Loose Expressive Urban Landscape with Acrylic and Collage

Urban landscapes don’t have to be rigid or overly realistic. In fact, painting them with a loose, expressive approach opens the door to freedom, happy accidents, and a finished work that feels alive.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how I built an urban landscape with acrylic paint and collage. You’ll see how I start with random marks, use unexpected materials, and layer paint and paper to create depth, movement, and atmosphere.

👉 Discover more mixed media painting techniques in my Mixed Media Hub

Watch video: Hit play and learn unconventional ideas for mixed media urban landscape painting.

Materials I Used

• Heavy body acrylics: Titanium White, Cadmium Orange, Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red Medium
• Fan brush (oil-style, firm bristles)
• Liner and signature brushes
• 140 lb cold-pressed watercolor paper (Fabriano blend, 11x15")
• Scrap paper for collage + glue/paste
• Compressed charcoal (optional for finishing touches)

💡 Tip: Don’t overthink materials. Loose painting is more about how you use them than what you buy. See my full mixed media toolbox below.

Step 1 — Start with Marks and Smears

This painting began with leftover paint from a previous session. Instead of tossing it, I smeared it onto paper and dragged it with a palette knife. These chaotic beginnings give me organic abstract qualities to build on.

Loose painting thrives on energy. Don’t worry if it looks messy — happy accidents often become the strongest parts of the painting.

Step 2 — Place Key Elements Early

Before diving into details, I loosely placed major shapes:

• Splashes of red for buildings
• Blocks for sky areas
• Gestural strokes for figures in the street

By anchoring key elements early, the painting has direction even as it stays loose.

Step 3 — Add Collage for Texture and Atmosphere

I glued in pieces of scrap paper for the sky, roofs, and background shapes. Each paper had different tones — bluish, gray, and white — which created variety and depth.

👉 Don’t fuss about cutting papers perfectly. Let overlaps happen. You can always paint over edges later.

Step 4 — Layer with Brushwork

With collage down, I switched back to paint:

• Warm tones for middle ground
• Darker “eggplant” mixes for roofs and figures
• Liner brush for quick gestural strokes

Loose brushwork here adds rhythm. A rigid brushstroke might look controlled, but expressive marks create movement in the city scene.

Step 5 — Details and Pops of Color

At the end, I brought it together with:

• Charcoal scribbles for edges (once dry)
• Telephone poles and wires with a needle brush
• Darker accents on figures and vehicles
• Pops of brighter color (yellow, red, white) to make the painting sing

The key lesson: be stingy with extremes. Save your darkest darks, lightest lights, and most vibrant colors for the end. That’s how they have real impact.

The Lesson: Embrace Loose, Expressive Urban Painting

This style is about energy, not perfection. Smudges, overlaps, and accidents aren’t mistakes — they’re what make the work breathe.

By combining acrylic paint with collage, and layering with expressive brushwork, you can create urban landscapes that feel alive, dynamic, and unique to you.

👉 Try this approach: start with chaotic marks, place a few key shapes, and let brushwork and collage carry the rest.

Want to go deeper with collage & mixed media?

👉 Explore the Mixed Media Hub
👉 Browse Collage Painting Ideas
👉 Dive into the Garage Collage Barrage

Supplies I Use All the Time

These are my go-to materials for almost every mixed media project I create. Do I add new ingredients occasionally? You betcha! But these are the go-to materials I rely on most. I know how they behave, how they layer, and how to get the best results from them.

• Acrylic Paints – I only buy heavy body for their thick texture and thin them with water for fluid glazing and washes. See my favorite set →
• Watercolors Paints – Great for transparent layers and unexpected color effects. Exact colors are below.  Shop my watercolor picks →
• Acrylic Inks - Excellent way to add transparent layers to mixed media artwork. Mixes well with everything! See the inks →
• Synthetic Acrylic Brushes - You need a variety and I have listed my go-to's below. I use Princeton brands, very dependable! See the brushes →
• Watercolor Brushes - Get a decent grade but avoid all-natural as synthetic blends have come a long way. Shop my picks →
• Collage Papers – A mix of pattered, and printed paper you see me use is from Hobby Lobby, and it's usually found in the scrapbook section. Browse paper packs →
• Palette Knives – Good to have around for scooping paint and smearing techniques. See what I use →
• Blick Super Value Canvas Packs - Comes in many small and medium sizes up to 20x16". Love em'. Best bulk stretched canvas →
• Mixed Media Paper – Sturdy enough to handle wet and dry techniques. Strathmore is the way to go! Best paper for mixed media →
• Watercolor Paper - Top choice is 140 lb. cold press by Fabriano Artistico. Cost effective and crispy white. Best watercolor paper →
• Caran d'Ache Water-Soluble Crayons – Perfect for adding scribbles and linear interest to mixed media art. Check them out →
• Gator Board - Best firm boards you can find! Buy a large sheet and cut out down. These are used as backing for my paper when I paint. Check it out →
• Mod Podge - Reliable and affordable adhesive for paper, thick and thin. And get the Matte! View the glue →

My preferred hues; Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red Light (or Medium), Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Burnt Sienna, Titanium White

My preferred acrylic brushes; #12 Large round, 2x Medium rounds, 2x Detail, or liner brushes, Large and medium fan brush, a few medium size bristles and old, small house painting brush for glue.