Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed-Media Artists

Where to Begin?

A blank canvas or sheet of paper can be scary to some art-
ists. If you're one of them, try starting a painting like this:

Cover the support with paint (one color, several colors, thin
paint, thick paint, it doesn't matterl- anything to get rid of
the blankness.

Grab a magazine, tear out random images or text, and
stick them down on your support without any thought.
Partially cover them up with a translucent paint like Titan
Buff or Zinc White. Some of the darker areas will show
through in intriguing ways, ready for the next layer.

Doodle on your sheet with a non-water-soluble thick cray-
on or colored pencil. Most of this layer will eventually be

~ 10 in~ for

fr iend, roman

26 I CRE ATIVE PA I N T W ORKSHOP

hidden, so be as free as you like, then cover your jottings

with a glaze (a thin layerl of transparent paint. Even after

you have added collage and more paint, a few tantalizing

glimpses of this first layer may remain.

As an alternative to doodling, write random thoughts all

over your support. Again use an insoluble medium such as

permanent ink, colored pencil, or Caran d'Ache Neocolor I

wax-oil crayons. Graphite can also work, but the softer the

lead, the more likely it is to lift and mix with subsequent

layers of paint. Be sure not to write anything too important

or you'll find it hard to cover it Upl

Men Seeking Women,

Ann Baldwin. 16" x 12"

(40.6 x 30.5 em), mixed

media on paper. Private

collection.

The largest image is in the

very center at the toP. but

the other two images of

people on either side of the

lower half of the painting

create a triangle or pyramid.