

**Mixed media art** is any artwork made with more than one medium or material. A painting with paper glued into it, a drawing layered over watercolour, a canvas built up with fabric, sand and found objects: all of these count. The term describes how a work is made rather than a style, which is why you'll find mixed media in everything from early Cubism to the newest work by artists on Cohart.

If you've ever seen "mixed media on canvas" on an artwork label and wondered what it actually means, this guide explains it, where it came from, the main techniques, and what collectors should know before buying.

##### What Is Mixed Media Art?

In the simplest terms, **mixed media art** combines two or more materials in a single, finished piece. Tate defines it as work made from a combination of different media or materials, and notes that art can be made from almost anything.

Those materials might be traditional, such as oil paint, acrylic, ink, charcoal or graphite. They might also be things that were never meant for art at all: newspaper, maps, fabric, wood, wire, photographs, buttons or packaging. What matters is that the different parts come together as one object you can stand in front of.

That last point is what separates mixed media from multimedia art.

##### Mixed Media vs Multimedia Art

The two terms are often confused, but they describe different things.

- **Mixed media** brings physical materials together into one tangible work, usually a painting, collage, relief or sculpture.
- **Multimedia** combines visual art with non-physical elements such as video, sound, light, movement or interactivity, often using digital tools. Think of an installation you walk through, or a screen-based work with a soundtrack.

A painting with collaged paper is mixed media. A gallery room with projections and audio is multimedia. Some contemporary works are both.

##### A Short History of Mixed Media

**1912: Cubism.** Mixed media as we know it began when Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque started gluing paper, oilcloth and printed scraps into their paintings and drawings. We tell that story in more detail in [What Is Papier Collé?](https://www.cohart.com/news/papier-colle-101) and [What Is Cubism?](https://www.cohart.com/news/what-is-cubsim). What matters here is the idea they introduced: that a single artwork could be built from several kinds of material at once.

**1918 onwards: Dada and Merz.** After the First World War, Dada artists embraced scraps and everyday debris. Kurt Schwitters gathered labels, newspaper clippings, scraps of wood and other street litter in Hanover and called his work *Merz*, a name taken from a torn fragment of a bank advertisement. He eventually turned his own house into a room-sized collage, the *Merzbau*.

**1950s: Rauschenberg's Combines.** In the mid-1950s, Robert Rauschenberg made what he called "Combines": works that sit somewhere between painting and sculpture. His *Monogram* (1955–59) features a stuffed angora goat with a car tyre around its middle, standing on a painted platform. Pillows, road signs, photographs and newspaper all made their way into the Combines, which The Met describes as a reinvention of collage.

**1960s: Romare Bearden.** Romare Bearden built some of the most powerful mixed media work of the century. His *Projections* series (1964) used cut photographs and photostats to picture Black American life, and his later large works mixed collage with acrylic, oil, drawing and photography. He insisted they were paintings, made with collage methods.

Today, **mixed media painting** is one of the most common ways contemporary artists work, partly because it gives them so much freedom to build texture, meaning and surprise into a single surface.

##### Common Types of Mixed Media Art

Mixed media covers a wide range of approaches. These are the ones you'll see most often.

- **Collage:** Paper, photographs, fabric or printed matter glued onto a surface. The word comes from the French *coller*, "to glue".
- **Assemblage:** A three-dimensional collage, where objects project from the surface or stand fully in space.
- **Found object art:** Everyday objects used for their visual or symbolic value, an idea popularised by Marcel Duchamp.
- **Wet and dry media together:** Liquid media such as paint, ink or watercolour layered with dry media such as charcoal, pastel or graphite.
- **Textured and built-up surfaces:** Modelling paste, sand, plaster, gel mediums or wax used to give a painting physical relief.
- **Altered books and printed matter:** Pages that are cut, folded, painted over or rebuilt into new forms.

Many artists use several of these in one work.

##### Mixed Media Techniques for Artists

If you're an artist experimenting with **mixed media techniques**, a few practical rules will help your work last.

**Choose a rigid support for heavy layers.** Heavy collage, thick paste and objects add weight. Rigid panels such as wood or board tend to hold up better than stretched canvas, which can flex and crack layered surfaces.

**Respect the order of oil and acrylic.** According to Golden Artist Colors, oil paint can go over a fully cured acrylic layer, but acrylic should not go over oil, because it won't bond properly to an oil film. Let acrylic layers cure for several days before adding oil on top.

**Use archival adhesives and materials.** Acid-free papers and archival glues or acrylic mediums will age far better than household glue. Newspaper and other cheap papers yellow and become brittle over time; that can be part of the work, but it's worth knowing in advance.

**Seal and protect.** A final varnish or isolation coat can protect fragile surfaces, but test it on a sample first, as some finishes change the colour or texture of collaged papers.

**Keep a record of your materials.** Listing what you used, and in what order, helps collectors, framers and conservators look after the piece later. It also makes your artwork descriptions more useful when you sell.

Material choices aren't just technical. They carry meaning too. Read more on [how materials tell part of an artwork's story](https://www.cohart.com/news/art-materials-and-storytelling-how-materials-tell-part-of-an-artwork-s-story).

##### Collecting Mixed Media Art: What to Know

For collectors, mixed media works can be some of the most rewarding pieces to live with, because they reward close looking. A few things are worth checking before you buy.

**Ask what it's made of.** "Mixed media" on a label is a starting point, not a full description. Ask the artist or gallery for the specific materials, for example "acrylic, ink, collaged paper and thread on wood panel". It tells you how the work was made and how to care for it.

**Think about light.** Paper, ink, fabric and some pigments fade with long exposure to light, and that fading can't be reversed. Hang works on paper or with collage away from direct sunlight, and consider UV-filtering glazing when framing.

**Mind humidity and handling.** Layered materials expand and contract at different rates. A stable room, away from radiators, bathrooms and damp walls, helps keep paper from lifting and paint from cracking. Handle three-dimensional works by their support, not by any attached objects.

**Frame for the work, not just the room.** Works with raised elements may need a deeper frame or spacers so nothing touches the glass. A conservation framer can advise on materials.

**Keep the paperwork.** Save the artist's notes on materials, any certificate of authenticity and the invoice. Good documentation supports future care and resale.

##### Frequently Asked Questions About Mixed Media Art

**Is mixed media considered fine art?**
Yes. Mixed media is a way of making art, not a lower category. Major museums hold mixed media works by artists from Picasso to Rauschenberg and Bearden, and many contemporary painters work this way.

**Is collage the same as mixed media?**
Collage is one type of mixed media. Every collage that combines different materials is mixed media, but mixed media also includes assemblage, textured painting, found objects and more.

**Is digital art mixed media?**
Not usually. A purely digital work is a single medium. A digital print that the artist then paints, draws or collages onto would be mixed media.

**What does "mixed media on canvas" mean on a label?**
It means the work combines more than one material on a canvas support. Ask for the full list of materials to understand exactly what you're buying.

##### Discover Mixed Media Art on Cohart

Mixed media sits at the heart of modern and contemporary art because it lets artists use whatever a work needs, from paint and paper to thread, wood and found objects. Once you start noticing the layers, it's hard to stop.

Explore [original artworks on Cohart](https://www.cohart.com/discover/artworks), including mixed media pieces by independent artists working with paper, paint, textile and found materials.

*Sources: [Tate, "Mixed media"](https://tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/mixed-media); [The Met, Robert Rauschenberg: Combines](https://www.metmuseum.org/press/exhibitions/2005/robert-rauschenberg-combines); [Smithsonian American Art Museum, Romare Bearden](https://americanart.si.edu/node/1622); [Golden Artist Colors, Oil Over Acrylic Guidelines](https://goldenartistcolors.com/resources/oil-over-acrylic-guidelines); [Champlain College, Mixed Media vs Multimedia Art](https://www.champlain.edu/blog/stories/mixed-media-vs-multimedia-art/); [Artwork Archive, Caring for Works on Paper](https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/ask-a-conservator-how-should-i-care-for-works-on-paper).*


Mixed media art in progress: wood panel layered with torn paper, linen, thread, charcoal and acrylic paint

large_mixed-media-art-explained-cover

medium_mixed-media-art-explained-cover

Mixed Media Art Explained: What It Is and How It Works

Related Post

Cohart 101: Sell art, with just a tap

What is Papier Collé ?

Meet the Galleries: Your Guide to the Best Galleries at Affordable Art Fair NYC

A Guide to Limited Edition Prints

A Bridged Guide to San Francisco Art Galleries

Beyond the Artwork: Building an Artistic Identity

What is Cubism?

Cohart 101: Precisionism

How to Sell Art on Cohart

Profile vs. Portfolio on Cohart: What’s the Difference?

Subscribe to our newsletter