Finishing / Sealing an Mixed Media Layerered Artwork

by Marlene
(Ontario, Canada)

Mixed Media Art Questions for Milliande

Finishing/ Sealing an Artwork


Firstly, I'd like to tell you that I just love your work - it's so exciting.

I am an experimental artist, working primarily in acrylics or water based products.

My question is: when applying different types of media other than water based, for example, if you incorporate oil pastels or graphite into your work, how do you seal your work? I primarily use a water based sealer, an all purpose, or gel medium.

I would appreciate any tips. Thanks.


Mixed Media Art Questions answered by Milliande

Hi :-)

Mixed Media Artworks can be sealed in a variety of ways, I guess it all depends on the type of layers of art supplies used .. if there are waterbased art supplies ( like watersoluble crayons, watercolors, anything that smears under water -- then I tend to use a spray sealant first to seal the immendiate layer .

The same applies for pastels , pan pastels which tend to leave a powdery residue .. a thin coat of pastel spray fixative can seal these layers in . I often do that in stages while I am working on a piece ... lets say I put a pan pastel background on my mixed media pieces.. I would put a thin coat of Pastel Spray Fixative BEFORE I add another layer with lets say acrylic paint or crayons ..

As a general rule of thumb oilbased products ... like oil crayons I apply as the last layers as they need to be left to dry and cure properly before they could potentially be varnished .

There is some debate as to the compatibility of oilbased products and acrylics .. some cause cracking due to the different drying times so it is worth experimenting, especially if you are intending to sell your mixed midea artworks .

Another fun way of sealing artwork is using beeswax layers ... there are several recipes about for melting beeswax, adding a medium for making it more durable and then sealing artwork with it .. I have tried it but am not such a fan of the end result .

Gel medium can be used and I usually applie it over collaged mixed media pieces and paper and card seems to absorb it well and it does not leave too much of a residue. Personally I prefer matte artworks , some people adhere gloss medium or even varnishes that give the finished art piece a sheen.

Golden manufactures a UV Varnish that can be applied in layers to protect artwork that is meant to be displayed in sunlight or bright light and therefore reduces the risk of fading ..

Hope this helps
...milliande