Ilse Michielsen News

• What is Mixed Media?
  

  When browsing through the beautiful paintings and drawings featured in our online gallery, you may have noticed that some original artwork is described as created using 'mixed media', but what does this actually mean?

  Mixed media visual art is essentially the combining of two or more media or materials, and can take numerous forms, but can be broadly categorised into five types:

  
  
• A Brief History of Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday
  In modern Britain the more often, and more commercially, referred to 'Mother's Day', is the fourth Sunday of lent and was traditionally known as Mothering Sunday. It has been observed by both Christian and Roman Catholic Churches since the Middle Ages and the UK is even believed to be the first country in the world to have dedicated a day for mothers.
  
• How Art Can Elicit an Emotional Response
  

  You may have experienced the power of a piece of music, a film, a photograph or painting to make you feel something, from joy or despair to excitement, and even distaste. Indeed, it is frequently argued that the generation of an emotional reaction is fundamental, and even the reason for, creating art.

  Aesthetic responses to art have historically been considered basic stimulus responses, but more recent studies, in which celebrated art historian Alexander Nemerov has been involved, suggest that these emotional responses are actually more complex.

  
  
• What is Abstract Art?
  

  The practice of abstraction in art refers to the use of 'gestures' to suggest the subject rather than creating accurate depictions of imagery. It can apply to different components of a piece, including colour, shape, line and composition.

  The origins of abstract art began very early in the 1900s, during the Modern Art movement, when rapid technological advancements in the West meant that artists needed to find new ways to represent the world around them and its hastily changing ideas and possibilities.

  
  
• Reclaiming Your Home and Decorating Your Home Office
  

  As we navigate our way slowly along the 'roadmap out of lockdown', and carefully welcome a select few visitors back into our homes, some of us may be finding that we now need to reconsider how we use our living accommodation ... and, indeed, how it is styled.