• Press

• Upcoming Live Auctions
• Past Live Auctions
• Online Auctions

• Charity Partners
• Benefit Events
• Service Offerings

• Art Lectures
• Art Consignment
• Art Appraisals
• Auctioneer Services

• Masters
• Publications

• Artists
• Art Terms
• Art Blog

“*Contact Us for more information about mixed media.”

An artist might take a traditional piece of art and add found objects. The objects the artist chooses could have a personal flair, a sentimental quality or treasured memory attached to the objects incorporated in the piece. A found object is a tool the artist uses to evoke a certain emotion or thought; or maybe even to promote a shock factor for the viewer, intended to awaken the viewer and disrupt the sense of what is visually expected. While the personal objects that are incorporated into the piece might not carry personal weight for the viewer, the viewer nonetheless still brings his own personal experience to the piece. Artist Ron Pokrasso says, "The perception of objects is in the eye of the beholder."

Using familiar objects in unusual ways is another approach an artist can take to mixed media. Some artists use items like beeswax, feathers, press-on fingernails, baby-shoe molds from the Victorian era, egg shells, tin can lids, metal fragments and more. Garage sales, thrift stores and friends are sources for these objects.

Combining new and old objects into one piece of art is a favorite technique among artists who are fascinated with history and the process of weathering that happens to objects over time. Old, weathered objects inspire both the artist and the viewer to contemplate who owned these things, where they came from and how they were used.

Found objects, fabrics and hardware are not the only way to go with mixed media art. Many artists will mix paints: acrylics, oils and watercolors. Yet, when creating a painted or photographed work using mixed media it is important to choose the layers carefully. 'Fat over lean' is a phrase that is used in mixed media artistry as a way to convey choosing the different paint layers carefully. For example if an artist were to use oil paints it would be best to use them last. Mixed Media provides many opportunities for expression. Perhaps one of the major reasons why an artist will choose to work in mixed media is because these paintings offer creative experiences that start at one point—either with a particular thought, idea or emotion—and end in a direction that often is a complete surprise to the artist himself.

The creative experience of mixed media art can be viewed at Baterbys Art Auction Gallery. The artists who express their thoughts, emotions and ideas through the mixed medium of found objects, paints and materials are an important part of Baterbys art display. We see the value these artists place on mixed media so we value it as well.


To get notified about updates on our Art Info page, click here