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Combining Mixed Media with Oil Painting

© Susan A. Wenz-Denise

The concept of mixed media is to use more than one type of art form or material in conjunction with another. One of my own specialties is to combine oil painting with mixed media in that I use materials not indigenous of art of oil painting like fabric, gold leaf, or decorative ornamentation and juxtapose them with somewhat traditional oil painting techniques. Often the combination of the two create an interesting dialogue that my paintings thrive on. I love to play on that concept and even go so far as to form an entire series of work based upon the interaction between the mixed media and oil painting.

Different art forms are usually not used as mixed media in oil paintings because there are not many substances that are chemically compatible with oil paints. For example, watercolors, acrylic and tempera paints are all water soluble, and thus unmixable with oil paints. Consequently, they cannot be used on the same surface as oil paints. The only art materials that are truly compatible with oil paints are oil pastels/sticks, however, they are not considered mixed media when combined with oil paints because of their close similarities and how well they blend with each other. Instead, oil pastels are considered another form of oil paint.

Beyond art materials, however, there are many other materials that can be added to an oil painting and considered mixed media. Fabrics can be integrated into an oil painting, as can many other materials foreign to oil painting. The trick is how they are combined, since it is not easy to get many things to adhere well to oil paints. This is where it is important to understand well the characteristics of oil paints and experiment a little or use some work-arounds. I used a work-around in a piece I created called Alice, in which the surface of the painting is actually chiffon, not canvas. Choosing to paint on stretched chiffon allowed for a more porous surface for the teacup and the ant, originally painted on and cut out of canvas, to adhere to. Through the experience, I now tend to prefer to paint on stretched chiffon instead of canvas, but in this case it proved to be necessary in order to form a collage with the oil painting.

One of my most favorite ways to integrate mixed media into my oil paintings is through the frame of the piece. I try to create a frame that offers the most intriguing aspect to the concept of the piece. For example, in a painting title Enigma, the frame is constructed of balsa wood with puzzle pieces adhered to the front and back of it. I painted this piece by envisioning a person who might be a very organized and hardworking individual, but on first impressions seems very detached, disorganized, and misunderstood or puzzling. When hung as originally intended, suspended from the ceiling by invisible wire a couple of feet away from the wall, I also include a pile of puzzle pieces on the ground directly beneath it in order to make it seem as if they have fallen from the painting. I believe that combining the realism of the painted ant with the components of the mixed media, creates a much stronger message for that piece than painting it strictly in oils. As a matter of a fact, I used this concept many more times to form a series because it has so much strength behind it. In Addict, the frame is constructed of burnt-out cigarette butts on balsa wood, which are eerily contrasted with the glow of the glowworm.