How To - Mixed Media Wall Art with Gesso and Multi Medium

Good Morning

Here is a quick post to share the recent mixed media attempt I have made. Yes i am going to try all the techniques and products I have always been no so friendly with.

For this layout I used one of the heavily printed paper from an Echo Park collection. Sometimes large prints are often ignored due to their bold look and feel but they are great for such projects! So for the first step I tried to create some texture by using the American Crafts Chevron Stencil some Gesso with my Palette knife. I found using the palette knife did make spreading the Gesso alot more easier. In some section I have used Matte - Studio Multi-Medium too. One thing I admit is that you can never judge a product just be reading about it. You must give it a try to see how it works its magic :)

The basic difference is the results achieved from each, this is purely from my understanding and experience

1. Gesso - its very similar to white acrylic paint but only thinner. It dries hard, making the surface more stiff. Artist use Gesso  to prepare (or "primes") the surface for painting, making the surface slightly textured and ready to accept acrylic paint. Without gesso, the paint would soak into the weave of the canvas. It dries white so its great to make bright things tone down a bit and also create some white area on background. Its not ink resistant and allows you actually add colour later on.

2. Multi Medium Gel - It dries clear so you can see the background shine through. also its ink resistant so you can create lovely patterns like I did. The basic use for these is to build texture in paintings by mixing them with acrylic paint or even magicals from Lindy's Stamp Gang. If you add a small bit of it to your paint it will also extend the drying time so you work around it easily. The Soft gel is the medium that is most often used by paper artists. It can be used as a glue for collage and it is also used to make photocopy transfers. So basically it is a glue, a paint, and decoupage stuff.

Can you see the little Chevron path on top right? that's the Gesso work. its white and ink resistant. the chevron patch on left bottom is done by using gel medium and hence its clear. this layout looks much pretty in person :)

After its all dried I used coordinating Distress Inks to make the background a bit subtle. I have used a combination of Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick. Do keep a paper towel handy to remove excess inks from the textured patched immediately.

This is the Layout without the frame to show you the textures better :)

I used the backing of the stencil as a photo mat, added some left over broken mdg branches and coloured them with acrylic paints. The flowers are ready made and sponged just a little with Gesso to make them match the BG. Finally I added some Pebbles chipboard embellishments to complete this.

I hope this encourages you to try some mixed media yourself :)

Product Supplies from www.lulupu.com

Gesso - Ranger	Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi-Medium	AC Stencils Mask Set - Chevron Stencil	yellow mulberry roses	Front Porch Chips Printed Chipboard Pieces 23/Pkg
Loew Cornell Simply Art Palette Knives 2pc	peeled paint distress ink	spiced marmalade distress ink	worn lipstick

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