Nature by Dori in our mixed media painting class.  The concept of mixed media has been utilized for hundreds of years. There are two aspects to mixed media. One has to do with advertising and the multiple ways of presenting information. This can be using methods such as radio, television or billboards together. The other has to do with art. This second mixed media, or assemblage, concerns works of art that are put together using different media for a composition such as collage, photography or painting made from whatever the artist chooses to use.

A mixed media collage implies two separate art techniques. First there is the art of collage, which is defined by the free online dictionary as an artistic composition of materials and objects pasted over a surface, often with unifying lines and color. Mixed media adds to the overall concept of working with one or more types of painting in addition to the process of attaching collage elements. Elements can include photographs, colored paper, ticket stubs, magazine articles and advertisements. Even with all this visual information, a mixed media collage can still effectively convey a strong image and message.

A real fun, and obvious, form of mixed media art is assemblage. Assemblage is a form of art that is three dimensional and composed of putting together objects that are found. Assemblage really takes mixed media art to a new level. Instead of using the traditional mixed media objects, it branches out to include anything that an artist uses to create their piece of art. It can range from common, everyday items to unusual things that you wonder where the artist even managed to find them. This form of mixed media art is fun for anyone to try, from young to old, you yourself or with a group.

In a world today where "going green" and recycling is highly promoted, and even encouraged and taught in the schools, using items in art that no longer can be used in a traditional manner has become very popular. It is another form of recycling. Some artists have become very popular and talented in this field of art. Regardless of your preference of artistic styles, it is not unusual for there to be a mix of different media. Check out the mixed media art the next time you are in an art gallery, some will be obvious, but look closely at the different canvases, some will unexpectedly be mixed media art.

Even though the term multimedia art is applied to mixed media it is not the same. Multimedia art incorporates the use of differing areas like music, dance or interactions with the person viewing the display. Mixed media provides the artist with diversity both with the use of material and with what is represented by the work. The visitor to the gallery or museum can interact with an installation or simply view. Mixed media art using fiber combines fiber along with paint, dye, thread and ink among the media. The United Nations has declared 2009 the year of natural fiber, encouraging the use of fiber in art.

Do you want to enroll yourself in painting classes Los Angeles? Have you been secretly having the very idea of learning how to paint? If you love the artistry of painting and wish you could learn to paint well, then you’re well on your way. The first step of any venture begins with having the passion to do something. The next step is to act on that desire. If you really like to learn about painting, there are individuals who are willing to help you to achieve your dream. Can be as easy to do is a bit of research by using the internet as your guide.  Find an art school or perhaps college art class near your home. Painting classes in Los Angeles has to be inexpensive.  Begin shopping around for the finest establishment which fits your budget.  In the meantime, here are a few types of painting classes that you might be interested in.

Watercolor painting is an excellent way for beginner artists to start in the realm of painting. You don’t need too much equipment and also watercolor paints are generally a lot less expensive than oils. The process of making a watercolor painting also is relatively quick, which is part of the appeal for new artists who want to see outcomes quickly. While painting with watercolors is pretty easy, there are several guidelines to keep in mind which will help your artwork stand out. Make a few test paintings just before to work on something much more substantial. Watercolor paint is extremely finicky and it takes a while to find out how to get your desired color intensity. Practice holding the brush in different ways and manipulating it to get different brush strokes. When you think you have the hang of it you may want to try your very first official painting.

Oil pastels are actually art tools that look like crayons, but they’re oil-based instead of wax-based. They permit you to blend colors more freely, but they also do not dry or fix entirely to paper; so they can be more hard to protect. Nevertheless, you can make use of pastels to make very colorful artwork. All you need to do is understand the techniques. Take an oil pastel drawing course in your art school or local community university. These types of courses can provide you with the most complete instruction on oil pastel method. The courses must teach you mixing and scraping techniques at least. Once you learn exactly how to work with oil pastels, you can practice every technique on your own.

Portrait painting is a struggle for any artist, especially a beginning artist. When learning how to do portraits, an artist must train himself to paint what exactly he sees and to do that by looking at his subject objectively. The best way to learn how to paint a portrait is by painting a portrait, then painting another and another until you turn into a skilled portrait artist.

Now that you’ve been informed in three types of painting classes Los Angeles, it’s up to you to decide which type of painting classes you believe will interest you.  Don’t forget, you are not limited to three Los Angeles painting classes stated above; you can actually select various other painting classes.

Hannelore Baron was an artist whose work has become known for the highly personal, book-sized, abstract collages and box constructions that she began exhibiting in the late 1960s. Born in Saarbrücken, Germany, on June 8, 1926, she and her family fled persecution in Nazi Germany in 1938 and relocated to the Riverdale, Bronx area of New York City. Without a formal art education, her interest grew and was nourished through a variety of art classes at adult education and community centers.

At age 40, in the mid 1960s, Baron combined her knowledge of a variety of art making techniques (watercolor, drawing and printmaking) and began making her first collages. Baron embarked on an uncharted voyage into collage as a method of containing her search for human connection. Her mysterious and intriguing works of ink, paper and fabric are eloquent testimonials to the common heritage of humanity. Plunging deep into an expression of the common roots by means of personal suffering, she developed a cohesive language through the weaving of texture, shape and symbol. Her transcendent communication expresses the reassurance of the continuum of nature’s cycles reflected by the injection of new life to old fabrics.

Hannelore Baron works reveal the path by which an artist’s self-discovery transcends into universal expression. Working in the form of two-dimensional collage and box assemblage, Baron explored the archeology of the soul. In the early 1970s, Baron established a studio and devoted her time and energy completely to her artwork. Although her compositions are completely abstract, she considered them to be both personal and political statements. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s her work garnered critical acclaim, along with gallery and museum exhibitions in the United States, Europe and Japan.

Her work is marked by the gravity, discretion and understated wit of a survivor. She had a special feeling for paper, for the weight of communication it can bear and the weight of history that settles so easily on its edges and surfaces. She described herself a pacifist and wanted her quietly intense work to convince others of the need to listen. She used letters as symbols of memory and birds as symbols of vulnerability and the need for song. She had numerous solo shows in New York and was a participant in ''Jewish Themes - Contemporary Artists II'' at the Jewish Museum. Although the diminutive collages and doll-size assemblages by Hannelore Baron clearly belong to the 20th Century, it's impossible to link them to a specific decade. Hannelore Baron died of cancer at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center on April 28, 1987. She was 61 years old.

In 1995, her work was the subject of a one-person exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. In 2001 her work was the subject of a traveling exhibition curated by Ingrid Schaffner and organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. Her works can be found in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, and Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Real strangers to time's steady progression, these haunting works are timeless in a profoundly untraditional sense. 

Lisa Semler created mixed media in our painting class.  Painting classes in Studio City is capable of showing you various approaches to this type. You may use paint on canvas, ceramic, paper, lacquered or enameled metal-ware, wood and other surfaces wjere paint can be applied. As you will find diverse surfaces for painting, there too are very different equivalent paints and techniques useful for them.

One good case in point is Tole painting. In the first place simply what does the word "Tole" signify? The word Tole comes from the French, meaning lacquered or enameled metal-ware, frequently gilded. In addition , it signifies a table or board. From the Archival data in the Uk, it really is identified the Schools of Art of that time period of the 1700's, they took apprentices and trained them, in both the 'one-stroke' style necessary for designing furniture, or perhaps the 'one-stroke' style necessary for decorating ceramic. Most of the Schools of Art taught the 'one-stroke' painting approach, wherein a single stroke was applied to create the leaf, scroll, bird, fountain or flower in the design. The brushes (paint brushes are known as pencils within the Pottery business) were 'double' and 'triple' loaded, to create the highlight, body color and shadow, of the petal, leaf or element, brushed wet-on-wet with just one stroke of the brush. This quick method of painting was applied for business motives - to easily decorate the furnishings, pottery and trays ready for sale.

Another is silk painting; it's an exceptionally well-liked art variety however it is almost as old as the breakthrough discovery of silk itself. With modern-day dyes and paints the style possibilities are limitless. Using a medium-weight habutai silk, P-b-o Setasilk iron-fixed silk paints, clear water solvent gutta and in a few paintings batik wax as the resist. This kind of painting is incredibly beneficial to any household accessories and furnishings; it's also useful for designing clothes or fabric.

Painting with oils and parchment is yet another very popular art form. Exactly how do you color a sheet of parchment with paint such as zest-it? With the smoother part of the parchment paper uppermost, rub the oil paint or oil pastel of desired color diagonally across the paper. Try to keep your thickness of color uniform all over. Get a sheet of kitchen towel, flip into 4 and place several drops of Zest-it at the center. Use the Zest-it dampened piece of kitchen towel to rub on the paint/pastel in the same direction as you used it. That is to balance out the color. Use different quantities of Zest-it, as too much will remove the color, wiping the paper clean, and not enough is not going to distribute the color evenly. When you might be happy that the color is even, wipe over with a dry piece of kitchen towel to eliminate any unwanted Zest-it and oil paint/pastel that may be still left. Once you have your colored parchment paper then you're able to trace your pattern on to it. To get this done, put your pattern to the opposite side of the paper, not really the part you've just dyed. Trace your pattern on your paper and then emboss in the common way. The embossing will appear white around the right side. The overall effect of the white tracing and embossing on a colored background offers a completely different physical appearance.

Painting Classes Studio City can definitely teach you all these many forms and techniques in painting. It is actually different learning and practicing it having a real instructor as compared to simply reading it online or from a book. Not only will it benefit your painting skills, it will likewise help in your social life where you can communicate with other students.

 10. Fine Art: Visitors find themselves surrounded by the expressive creations of established and emerging artists alike. Delight in a sort of art-inspired treasure hunt as you wander the home and discover a bold painting by Peter Max, Chiparus’ exquisite sculptures that dance tango, a subtly suggestive work from Susannah Bettag and even a Yul Brynner original photograph featuring the iconic Audrey Hepburn. 

9. Personal Examples from the Art Instructor: Interspersed throughout VillaBerta, guests will find the homeowner’s own abstract works of art. Expressing herself through mixed media and monotype, contemporary artist Clara Berta uses personal mementos and eco-friendly organic materials as the defining components of her work. The artist integrates items such as bark, old photos, tea grounds, dried flowers and newspaper clippings and manipulates them through image transfers, texture and paint in a unique abstract expression – individualized techniques she both creates and teaches.

7. Nature: VillaBerta is nestled in an enclosed haven of overgrown rock walls.  Lush palms, orange trees, feather-light ferns and blossoms of purple, pink and white adorn the Studio City oasis. A regal magnolia steals the spotlight, gracefully twisting through time as it forms nature’s very own sculpture art out front, while a rustic, wooden trellis shelters the back patio. Turn your gaze toward the serene, turquoise pool and watch a radiant glow dance among the rippling water as it shimmers in the sunlight. Take pleasure in the soothing sense water has on the soul. Slowly inhale the sweet aroma of the crawling jasmine. For the more adventurous, meander further out into the back yard to discover the hidden Zen garden. Gather inspiration from the forms, textures and shades of nature surrounding you.

6. Berta Academy: Presently teach mixed media painting classes on Saturday’s 10-1 p.m. and starting January 2011 I will have a class on Wednesday evening's 7-10 p.m.  Once a month I hold Ladies Night In with wine/cheese and we have fun releasing our Inner Artist.  This takes place on the 3rd Thursday of the month and the next one will be on Thursday, Jan. 20th.  In the spring of 2011 I will be exhibiting a mixed media show of my students work.

5. Authentic Art Studio: Witness a space where art is born. The BertaArt studio is an open space that nurtures the imagination and sparks creative expression. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn from an accomplished artist – either through classes or a private lesson. Here, you have a clean slate, a blank canvas toward which you can direct your energy and release your emotions. Surrender to the moment. This is a safe environment without judgment. Relieve stress through the creative experience.

 4. Peer to Peer Inspiration: Draw upon the energy and excitement of fellow students as you share the VillaBerta art studio as a space for creation. Re-visit an old hobby or take this opportunity to try something new as you feed upon the ideas and energy of students around you. Art is about sharing – sharing ourselves and even the artwork itself. Make a one-of-kind gift for yourself, a friend or a loved one and pass on the inspiration. As you participate in the creative process, you will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for art and artists who make a living through the creative expression. Take your work to exhibit in local art shows, boutique galleries and coffee houses and meet other local artists working to creatively share a part of themselves with the world.

2. Aromatherapy: The sense of smell is a powerful tool. Smells can lead to a rumble of cravings in our bellies or can warn us of toxicity. They can jog old memories buried deep within our consciousness and even alter our moods. What do you want to feel while creating? Splash a little lavender on your wrists for a calming effect. Use a tad of orange for a bit of positive, energizing vigor. When we create, we are expressing all that we touch, hear, taste and see through a most unique perspective – our own.

 1. Your Inner Artist: As we absorb our surroundings and draw inspiration from the outside world, we cannot forget the most unique source of inspiration – YOU! Each one of us has a distinctive vision to share. Embrace your inner artist. Feel confident in knowing that anything you express and release is not only acceptable, but also beautiful. Let go… and discover your creative side.

Art meet-up with Vanessa De Vargas from Turquoise

Tips on how to buy and select art for your home.

1. What types of art do you respond to?

Types of art: Still life people, print making, sculpture design, other living things, places and spaces events, issues and themes, media, technique, abstract, representational, realistic, naturalistic.

2. What forms of art do you respond to?

Such as drawing, painting, sculpture (carving, modeling, assemblage and construction) architecture, printmaking, electronic media such as computer and digital graphics, ceramics, visual design, graphic design, collage, photography and post modern.

3. Chose colors that you like.

Soothing colors or sharp or flashy, what does your style of your home say about you?

4. Research artists that you like.

Contact the gallery or artist directly about affordable prints to buy. They might be smaller in size and more affordable and easier to ship.

Visit your local galleries or online shops:

http://www.bergamotstation.com/

http://www.ghettogloss.com/

http://www.ebsqart.com/

http://www.redcat.org/

http://www.bertaart.com

http://www.kellyporterfineart.com/Home.html

Great online art galleries to purchase from:

http://www.etsy.com/

http://www.20x200.com/

http://www.burkedecor.com/

http://tomorrowmuseum.com/

http://www.milomclean.com/

Need help hanging your art?

Contact: http://laartco.com/

Tours and getting to know Art in LA

http://knowartla.com/

List of Los Angeles Museums and free exhibits:

http://losangeles.citysearch.com/list/130891