More ART TIPS for you from me.
Twinkletoes
(Two new ones for you from me.)
BUILDING A TABORET
When I was thinking of purchasing a taboret for my studio, I found the ones in
the catalogs both expensive and not well suited to my needs. A taboret is one
of those roll-around storage units with a flat-top working surface designed for
studio artists.
I visited my local building supply superstore and purchased one of those
ready-made kitchen cabinet units that are designed for under-the-counter use.
These come in various configurations. The unit I bought has a single drawer at
the top and a large shelved storage area with already-mounted door at the
bottom and measures 18 inches wide by 36 inches high by 24 inches deep.
These units do not include the counter top. For a counter top, I cut a piece of
heavy plyboard twice as wide as the width of the counter and glued and
screwed it to the cabinet top so that I have a working area 36 X 24 inches. I
bought four heavy duty casters (wheels) and mounted them under the unit so
that I can easily roll the whole thing around my studio. I varnished the wood so
that it would be easier to keep clean. I next cut a heavy piece of plate glass for
a palette, burnished the sharp edges, and laid it on top of the counter. I use
this unit for everything I paint, whether using acrylics, oils, tempera or
whatever.
One addition: I have a small cabinet mounted on top of the counter which I
built from scratch. It measures 16 inches wide, by 18 inches high, by 11 inches
deep and has 49 cubbyholes holes which are just large enough to hold the
150cc tubes of oil paint that I typically use. The door of this unit also holds my
palette cups and bottles of medium.
The cubbyholes were made by cutting pieces of galvanized sheet metal to fit
the interior dimensions of the cabinet, then notching (slitting) the sheetmetal
pieces so that they interlock together to form the cubbyholes.
In cabinet unit's drawer I keep palette knives, scrapers, and other odds and
ends. I do NOT keep brushes there. In the cabinet itself I keep the pint jars of
acrylic paint that I use. I built a slide out unit which allows me easy access to
the jars in the rear. On the other shelf I keep other paraphernalia, including my
slide viewer.
STORING YOUR BRUSHES
What works well for me are gallon cans that I have removed the tops from by
cutting out with a can opener. I then cut up long strips of urethane foam--the
soft, pliable, cushiony kind of foam packing material that comes in thin sheets
about 1/2 inch thick. I cut the foam to fit the depth dimension of the gallon
cans, rolling it tightly (like a jelly roll) until I have just enough to fill the entire
interior of the can. Now, in the interstices of the rolled up foam I can insert the
handles of my brushes and they are kept upright and separated one from the
other for safe storage. I put the largest and longest handled brushes in the
center of the can, and the small, short-handled brushes around the perimeter. I
keep my acrylic brushes in one can, my oil brushes in another. Actually, I have
several cans full of oil brushes, organized by hog bristle, sable, and nylon. I
use a similar system for my watercolor brushes, but instead of gallon cans, I
use smaller containers (pint and quart size) with rolled up pieces of foam in
them.
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Following are the previously posted Art Tips for those who missed them the
first time around.
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The Best PALETTE.
I use a piece of plate glass with edges ground smooth. Glass is so much easier
to clean than anything else commercially available. I use a piece of white
paper beneath the palette to give me a background to work against when
mixing colors. I use this palette for both oil and water based (acrylic) paints.
PRESERVING UNUSED PAINT.
When working in oils, I transfer any salvageable oil paint onto a second, clean
palette for storing in the freezer compartment of my refrigerator until the next
painting session. With acrylics, I try to place on the palette only what I will use
each painting session having found no way to save acrylics from one session
to the next.
CLEANING MY PALETTE.
Once most of the paint has been removed/discarded, I use one of those
commercially available razor-blade scrapers to scrape away the remainder
and wipe clean with a rag and a minimum amount of paint thinner.
ACETONE Solvent.
Be forewarned, it is a highly volatile solvent--high vapor pressure like raw
gasoline. It is safer than most other solvents from the standpoint of toxicity,
but should still be handled with care--adequate ventilation, and avoiding skin
contact.
There is nothing better for softening dried OIL Paint residues: linseed oil,
damar varnish and such. When dried paint cannot be easily removed with
conventional paint thinners, try a little acetone. Spread around with the end of
a scraper. Works like magic. My palette cups eventually become a gummy
mess. I put a little acetone in a large-mouth jar, drop in whatever I want to
clean, slosh it around a bit, and--voila !! You can even use it to soften and
remove paint from natural bristle brushes and some of the nylons--but don't
allow it into the handle/ferrule area.
Acetone is available in gallons at most building supply and paint stores. Store
it with the same care you would any other highly flammable in your studio.
REMOVING DRIED ACRYLIC RESIDUES
Isopropyl Alcohol (common rubbing alcohol) will soften dried acrylic and allow
its removal from palette, brushes, and smooth surfaces.
OPENING/SEALING PAINT CONTAINERS
Have trouble with all those stuck lids on paint tubes, jars and cans of paint?
Here is another one of my unsolicited and free ART TIPS.
I keep one of those plastic bags that they bag my groceries in handy.
Whenever I open a tube, jar, or can, I stretch the plastic across the mouth
before screwing (or pressing) the lid back on. No more stuck lids for me. Use
scissors to trim away the excess plastic bag material. Not only does the plastic
make removal of the lid easy, it also seals the container to prevent the
contents from drying out.
Contributed by: feefy...@aol.com (FeeFyFoFum)
If you didn't make use of the preceding tip and your lids are stuck
closed, try soaking them in straight ammonia. It will dissolve most (water-
based) paints quickly, and will not harm water-based paints if they are not
exposed to the ammonia for a long period. Not too effective on oil-base
though.
RECYCLE YOUR PANTY-HOSE.
Don't throw away those old panty-hose. There is no better rag material for
making delicate corrections to oil and acrylic paintings, or for "stumping"
(smudging) other art materials, like charcoal and pastel. The nylon material
makes excellent strainers/filters. Just stretch across a the opening of a jar, can
or funnel and pour in the contaminated material, and strain. For dissolving
crystals of damar varnish in turpentine, cut off the foot of a panty-hose, fill with
crystals, and suspend toe-down in the turps. If you have long hair and need a
hair net--hey, why not? On another personal note, use the foot and about
twelve inches of the leg for a wash cloth--drop a bar of soap inside, tie the
open end loosely, and--voila!--self-laundering wash cloth with soap built in.
MAKING YOUR OWN STRETCHER BARS FOR CANVAS
Both red cedar and redwood offer economical choices for stretcher bar
material. Both are long-grained woods with minimal knots and other weak
points. If you have access to a table saw, then making stretcher bars is a snap.
I buy the largest sizes readily available (usually 2 X 10 inch planks) and cut
these down to size. Alternate rip cuts (lengthwise cuts)-- one straight cut (blade
at 90 degrees to table top) and the next angled at 30 degrees which leaves a
sharply angled knife-edge lip that I trim and flatten slightly to a 1/4 inch width.
This lip provides "stand off" for the stretched canvas.
Here's my secret for assembling the beveled strips once I decide on the length
I need. I make the appropriate 45 degree miter cuts at the ends of each piece
as needed to get the correct length for each side. The mitered corners will be
held together with hardwood dowels. The holes for the dowels are drilled to the
same size as the O.D. of the dowels I will use. To keep corners aligned for
drilling, I use a corner clamping jig (mine is a conventional corner jig used by
picture framers). You can buy inexpensive corner clamps at most building
supply or hardware stores. With a corner clamped and held tightly together, I
use a variable speed hand drill to drill a hole all the way through the corner at
a right-angle to the miter cuts. I then insert a hardwood dowel to hold the
corners together and trim it to size . The dowel is NOT glued--it is left lose, or
friction fit.
The advantage of this system is that the loose dowel allows me to use corner
wedges to spread the corners open for tightening my canvas later. This
method replaces the complex rabbet joints used on commercially available
stretcher bars. If you are working with extra large stretchers, you can drill two
parallel holes at each corner for added stability.
PRIMING WITH ACRYLIC GESSO
Regardless of the painting surface, the following may help you if you prime
using acrylic gesso as I do. First you should know that many of the top-of-the-
line acrylic house paints are excellent substitutes for the acrylic gesso bought
from an art supply house. Acrylic gesso from a reputable manufacturer is
usually thicker than house paint. If you do use house paint, be sure it says 100
percent acrylic and not acrylic latex or acrylic with something else. When using
a house paint, ask for one that has a mildew inhibitor in it, or ask the paint
salesman to add it. If you are using acrylic gesso in gallons or larger quantities
(from an art supplier) it is possible to mix in a mildew inhibitor yourself, but not
easy with a new full container. I usually pour out some into a separate
container, mix inhibitor into the separate portions, then recombine them in the
original container.
Formaldehyde used to be the recommended treatment for prevention of
mildew. Before it was banned from over-the-counter sales you could buy it in a
drug store. I don't know where you get it now except through a chemical
company. The mildew inhibitor now sold for paints is safer to use and readily
available at a paint supplier.
When applying acrylic gesso, I first thoroughly saturate my canvas with clean
water using large urethane sponges. I rub vigorously on BOTH faces of the
canvas to break down the size in the cloth and help the fiber to wick up water.
This allows the first coat of gesso to flow into and saturate the fabric, thereby
providing a seal (barrier) that cannot be obtained by applying gesso to a dry
canvas. After the first coat has dried sufficiently, additional coats can be
applied. If painting with acrylics, you can begin working immediately on the
thinly primed surface without worry of additional coats. For oils, I use a
minimum of two coats, the second one applied as thickly as possible. I sand
down between each coat and again pre-wet the canvas on the side that will be
my working surface, this time using a spray bottle filled with water. The pre-
wetting makes the thick gesso much easier to distribute without thinning it.
For applying gesso I use the best quality natural bristle house-painting brushes
I can buy--and as large as they can be bought. As with all good brushes, they
are expensive. Properly cared for they should last almost forever. Mine are
many years old. Before dipping into the gesso I submerge the brush in a
bucket of water and then shake out the excess. When not using the brush,
hang it by that hole in the handle in a pail of water with the bristles fully
submerged. If the session lasts a long time, and gesso begins drying in the
heel of the brush, stop and wash the brush out thoroughly before continuing.
After cleaning your brush, hang it to dry, again using that hole in the handle.
After it is dry wrap it in a piece of newsprint or craft paper similar to the way it
came when purchased before carefully storing it away.
SANDING GESSO BETWEEN COATS.
The gesso must be thoroughly dry if you are going to sand it. If not dry, it will
quickly clog the sandpaper, rendering it useless. Even when dry the acrylic will
clog the sandpaper and the finer the paper the quicker it will clog. I use a full
sheet of very coarse grit paper, wrapped around a large urethane sponge.
Sanding canvas can be a problem because it "gives" under pressure. When
you press on the canvas it will give and come in contact with stretcher bars or
cross braces as you are sanding, causing ridges to form in the sanded surface.
To avoid this I back up my canvas with a large piece of galvanized sheet
metal (18-20 gauge) that has been cut to a rectangle with rounded-off corners.
The rectangular dimension of the sheet metal is much smaller than that of the
canvas. It is moved around as required for backup as you sand. The sheet
metal will slide into the spaces between the canvas and stretcher bars, or
canvas and crossbraces.
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Twinkletoes <Skipping through the bluebonnets.>
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E C Bush
> PRESERVING UNUSED PAINT.
>When working in oils, I transfer any salvageable oil paint onto a second, clean
>palette for storing in the freezer compartment of my refrigerator until the next
>painting session. With acrylics, I try to place on the palette only what I will use
>each painting session having found no way to save acrylics from one session
>to the next.
Unused acrylics:
If you save the plastic film containers from 35mm film, you can scrape unused acrylics
into those from your palette. They seem to last a very long time that way. And paint a
little dab of the color on the lid of the film container. Then you'll know what color's
inside.
Lisa Bush
Ann Arbor, Mi.
Twinkletoes
>Unused acrylics:
>Lisa Bush
>Ann Arbor, Mi.
Thanks Lisa. With your permission, I'll add your art tip to
my FAQ (or whatever it is) and repost it occassionally with
attribution to you.
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