April Showers with Mixed Media

The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge Blog has geared things up this month. We have a fun challenge with some prizes from DecoArt!

I'm so thankful (as well as my team members) to DecoArt for graciously sharing their awesome products with us. I'm so excited to share what I created. DecoArt has a line of products specifically for mixed media artist. The line is called DecoArt Media (click the link to view the product line).

My project was quite large. I worked on a 20" square canvas. I collaged various papers on it, then used this wonderful DecoArt product called Crackle Paste.  I used various stencils and a palette knife to apply it, then let it dry. I hope you can see the wonderful texture it made.

The theme for this month's challenge is April Showers. If you are participating, this can be anything from umbrella's, to clouds and rainbows, to  - well.... the sky is the limit (literally!).

I chose to paint coneflowers after a fresh rain shower. The next wonderful DecoArt product I used was the Fluid Acrylic paint. I used it in a variety of ways from dripping and spraying with water, using it like watercolor, and also direct application and line work. I love these paints! I also used their Gesso (white) to separate some of the background from the foreground over some of my collage papers. It's great, too.

"After the Rain" 20" x 20" by Melanie Douthit

Here's a closeup of the paint OVER the crackle paste.

In order to participate, go to the main Mixed Media Challenge Blog and upload the link for the project you created for this month's theme. There will be 3 random winners and each will win a  prize package of DecoArt Media products. How cool is that!

I hope you are inspired by this month's challenge. We can't wait to see what you create.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

New art and upcoming art crawl

It's the Friday before the Art Crawl and my house is exploding with art. My studio is a mess but soon it will be all cleared out.

I am the featured artist this month at The River Gallery on Trenton Street, West Monroe. I'll be hanging my show this weekend. The title of my show is "Enjoying the Journey" and the pieces are a variety of my latest work which is mostly floral. The June 5 art crawl is going to be HUGE! In addition to the usual galleries, the shops on Trenton Street / Antique Alley are going to be open till 9pm and have local artists in the shops. Don't miss this family friendly FREE event!

Here is one of my larger pieces, 24" x 24". It's more of a doodle that has come to life with color. I call it "Saturday in the Park"

After this photo was taken, I covered the piece in resin which gives it a glassy surface and intensifies the colors. 

My most recent piece was influenced by the hit TV show Mad Men. I just love all the art used in the show. Most of them are abstracts, but I was drawn to the Michael Weidmen print in Peggy's office.

So, me loving flowers, couldn't get it out of my head until I painted my own interpretation of the piece.

"Mad About Yellow", 20" x 20". Contact me for purchasing info on this or any other art.

Mixed media artists - have you seen this INCREDIBLE giveaway at the new Mixed Media Monthly Challenge?  What a great prize package. Be sure to hop over and enter!

Monday is another class with my mixed media students. They are incredibly talented and full of ideas. If you are taking the class, bring your surface, papers, paints and textures. If you have alphabet stickers.... One inch or larger, bring them. If not, then come and see the demo and if you like the look, you can try it at another class. Have some ideas sketched out and we'll have some fun.

Here is the canvas that I have had waiting for art to be put on it.

I hope to have it finished for class.

Check my blog TOMORROW for some exciting news!! :)

Have a great weekend!

Textiles in Mixed Media

Today is MONDAY and my mixed media art workshop is tonight! I have a dozen eager and talented ladies that have come with willing hearts and great creativity. I was looking at a mixed media blog over the weekend and wanted to post it here for inspiration. The name of the blog is

Mixed Media May

and for every day in May for the past few years, they have a guest mixed media artist and an interview.

I was guest artist a couple of years ago on this blog. To get directly to my interview, click

Melanie Douthit Mixed Media May Interview

So.......... for tonight's class I am demonstrating my technique for painting on a collaged paper background. I will take a prepared background and go from there. FUN and SCARY because my students get to see any woops that can happen, which, frankly, is a plus because we all need to know that creating is a process with an unexpected end result and bumps and woopsies come along the way, so you learn to improvise!

and I can NOT stress enough to everyone to follow this blog NOW! This new mixed media blog will have prizes! but you need to follow and comment on the blog, and also on Facebook!!! Who doesn't like inspiration AND the possibility of GOODIES to create with? Go to

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge

This is what I am working on right now. It's not technically mixed media, but I did do something new on it.

I created this background which I loved and is almost a finished painting in itself, but in the spirit of pushing to the limits, I took my Pitt Big Brush white pen and....

Again... Taking it to the limits.... As of right now it in in the process of being a landscape. Check back! And if you want more peeks.... Follow me on Instagram!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!