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Comments on sketchbooks acrylics mixed media oils drawings

Rosie Britton

Dyes, Gouache, and Mixed Media by Rosie Britton
(Click on image to see painting. To return to this page, click above the painting)

Probably nothing liberates painters quite as much as using mixed media. Suddenly all the old rules are up for grabs, and the only question is, "Does it work?". For me, who tends to use acrylic paint in a quite controlled and viscous way, I love the fluidity and unpredictability of using dyes and inks, and often choose them for free-flowing,organic subjects, especially woodland. I have included a few pure pastels and gouache works too, but for the most part these days pastel and gouache are media I tend to use for occasional opaque or linear touches, along with pen, graphite and charcoal. There are, of course, so many other options, especially if one is not too concerned about how long things will last: pressed grasses, leaves and flowers; sand, mud and grit; local organic pigments acquired on holidays abroad. And to use as implements: feathers, reeds and twigs provide a wonderful freedom from constraint and a sense of connectedness with the environment in which one is working.

Dyes and ink

Dyes, ink and gouache, painted with a feather found where I was working

Dyes, charcoal, pastel and gouache

Comments on sketchbooks acrylics mixed media oils drawings

Rosie Britton

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