Mixed Media: Beautifully Unique

The mixed media picture I’ll show you today is a perfect example of if you don’t like it the first time, keep layering. I’ll show you what I mean.

I started with a few papers over canvas. I’m using some of the house patterns from the books I bought at the library sale, some scrapbook paper, music sheets, and pages from other books.

Then I added paint layers, this time with some green and purple. And almost instantly, I hated it. I hated the way it was coming out and how it looked.

What’s a girl to do? I asked my writing partner Genevieve and she said, “Layer over it.”

Good idea, Genevieve. So I kept the parts I liked and layered over what I didn’t.

Then I added more paint. I hated the green so I plopped a bunch of yellow on over that and pink on over that. I kept going until I had a base I liked.

Then, I drew my girl. (No glasses this time. Perhaps she has contacts in.)

I had just finished a poem called “Beautifully Unique” so I added those words to the picture also.

And of course, I didn’t like it. LOL So I had some music paper I had painted pink, and I ripped off a piece of that and glued it over the place I didn’t like. Then I re-wrote “beautifully unique” in white and then gold embossing liquid. I added gold to her dress to tie it in. Unfortunately, it was still drying when I snapped this so it is kind of hard to see. But suffice to say, now I’m done (and happy) with the picture.

One thing I’m learning with mixed media (which, in case you’re wondering I am really super addicted to – almost as much as gluing glass together) is that it is very forgiving. Some pictures I don’t feel like layering as much with paper, and do more with paint. With others, I pile a lot of both on. It really depends, and in instances like this (where you create something you don’t like) it’s so easy to just cover over it and start again.