Oil paintings have been around for hundreds of years. The paint began as a simple combination of pigment and oil.
Oil paintings are beautiful and can span the gamut between wildly abstract to serenely mute. If you want to add to your collection but,
want something different, try an oil painting that incorporates some mixed media elements. A mixed media oil painting can instantly become a conversation piece and item of inspiration.
Since the beginning of time artists have always had the desire to broaden their creative horizons. This instinct can be seen in oil canvases throughout the eras. However, back then artists were constrained by the types of materials they had immediately at hand. Experimentation and invention have always been a part of human creativity.
Today, modern manufacturing has created an almost limitless array of products for the artist to use in their work. Many artists integrate the materials produced to create art that has a modern type of finish. Many will include plastic products, metals, wood pieces, and paper products in their art. There are even new kinds of glue and transfer mediums to use.
With the invention of the internet, creation of new products and original techniques, artists have fewer boundaries than ever before. People can view art in ways that they have never been able to before. Artists are exposed to new ways of performing and presenting their art in ways that has never been done. This freedom has also opened up a whole world of new customers and new critics. It's hard to know what is a great work of art anymore, as there is less agreement among acquirers.
An important aspect to art techniques and art product development is the concern for the environment. Many people are concerned with the level of waste that is now being created daily and how it is affecting the Earth we live on. Any chance to recycle and reuse is seen as a great thing. Artists and painters can incorporate what otherwise would be trash into their art for a mixed media creation.
Mixed media artwork has been around for centuries and some of the best known artists experimented. In fact, Picasso and George Braque are deemed to have started the Cubist movement. Both were experimenting with mixed media and deconstruction elements around the same time yet, independently of each other. When their work was released, the similarities inspired the Cubist Movement and much collage work since then.
Da Vinci was not just a painter but, used other media in his work as well. He most often used tempera, which is a mixture of egg, water and pigment and was used on wet plaster, during his day. Oil paint was developed in the early 1500's and eventually dominated the medium, as artists discovered its' durability.
Up until the early 1500's was tempera used. Oil paint began to take dominance as it was discovered it was much more durable. The colors faded less over time and texture could be added with the thickness of the oil medium. Oil paintings are fantastic to own and look at. Acquiring a canvas that incorporates elements of mixed media as well, can be even better.
