Mixed media is the art of combining various techniques and materials from various art media to create artistic works that blend painting, collage, sculpture, and more. It’s a dynamic type of art that is approachable for both new artists and experienced artists who want to go all out and really express themselves.
I have been exploring mixed media and art journaling lately, and I’ve been really enjoying myself. I especially enjoyed being able to combine coloring pages with mixed media and filling my entire journal with 100 mixed media techniques (see YouTube video below).
In this blog, I want to introduce you to some amazing mixed media artists who have all different styles. So if you want to find inspiration, learn where to start or simply see what other artists are doing, take a look at this list of mixed media artists and find some new favorites to follow.
Dina Wakley
Artist, Scuba instructor, and self-proclaimed goofball, Dina Wakley has loved all things art since 1995. She likes to strike a balance between ‘artsy’ and ‘classic’ mixed media styles, with an emphasis on the creative use of white space. Dina is a signature designer for Ranger Ink and has a line of mixed media art supplies that include acrylic paints, mediums, brushes, rubber stamps, stencils, and more.
Jane Davenport
Professional artist and art supply addict Jane Davenport loves to share her mixed media art and drawing techniques with everyday artists who yearn to rekindle their creativity. She creates many mixed-media pieces of women, mermaids, and animals.
Stacey Park
Stacey Park is the founder of the scrapbooking store “Scrapbooking Made Simple” and a Licenced Designer for Sizzix. She specializes in using dies, stamps, and inks to create wonderful scrapbooking pieces. Stacey also teaches classes on Monday, Thursday and Saturday on her YouTube channel.
Kassandra Louise
Kassandra Louise has been deeply involved in the art world for 20 years. She loves all things art, and isn’t content to limit herself to 1 or 2 art disciplines. Kassandra enjoys mixed media, card making, stamp carving, painting, and using gel plates just to name a few.
Wendy Solganik – Willa Wanders
Wendy, a.k.a. Willa Wanders started out pursuing law, but by the age of 22, she realised that her calling was to study arts and crafts and to create daily. Today, Wendy loves to paint, create mixed media, collage, and make handmade books. She teaches mixed media art processes and techniques, watercolor painting, and how to make handmade books.
Kasia Avery
After struggling to become a so-called ‘proper’ artist by pursuing landscape oil painting, Kasia discovered art journaling and never looked back. She went on to become the founder of ‘Everything Art Ltd’ in 2015 and has since made it her mission to help artists around the world discover the pleasure found in creating art. Art journaling is now her passion and she takes time to create everyday.
Camila Garcia
Camila Garcia is a self-taught mixed media and art journaling artist. She loves all things botanical and fills her art journals and layered collage bouquets with floral motifs. She mainly uses pen and pencil, but loves to play with inks, acrylics, and watercolors.
Carolyn Dube
Carolyn Dube is another self-taught mixed media artist and teacher. Her mission is to teach artists to quiet their inner critics by giving them permission to play. Carolyn enjoys stenciling, art journaling, gel printing, and PanPasteling.
Christine Karpiak
Christine Karpiak grew up being creative. She would create with thread, fabric, and nature. She discovered her passion for mixed media in 2016 and loves combining a variety of familiar media into a single project. She teaches art journaling online and owns her own art studio ‘Earth Heart Studio’.
Dyan Reaveley
Dyan Reaveley is the creator of Dylusion productions and a signature designer for Ranger Ink. She is well known for her unique style using vibrant colors, creative layering, collage techniques and witty sayings. Dyan believes art journaling and mixed media is her form of art therapy as it provides her with some therapeutic benefits.
Eulalia Mejia
Eulalia Mejia, also known as the ‘Happy Chinchilla” is a graphic designer, illustrator, teacher, artist, and maker. Eulalia enjoys splashing paint on handmade journals, making dolls, embroidery, bookbinding, mixed media painting, collaging, and art journaling.
Anna Dabrowska
Anna Dabrowska started creating in 2007. She fell in love with mixed media in 2009 and is a self-proclaimed mixed media addict. She is a full-time designer and artist and is a traveling teacher, teaching mixed media classes in college, including artistic scrapbooking, art journaling, and more.
Francisca Nunes
Francisca Nunes is a mixed media artist who is absolutely passionate about art journaling. She loves to create messy and intuitive art by mixing colors, textures, and elements from nature. Before she discovered her love for art, Francisca was studying to become a scientist. She was interested in art, but was made to believe that she had no talent for the craft. But Francisca learned to express herself through art without the fear of others’ judgment and embracing her messy approach.
Julie Valentine Chase
Julie Valentine developed an interest in art at a young age thanks to her father who gifted her her first art supplies of newsprint paper and charcoal pencils. She began her professional art career in 2001 and has since exhibited her work in galleries in California, Amsterdam, and New York. Julie has a passion for demystifying art journaling for herself and others.
Sarah Gardner
Sarah Gardner is a practicing lawyer and self-taught artist. She started art journaling in 2007. Sarah believes that people align themselves with their true potential when they are creating something, even if it’s bad. She uses her art journaling as a safe space just for her, where she can play, experiment, and learn.
Tamara Laporte
Tamara Laporte (also known as Tam) is a celebrated mixed media artist and art teacher who has been running her art business since 2008. She describes her work as ‘mixed media folk art’ and believes that artistic creation is one of the best avenues to achieving self-love, worth, and awareness.
Sheri
Sheri, also known as CraftySheri, is an amazing mixed media artist focusing on art journaling with vibrant colors and inspirational quotes. She claims to be a jack of all trades and loves the outdoors, plants and paint!
Sarah Bagshaw
Sarah Bagshaw enjoys exploring markmaking, forms, shapes, patterns, and textures from everyday places and urban environments. She likes to use a variety of printmaking methods and paints to apply color and patterns to discarded cardboard packaging before tearing and cutting them up and reassembling them into abstract compositions.
Andrea Burgay
Andrea Burgay’s work combines collages, sculptures, and found materials to bring out the beauty found in the everyday or the mundane. By adding and removing layers of handmade and collected materials, she strives to present the physical manifestation of the passage of time, from destruction and decay to renewal.
Drew Steinbrecher
Drew Steinbrecher is a full-time artist working in printmaking, collage, & fiber. Drew has enjoyed being creative and working with their hands since a young age. He holds a degree in Graphic Design and has been working on-and-off as a designer for 25 years.
Paul Afong
Paul “Junkykid” Afong Jr. studied design and illustration at The College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has since worked in Minneapolis for 15 years as a graphic designer. Paul enjoys an urban cartoon style of art and produces many “strange and wacky” characters. He uses found materials like discarded cardboard, wood, and paper and likes to give his work an organic feel.
Rob Draper
Rob Draper is an artist and designer based in the UK. He is passionate about creativity and lettering and has given lectures on professional practice in art and design. He has also delivered design and creativity lessons for people from all walks of life, from graphic design students to prisoners.
Eunice Chiong
Eunice Chiong is a lettering and illustration artist from Singapore. She loves drawing words and has been since she was a teen. She gets her inspiration from song lyrics, books, and lines from TV and movies. She is passionate about helping people see that they can be creative, no matter how busy their lives get.
Nuneka
Nuneka is an incredible mixed media artist and product designer. She creates a lot of unique vintage style junk journaling pieces and other vintage style artwork and is a designer for Lindy’s Gang.
Ana Falceta
Ana Falceta is a contemporary mixed-media textile artist from Burlington, Ontario. She has a degree in Textile Design and a background in hand bookbinding. She enjoys exploring the relationship between surface and texture. She enjoys working with watercolor pigments on paper and combining inks with textiles and handicrafts such as weaving, bookbinding stitches, and embroidery.
Froyle Davies
Froyle Davies has been painting and exhibiting for 30 years. She likes to make art that is ‘lavish in color and extravagant in style.’ She creates acrylic and mixed-media paintings, both big and small. She strives to infuse her work with a sense of hope, courage, and freedom.
Nadya
Nadya is a Seattle based mixed media artist who loves creative gel printing, mixed media art and paper collages. She used a lot of different materials to create some amazing and unique gel printing art including flowers, leaves, cans, badges, magazines, and so many more.
I hope you find some inspiration from all these amazing artist. If you have not seen them already and would like to, I made a couple of videos about mixed media “Transforming Coloring Pages into ART!” and “I Tried 100 Mixed Media Techniques“.
Here are some other blogs you might also be interested in:
My Mega List of Free Coloring Pages for Adults
Who doesn’t love freebies!?
I have created a list of all my (65+) FREE printable coloring pages for adults to download and enjoy instantly. There are not just free coloring pages in this blog but also free printable color charts, a free printable calendar, free cards, coloring gift bags, gift tags, and more.
7 Things I Wish I Knew as a Beginner Artist
If you’re just starting out, or still consider yourself a beginner who would like to get a kickstart on your creative journey, here are 7 Things I Wish I Knew as a Beginner Artist.
The Best Colored Pencils For Blending
Coloring with pencils is a fun and relaxing activity that can produce beautiful results. However, to achieve a realistic and smooth look, you will need to learn one essential skill: BLENDING.
You should check out Niamh Baly, Julie Fea-Fan Balzer, Traci Bautista, Alisa Burke, Karen Campbell, Cat Kerr, and Art By Marlene. I like their stuff too. Great List ! Thank you!
Thank you for these suggestions!