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MILAM STUDIOS - A FINE PLACE FOR GREAT ART
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TIPS AND HINTS FOR MAKING ART
Collecting our supplies is half of the fun of painting!
What artist, or wanna be artist, doesn't salivate at the appearance of the mail order art catalog. It used to
be the Sears or Speigel, not so any more. Now we look forward to Cheap Joes, Napa, Mister Art, Jerry's
Art A Rama, Daniels, and so on.The internet has certainly made shopping much easier. In just a few days your supplies can be at your door.
The amount of supplies we amass can be staggering. We suddenly need a whole room of our own. And it gets worse, we will grow to fit our new space! We can't help it; it goes with the territory! ;-)
You will find listed below, many things to help you. In aiding you to do your art, lightening the
load and freeing up needed space.>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>
<<<<<<<<<<Tip & Hints>>>>>>>>>>
- Paper towels are great, both for watercolors and oils. To conserve space, cut the whole roll in
half and carry that with you to class or keep near your easel to wipe your brushes on.
- Toilet tissue is another great blotter. Leave the roll intact and simply blot your watercolor brush.
- Old rags are excellent for oil and acrylic paint Rags that have been soaked with turpentine
should be put in a metal trash can. These rags can spontanously combust(catch fire all by themselves)
Be very careful about their disposable Never throw turp down your sink drain; you will be extremely sorry in the near future! It will corrode the pipes.
- To wash your brushes and thin the paint, fill a tin can with turpentine. In the bottom of the can place a plastic scrubbie. (For the men,… it's a scrubber for pots and pans, as in cooking!)
(( I believe that was a sexist remark li just made!! I apologize boys!! ))
At the end of each painting session, leave the turp alone.
The paint will settle out to the bottom and leave clear, clean turp.
The next time you paint, carefully drain the clear turp into another container and reuse it.
- Watercolor may be poured down the sinkhowever; as it is always water-soluble.
- Acrylics could be iffy. They are a plastic and could solidify in the drain. Better to drain off
the water and dump the sludge in the trash.
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To make painting outdoors enjoyable, lighten up!
Here are ways to do that.
Make a simple outdoor painting kit with a thin
empty Huggies box
- Glue a daily pill container in huggies box the 7 day will hold 7 colors.
- Fill with watercolor.
- Cut the brush handle to fit huggies container.
- .Put small watercolor tubes in a pepper can to take along
- A fishing tackle box, a very small one, size 3x5 with a top and bottom lid is great. Store
extra tubes in one side and fill the other side with watercolor paint. Cut a brush to fit and
notch a place for it.- Cut your watercolor paper into small sizes 5x7 and clip them to a clipboard to use outdoors.
- Carry water in a small container that fits in your pocket or purse.
- A few paper towels and you're ready to go.
- Small wooden panels are great to take to the field. A wooden painting box will hold the canvas,
paints, brushes and turp, and provide a support for the panel or canvas.
- A baby's diaper bag is great for taking supplies to class. It has many pockets and is plastic lined.
- A wheeled luggage carrier is wonderful, no more breaking the back to lug in your stuff.
And it holds everything, including your lunch, shoes and a change of clothes! ;-)
- More on the fishing tackle boxes. There is one that has slide out trays, these are great for colored
pencils and all drawing supplies.- These boxes are much cheaper than the art boxes and are much the same thing.
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Framing A View
Are you at a loss when you get outdoors, about what to paint? When we are faced with that huge landscape, it can be daunting.
Here is a simple way to narrow the view down.
- Take an old slide and cut the negative out.
- Use that to look through to find an outdoor subject.
- Or make a small cut out, the opening the same format as your canvas or papr, from mat board or cardboard.
The out doors is so big and can be confusing. We don't know what to draw or paint, there is so
much! Making a little window will help you frame out a subject.
- Close one eye and look through the little window.
- Always shut the same eye, don't change in the middle of your drawing or painting.
- You will get a different view.
- The closer to your eye that you hold the slide, the more of the landscape you see.
- The farther away from your eye that you hold the slide, the less you see. You can zero in one
a small area.- This works with a stilllife setup also.
- Remember to always hold the slide at the same arm length, the view changes when you
bring your arm in closer to your eyes.
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More Tips & Hints- Turn a tv tray upside down to make a holder for matted art work
- Use a hair dryer to speed up the drying of your watercolor
- Construct a portfolio holder from pvc pipe to hold matted art work. Look through an art catalog for
a pattern to make yours.I made one from aluminum that cost $ 11.00, an electrician bend the pipes for me FREE.
- Make one to stand on the floor and one to sit on a table
- Use a pringle chip can to hold paint brushes,cut a dowel to fit the can and then with a rubber
band fasten the brushes to the dowel.- The dowel, being the same length as the can, prevents the brush hairs from being bent
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Author : Kay Milam
Copyright-2002 All Rights Reserved
A bit about me.. I have painted, made sculptures, and taught art in my private studio and higher
learning classes in two colleges, to both childern and adults.
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