I have chosen the top 13 art materials and tools that I believe are essential for creating mixed media art of a professional standard and for developing your art style.
1. PVA glue
This is the fundamental item for all things mixed media. This can be used for a whole number of things from being a simple water-based glue, a varnish and to being a component in acrylic paint pouring. Use a cheap version at first to get the hang of mixing it with water and paint. Sometimes people only think of PVA as the type of glue that you use at school! When you are ready to move up a level and produce art of a more professional standard, I recommend Artway Strong PVA glue/medium as it can be used in so many ways. Some ways to use it:
Glue paper, fabric and more to the canvas. It stiffens the fabric which is great for texture and 3D art.
Water it down and make a varnish. It provides a sheen.
Make 'potions' with it. For example, mix it with water, food colouring and sawdust and you have a cool media to paint with.
Mix PVA glue with acrylic paint and water for trying a technique called acrylic paint pouring.
2. Varnish
All forms of art usually have to be sealed to make it of a professional standard but mixed media especially needs it. The layers of different media often create a very textured and fragile surface so varnish is needed to seal it off and protect it. There are so many to choose from - spray, brush on, satin, matt.... It is very confusing! I go for Liquitex Acrylic Professional Varnish (the satin version as it provides a shine but not too strong). It prevents art work from dust, cracking and yellowing.
Other options include:
Spray varnish (gloss and matt)
PVA glue mixed with water
Resin
Gel medium (see Soft Gel Medium by Golden)
3. Scrap paper
Have a large selection of scrap paper of all sorts to paste on to your painting with watery PVA glue. Keep paper of different colours, textures and paper with text and pictures on them. You can 'paint' on your surface by pasting all these colours and images on your canvas/sketchbook.
4. Acrylic paint
Easy to mix and fast-drying, acrylic painting is perfect for beginners and more experienced artists, and you can even get creative with acrylic pouring. Acrylic paint is ideal for mixed media painting due to it being water soluble and quick drying. You can add it to pretty much any concoction to give colour and a slight shine.
5. Charcoal
Perfect for drawing the rough initial sketch and for giving definition to areas of your painting. I find charcoal to be so versatile and always have some nearby when creating art. You can use your hands to blend it, use water to make lines stronger, crumble it and scatter the pieces over your canvas and much more.
6. Pastels
Used in much the same way as charcoal except they offer a forever supply of colour. They last for ages and are just a delight to work with.
7. Fabric scraps
Pasting fabric to the surface will give texture, depth and colour to your painting. You can really jazz up a painting by using layers of fabric. People always ask "just how did you do that?" This gains the viewer's attention and that is beneficial when you're hoping to sell it!
8. Acrylic paint pens
Perfect for giving definition to areas of your painting and they can be used over almost anything from oil paint (when dry) to wood shavings. Tip: you can sweep their smooth colour across the surface with a damp thin paint brush. Artistro thin-tipped acrylic paint pens are particularly good. I have used many types of paint pens and these have been the best: the paint flows out at a constant speed and the tip doesn't dry out or go stiff like others.
9. Mixed media sketchbooks
The paper in mixed media sketchbooks is super strong and can take a lot of punishment from enthusiastic artists! It is well worth paying a bit extra for paper that can not only be used for your experiments, but also can be used for a painting that is to be framed and sold.
10. Palette knife
Sweep your colour or textured pastes across your canvas with a palette knife. Use this to also create lined and scraped markings on your painting. Or use an old bank card as a cheaper option: less flexibility than a palette knife but still creates cool effects.
11 Hair dryer
Use a weak strength of hair dryer to speed up the drying time of your materials. So useful when you're keen to add your next media that is best applied to a dry surface. Hold the dryer about 20cm away from the paper/canvas - you don't want to blast away any media that you are trying to dry!
12. Paint brushes
Have a wide variety of paint brushes: cheap ones and old stiff ones are especially useful for applying messy and sticky media. Better quality ones are good for applying inks or watercolour as they will control the flow of liquid better.
13. Panel boards and stretched canvases
Sometimes mixed media paper or even canvases are not strong enough for mixed media painting. That is where aluminium panel boards are a good option. These are much less likely to buckle than simple canvas boards. A stretched canvas can usually handle mixed media but sometimes the fabric isn't strong enough for constant pressure when mark-making or for the weight of layers of thick fabric. You will find which surfaces work best for your style of painting over time but aluminium panel boards are a safe bet.
I have noted art materials that makes mixed media 'work'. You can obviously try any combination you like. That is encouraged! It used to annoy me at art college how they didn't actually teach you the way a medium was supposed to be used. I understand it now (as it leads you to discover cool combinations and develop your art style) even though I still think it helps to know the rules first before you break them!