The Layered Storytelling of Mixed Media Art
By Sebastien Montel
Every medium carries its own language. In my work as a French artist working in both Los Angeles and Palm Springs, I rely on mixed media art to bring emotional and psychological complexity to the surface. By combining oil, ink, and fragments of newspaper, I create layers that act as both texture and narrative.
Layers as Narratives
Each material contributes its own voice. Oil provides depth and richness, pencil adds immediacy and movement, and newspaper introduces both history and texture. Together, these elements create a story within the painting, one that unfolds differently for each observer.
Emotion Through Surfaces
In emotional art, it is often the surface that carries the weight of feeling. Scratches, overlaps, or the way color bleeds into texture can evoke as much emotion as the figure itself. For me, these layers reflect the truth of human experience, fragmented, imperfect, and beautifully unresolved.
Psychological Dimensions
Psychological art often reveals the interior landscape of the mind. Through mixed media, I attempt to externalize memory and introspection. Just as our identities are built from fragments of experiences, a canvas layered with materials becomes a metaphor for memory itself.
A Contemporary Language
In contemporary art, mixed media has become a vital way of expanding storytelling. It breaks the boundaries between tradition and experimentation, allowing artists to merge disciplines in ways that feel fresh and resonant.
For me, mixed media is not about decoration, it is about truth. It acknowledges that emotions, like materials, don’t fit neatly into one form. Instead, they layer, overlap, and bleed into one another, creating something greater than the sum of its parts.
Why It Matters
The layered storytelling of mixed media is ultimately about shared humanity. Just as no two lives are the same, no two layers on the canvas align perfectly. This imperfection is not a flaw, it is where the story comes alive.