A mixed media painting, according to Kis-Lev, is his way of "combining a print with a real original painting while each being different and unique." The term Mixed Media indicates a mixture between an original oil painting and a Gicleé, French for a high-quality fine art digital print on canvas. Painted in small limited editions, most frequently as Artist-Proofs (A.P) or of 25 paintings in each series only, these paintings are Kis-Lev's most valued paintings following his oil on canvas paintings. Mixed media paintings are currently painted only upon commission from collectors or galleries.

Technique

The mixed media painting is based on a high quality giclée print on canvas, to which paint is added. While in the original enhanced giclée the artist also adds paint to the print, he does not modify and subsequently renames the painting as he does with the mixed media paintings.

Numbering

In the beginning Kis-Lev decided to produce the mixed media paintings in editions of 100 or similar numbers, until coming to the realization that he would not want to guarantee that he will be willing to personally change and modify each one of the paintings. Beginning in 2009 he started producing much smaller series, limited to 25 in each size. Currently the artist produces mixed media paintings by commission only, from private collectors or from the galleries representing his artworks.

Painting process

With acrylic and oil paint, the artist first draws the outline of the objects to be added or changed in the painting. Once the outlines are well defined, Kis-Lev paints a layer of black paint as a foundation for tor the area to be painted.

Once the black layer has dried, the artist begins painting the object. Most often requiring more than one layer of paint, due to the dark black base layer, the artist adds the different layers, a layer after layer. At the same time the artist touches with paint and covers other areas of the painting that are simply to be enhanced, not modified.

Once the last layer of paint has dried, the artist covers the painting with lacquer.

Naming

Once the painting has dried with the lacquer, the artist renames it. The name includes two elements; the first, the original name of the painting; the second, the addition of the new modified element. Therefore the new name will begin with the original name and proceeded by the new addition. For example, if the original painting was named "Jerusalem at Dawn", and the addition was of three pomegranates, the new name will be "Jerusalem at Dawn With Pomegranates"; if the original painting was named "Breeze", and the addition was of a sunset instead of the blue skies in the original painting, the name of this new mixed media painting will be "Breeze at Sunset".

The artist sees great importance in renaming the new painting. "This means that it becomes a new original painting. There will be only one painting named the same name and therefore it is not of less quality than an original." Indeed, over time, mixed media paintings have soared in price, and have tripled their value in four years since their conception in 2008.

Signing and Sketching

The artist often, though not always, adds a fast doodle on the back of the canvas, by the indication of the painting's new name. This rapid sketch is done with black pen, and shows the artist's excitement about the new creation, a hybrid of old and new. He also signs at the back of the canvas, by the name and number of the mixed media painting.