Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed-Media Artists

Drawing Media

Pens, pencils, pastels, and oil crayons are all useful in
mixed-media painting. Bear in mind that acrylic is a wet
medium, so your drawing media will need to be waterproof
unless applied as a final touch. Even then, they won't work
if you plan to add a coat of protective medium or varnish
to the piece.

There are many so-called waterproof pens on the market,
but test them first on a separate sheet of paper. Brush a
little water over the ink, after you have allowed it to dry.
You'll soon see if it "bleeds." I have found Sharpie pens to
be the most reliable and they come in a variety of tip sizes.
For a more creative approach, try using acrylic ink (FW inks
come in many different colors) with a calligraphic nib pen.

Graphite pencils are not entirely waterproof, but if a layer
of soft gel medium is brushed over gently, the marks will
be prevented from dissolving into a gray mess when the
next layer is applied.

Cheap oil pastels contain very little oil and plenty of filler,
making them very suitable for layered work. Unlike true oil
sticks, they will not entirely resist acrylics, so they can be

IS I CREATIVE PA I N T WO RKSHOP

Waterproof pens come with a variety of tips

Oil pastels, wax-oil crayons, and colored pencils

easily covered up. They also write well on even the most

plastic acrylic paint. The dry particles in charcoal and soft

pastels make them vulnerable to lifting by wet media, so

it's best to avoid using them.

The ingredients of crayons and colored pencils vary widely.

Those with hard leads will not deposit color on a polymer

medium or paint surface. The softer and creamier the

pencil, the more likely they are to work. Of course, you

can always use colored pencils to decorate your pieces of

paper collage before they are stuck down. Black-and-white

images colored in with colored pencils can be fun. Be ab-

solutely sure that you are not using water-soluble crayons

or pencils- usually labeled "watercolor" - or the marks

will turn to wet paint when subsequent layers of paint are

added. Caran d'Ache makes stick wax-oil crayons called

Neocolor I, which work extremely well on top of acryl-

ics, even when there is texture underneath. Though more

expensive than most drawing crayons, they are waterproof,

lightfast, and come in a variety of colors.

Provincalia, Ann Baldwin,

II" x 6" 1279 x 15.2 cm).

fluid acryl ic, waterproof

white and black ink, collage

on 140 lb. ( 64 kg) cold press

watercolor paper. Private

collection,