brabant Award, Regroupement artistique francophone de l’Alberta, Edmonton, AB 2009 Featured Artist, Capital X, Edmonton, AB 2008 Grant –Association Canadienne Francophone de l’Alberta, Alberta 2008 Featured Artist, Night of Artists Magazine, Canada 2007 Featured Artist, Leisure Painter Magazine, England 2007 Featured Artist, Somerset Magazine, United States 2006 Guest Artist, Society of Western Canadian Artists, Edmonton, AB 2005 Invited Guest Artist, Événement Fribourg-Collective pan-canadienne, Mont-Joli, Québec

Why mixed media?

Mixed media and collage are a great way to create artwork. This method of working is ‘error free’. You just keep adding to the painting until you are happy. I started collage as a way of relaxing in between paintings and now, it is my favorite medium. The worst that can happen is that your painting will get heavy.

You can use many different techniques; collage, stamping, stencilling, photo transfers and more.

Mixed media is fun and relaxing.

Abandon yourself to exploration and creativity.

Mixed media history

• Collage elements have been used in painting for many years. Some of the artists that used collage were Picasso, Matisse, and….

• Until acrylic paint came into vogue, collage elements were used minimally because oil paint caused the materials to disintegrate with time.

• Master artists that used various water media and collage materials in their work include:

• Again, remember that materials that are not archival will yellow, crack or change over time. This will affect the look of your artwork.

Outline Introductions.

-Why I started this class

-Why mixed media?

-History of Mixed Media.

-Outline

Chapter 1 -Getting started: What you will need.

-Basic overview

-Pencils

-Brushes

-Painting surfaces

-Paint-What does archival mean?

-Inspirational message

Outline continued

• Chapter 2 My technique for making collage papers

• -Painting tissue papers

• Chapter 3 Collage papers -Part 2

• -Other techniques to try - part I, II, III

• Chapter 4 Once the papers are dry

• -Examples of collage

• -Exercise

• -Fixing bubbles

• - Final steps

• Chapter 5 Adding photocopy transfers

• -The photocopy transfer process

• -Copyright

• -Examples

• -Last steps

• Chapter 6 Final Review

• -Happy Accidents

• -Examples of different possibilities

• -Final Tip

Outline continued

End of first section

Materials: what you will need.

Art supplies explained this way

Basics: A painting surface x ? (many)

Acrylic paint Brushes

Pencils

• There are a large variety of pencils.

• The most common is the HB. That is the one most people use in everyday life.

• Suggested pencil: 2B

HB

H

2B

4B

6B

This is your every day pencil.

Brushes

• There are all kinds of brushes and it is confusing. Here are the basics:

• Angled brushes. Good for large areas and straight areas.

• Flat brushes. Good for straight edges.

• Round brushes. Good for nature or areas that are not hard edged.

• Fan brush. Every beginner loves this brush. Usually used for making grass shapes.

Angled brushes

Round brushes

Flat or square brushes

Round brushes

Fan brushRigger brush

Basic Brushes

My brushes After a while you have favorite brushes.

Brushes -part 2 Brushes come in various shapes and sizes. Prices for brushes vary. If you buy natural hair brushes, you can pay in the hundreds of dollars per brush. However, most artists buy ‘Taklon’ brushes, an artificial bristle. These brushes can vary from two dollars to over twenty dollars per brush. Buy the best you can afford. Eventually, you will start to prefer certain sizes and work mainly with those. It is good to keep a few extra around just in case you need them for a special technique.

Different sizes are recommended: A four inch brush-flat A two inch brush- flat A one inch brush-flat A half-inch brush -flat A size 8 round A size 2 round A size 3 rigger brush

End of pencils and brushes

Painting surfaces:

• Paper: Watercolor paper (140 lb.) or one similar to this works really well as a surface to work on. There are two basic kinds of paper; hot press and cold press. Hot press has a smooth surface while cold press has a pebbly surface that catches the paint better (my opinion).

• Canvas: Any canvas is a good surface for mixed media. If you are buying inexpensive canvases, covering the surface with an extra coat of gesso (recommended strongly).

• Illustration board: The heavier the weight of the illustration board, the better it is for mixed media. Illustration board is best for smaller works. The board tends to warp with larger paintings.

• Hard board: This material is available at most art supply stores or even hardware stores. Be sure to coat your surface with gesso. Three coats is best. Again, smaller sizes are better. Warping can occur with larger boards.

• Other choices: Matt board, an inexpensive surface to work on, is best if kept to smaller sizes. Larger matt board surfaces tend to warp. Again, it is important to coat the surface with gesso. Plexi-glass is another surface that can be used. I will talk about this later in the book.

• Watch the video now:

End of Painting surfaces

Paint

You will need acrylic paint. There are many brands of paint out there. Buy the best your budget can afford. The better brands have more pigment in them and you need less to cover the surface of the canvas. Cheaper brands have less pigment and sometimes it takes up to 3 coats to cover the surface properly.Acrylic paints work best. Buy the best quality you can afford. Higher quality paints have a higher pigment ratio and usually, a little bit goes a long way. They cover the surface really well and are brighter in colour.

Basic colours to start with:

Alizarin crimson Cadium red (You can get red dark, red light or in-between. Go for the in-between.) Ultramarine Blue Pthalo Blue Cadium Yellow Aureolin yellow White Black

• Start with one red, one yellow, one blue, white and black.

• Acrylic gel is a must. Semioss is recommended.

• Cleaning brushes is important!!!!!

What does archival mean?

In art, you will often be asked if your work is of archival quality. This depends on the quality of the materials used and how you treated them. Did you gesso the surface before using it? Did you use paints that were lightfast? Did you collage your materials with acrylic gel (not white glue or other materials that yellow over time). If not, it is not of archival quality. You need to follow the steps to create a quality surface and paint to match. Non archival materials tend to warp, change color or fall apart. If you want your painting to last, you need to use archival materials. Your great-grandchildren might want that painting!

• Tip: Illustration board and matt board will often separate when wet. It is best to seal the edges first with gel before using it.

End of Paint

Remember, materials are not precious. Allow yourself the freedom to play.

Sometimes the price of the materials hampers a person’s joy in creating. If that is the case with you, go buy some inexpensive canvases at a dollar store and practice. Paper, as a support for your paintings is cheaper than canvas.

Keep in mind, a musician practices a lot of hours before the actual concert.

A baseball player does not hit a home run every time he/she hits the ball.

A ballet dancer spends days rehearsing the routines to a dance before performing.

You will be making ‘practice’ paintings in this course so that you can create ‘the great one’ later on. Remember that paintings created in a course or under tutelage cannot be shown in an art show. Only the paintings you create on your own are permitted.

This painting has about ten layers. Don’t be afraid to keep on adding to your painting. You will succeed!

Remembering the circus. Mixed media on canvas

Ideas for painting. Still life includes flowers, pots, fruit, or any material from everyday life that does not move.

More examples of Mixed Media Artwork

Examples

Here is a video showing the different kinds of papers we will make:

End of Painted Papers

Review of materials you need for the first part.

• Canvas or a surface to paint on

• Paint: red, yellow, blue, black, white

• Paintbrushes: small, medium, large

• Container for water and paint

• Plastic bags

• Plastic or a tablecloth to protect your table

• Rags or paper towels for cleaning up

My Technique for making collage papers The collage papers that I use are ones that I make myself. Store-bought papers aren't always archival and lightfast. As beautiful as imported handmade papers from other countries are, they fade, so I paint my own.

First, I cut a white plastic garbage bag in half so that it's a large rectangle.

Next, I lay the tissue paper on top of the plastic.

Using some watered down acrylics and a two-inch brush, I gently apply the thinned acrylic. The tissue paper will tear if you press down too hard with your brush.

Remember: Let the papers dry on the plastic

Here is the video/demo:

Painting tissue papers

Creating a ‘colour family’. Remember this sequence: Main color Add White Add Black Add White Add Black Add White Add Black….Should have a very dark value here.

End of Step one

My technique for making collage papers -part 2

The papers take as little as half an hour to dry, depending on the humidity levels where you live. The higher the humidity levels, the slower the drying process.

Once the painted papers are dry, they will lift off the plastic. When you have separated the plastic and the paper, you will notice that the front of the paper is different from the back. Wonderful surprises come out of this. Sometimes the back is even more beautiful than the front. You can use either side of the paper.

Video: Taking the papers off the plastic

End of taking the papers off the plastic

You can paint tissue papers one color or multiple colors. Spattering paint of a different color on your tissue creates wonderful effects. Watch this next video:

Other techniques to try:

End of Spattering

Other techniques-part 2

• Even more ideas for painting: Watch this video

End of more examples

Examples of collage

Tip: I work on paper, canvas or illustration board. Over time, I have come to prefer a hard surface so I often use board for my collage. The harder surface makes it easier to adhere the collage papers and helps to eliminate the problem of air bubbles appearing under the surface of the collage papers, which makes the surface bumpy. (Sometimes, the air bubbles burst leaving you with a gaping hole in the middle of your artwork.

Everything you can imagine is real. Pablo Picasso

Tip:

I use acrylic gel as a glue because it dries clear and leaves the colour of the paper as bright as when I started.

Examples

Mixed media and collage are wonderful for recreating effects of texture in the landscape.

Exercise

Now, you have a surface and these wonderful hand-painted papers. This is what you do with them. STEPS: First, chose one colour with three different values (the pure color, a lighter version of that colour and a darker version of that color), a very dark, almost black value, and a light (white or whitish) color.

Next, cut or tear the papers into basic shapes making sure the shapes are different sizes. For every color I use, I like to have three different sizes: small, medium and large. You can remind yourself of this technique by saying: Mama, Papa, Baby. Those are the three sizes you need.

I arrange the shapes until I have a pleasing design. Only when I am happy with the design do I start to adhere the pieces to the surface.

Collage the papers -First Step

• Remember that you need to use GEL to collage the pieces to your canvas or surface.

• Put GEL on your canvas

• Add your tissue paper

• Put Gel on top of your tissue paper.

• REPEAT THIS PROCESS FOR EVERY PIECE OF PAPER

• Watch the video now:

Tip:To make it easy for yourself, have two boards. Arrange the pieces on one board. When you are ready to glue them down, take one piece at a time and glue them in the same location on the second board. This saves you having to remember where everything went. Keep in mind that the painting will change a bit as you transfer over the pieces but the basic composition is the same.

A REMINDER: To glue your collage pieces down, use GEL. So that you get the papers glued (gel) down well, you need to put gel on your canvas or board and put gel on your tissue paper. You are creating a ‘sandwich’. Gel to gel. This means that your papers will be properly glued down. Otherwise, there are air bubbles sometimes. These are difficult to fix afterwards.

Execise Continued

Watch the video on how to finish the edges:

Fixing air bubbles

• Step one: Gently cut side of bubble

• Step two: Fill the inside with GEL

• Step Three: Add Gel on top

• Step Four: Allow to dry 24 hours

xacto knife

Gel

BrushBubbles on painting

Exercise #2I would like you to do at least two of my exercises before you strike out on your own.

For exercise two, you will create a landscape using the collage papers. The colors do not have to be realistic.

Deciding on Images

Decide what image or images to incorporate into the collage. This is a difficult choice. Pick a topic you are very interested in - something close to your heart.

At this point, you chose whether to leave the collage as an abstract or you can continue and add images to your painting. Some collages are beautiful on their own and there is no need to add more to it. You get to decide at this point.

Copywright

There are several issues with copyright:

1. You cannot use someone’s else’s image without their permission.

2.You can use images from the clip art collections that are free on the internet.

3. You can buy images on the internet that you can then copy and use as transfers.

4. Any magazine image or image in a book that is 50 years old or more can be used without copyright problems.

5. What works best is that you make your own drawings then copy them and use them as transfers.

6. If you do use an image without permission, you can admire it in the comfort of your home but you cannot sell it or show it in an artists’ exhibition.

Deciding if you want to add more to your painting after you have collaged is difficult.

Adding photocopy transfers

• You can add add images by drawing or painting them on top of the collage or by photo-transfer. I often photocopy my drawings then photo-transfer them onto my collages. This saves me redrawing the image. Sometimes I only use part of a drawing.

• Follow the steps below for the best results.

• Remember to take your time. • Make one decision at a time. • Make sure you are happy

with each step before you move on to the next step.

The Photo-Transfer process:

Method #1: To photo-transfer an image you need to take a fresh photocopy (old photocopies do not transfer well), and put it carbon side down (image touching the surface of the painting) on the painting. What you are going to transfer is the carbon on the paper. Take a transfer pen and moisten part of the photocopy. Rub only the size of a nickel at a time. Take a spoon or any hard smooth surface ( I often use the handle of my metal scissors) and rub this dampened are. Press hard. Do a small area next to where you started and repeat. When you have repeated this process over the whole image, lift the paper and the image should have transferred itself onto your painting. If the paper sticks, moisten the paper with the pen and lift. Note: You will always get the image in reverse because it is face down.s Watch the video for using a transfer pen now:

The Photocopy Transfer Review

• Watch the video carefully

• If you use a transfer pen, remember to work small areas at a time.

• Be careful not to move the photocopy. Tape it down if you have to.

• If you are using a ‘gel sandwich’, remember to put gel on the photocopy and on the canvas too.

• Let the gel dry at least 24 hours.

• Put water on top of the photocopy then rub off the paper carefully.

Method #2

• This method is called the Gel Sandwich.

• Put gel on your photocopy.

• Put gel on your canvas (the spot you want your image to be).

• Take your photocopy and place it on the canvas.

• Remember: Gel to Gel.

• Rub gently on the back of the photocopy to take out any air bubbles.

• Let dry 24 hours.

• Wet the surface of the paper and gently rub the paper off. You should be left with a clear image of your photocopy. You may have to repeat this step again.

• Watch the Gel Sandwich video now:

Last Steps: Now, I add color to my drawing or photo-transfer using acrylics. Start by blocking in the colors. Add details in small increments. Decide if you like what you are adding (color, detail or texture) before continuing to the next step. Note: I don't completely finish my subject because I like the image to blend with the background. I want the work to fade in some places and stand out in others.

Watch the video now for information about adding paint. This video is in two parts …….

Woman with her eyes closed. This is an image that I use a lot. I took a picture of my daughter, reduced it and tweaked it in photoshop then photocopied it to use in my paintings.

Examples

Examples

Sometimes simplicity works best.

Examples

Adding paint over the transfer and collage

Examples

Tip

There are as many ways of doing collage as there are artists. On the right, I show a variety of techniques and styles that are possible.

Happy accidents.

• Happy accidents are when the transfer or paint does not do what it was supposed to but the result was better or more interesting.

• More interesting is important because it adds something unusual to your artwork. This makes people stop and look at your work.

Last Tip:

Enjoy the process of what you are doing. The best part of creating artwork is the 'surprises' that come along when you are creating. These 'happy accidents' are what make your pieces unique. Every step is a learning process and the end product, your artwork, is the bonus. Happy creating.

Doris Charest• Some last words:

• I would love to see what you create. If you have time, send me jpgs of your work.

• Enjoy making mixed media collage paintings!

• If you have any questions, you can contact me at dorischarest@gmail.com

• If you enjoyed this course please leave a positive comment and a review. This is important because: You will help more students decide if they would like to take this course. You will help me learn how to improve my course. You will put a smile on my face.

• Thanks again for taking my course. Keep your eye out for my next class: Introduction to Contemporary Art.

• Check out the next section for a PDF of this whole presentation.