Here is a collection of mixed-media recipes to help inspire your own layered paintings. Take notes on the techniques that catch your eye and make a set of creative jumpstart cards. Simply write your favorite ideas on cards and put them in a box or jar. If you feel stuck or need a little push, pull out a prompt and add a mark to your canvas. Add your own creative twist by combining a few or a lot of ideas into one piece.
Dye muslin. Spray through a flower stencils. Monoprint fabric with dimensional paint. Collage painted paper. Free motion-stitch designs and doodles. Write “play” in stitches. Use this free-motion art quilt piece as a fabric journal cover.
Sgraffito paint; wipe out paint on Plexi with a craft stick. Take a print. Paint eggplant, olive and powder puff blue. Paint circles; outline them with a darker color. Draw with a green highlighter. Write with a glue pen. Sprinkle glitter.
Spray paint through needlepoint canvas. Paint turquoise, white and brown. Draw feathers and flowers with a paintbrush. Make lines with a thin brush. Add dots of white. Make marks with a fluorescent pink paint pen. Paint on a brown grocery bag or craft envelope.
Print rubber stamps with inks in five different colors. Stamp with pyrogravure wood blocks and black ink. Write a mantra in gel pen. Paint messy lines in yellow and fuchsia. Print a stencil with a rubber brayer. Scribble with colored pencil. Doodle patterns with black and silver paint pens.
Paint background with gesso. Press silk flowers into wet gesso or paint. Collage black and white flowers. Draw and write with a black chisel-tip marker. Write with a white correction pen. Draw flowers. Brainstorm words by writing about your garden. Write a quote about flowers, bees or vegetables.
Spray purple paint through sequin waste. Draw a honeycomb pattern. Use a silk flower as a mask; when it’s full of color, print the flower on the page. Cover page with gesso. Draw flowers with colored pencil. Write words with a brush marker. Journal prompt: beautiful soul.
Paint a wash of color on fabric. Free-motion stitch circles. Adhere rub-on decals. Cut out shapes from pattern paper. Take a photo of a bridge. Cut apart a photo and collage it onto the page. Write words with a black fabric pen. Write the word “wonder.” Stitch flower designs.
Roll out paint with a brayer on kids’ storybook paper. Take a print with red dimensional paint. Print your paintings on white full sheet labels to create stickers and art tape. Cut pieces of tape and use them for collage or decoration. Take a photo of your studio space. Draw with a white oil pastel. Write about your creative soul. Draw black flowers. Add turquoise tape to the page.
Paint over a black-and-white photocopy of your original artwork. Color block areas with different shades of green. Draw squares and rectangles. Draw circles. Draw a stylized face. Make marks with white oil pastel.
Mix molding paste and paint; spread it on fabric with a palette knife. Cut out a flower. Print with a sink mat with circle pattern. Create a dimensional flower decal. Cut out cloud shape. Collage acrylic skins to fabric. Stamp into molding paste with a rubber stamp. Paint with yellow and pink.
Spray orange ink through plastic needlepoint canvas. Stamp designs with torn cardboard. Paint pink dots with a bingo marker. Scribble words into paint with the tip of the handle. Draw yellow lines with an oil paint stick. Draw a heart. Draw flowers with dimensional paint. Stamp a flower.