Every material we use at the creative level brings something special to the process of making new art. Trying to work with dirty brushes and broken pencils is nigh on impossible.
Every artist, gallery, or even art collector, such as Charles Saatchi, knows how important it is to have clean and well-maintained art supplies. Therefore, here are a list of simple tips that will help you to keep your supplies in the best condition.
Looking after your pencil case
It goes without saying that one of the most fragile tools an artist uses is a pencil. Graphite pencils often roll, fall and break, while charcoal pencils are volatile and drop pigments on the paper.
Try your best to put everything away in a secure case, to prevent damage. Keeping a clean and tidy workspace will also help in the maintenance of these products.
Protect graphite pencils from shock, so as to avoid breaking the graphite inside the wood casing. Try to avoid putting pencils down then picking them up again repetitively. Instead, hold them in the hand that is not drawing.
Always keep your belongings clean. Use a paintbrush to clean down a coloured pencil after sharpening. Try cleaning a rubber using hot soapy water – just don’t forget to properly dry before using it.
Cleaning and caring for brushes
Brushes are a tool artists rely on day in day out. Without them, our art would be hindered. Like EtchrLab says, “taking care of our paint brushes can impact the life expectancy of our brushes”. Taking care of brushes also decreases the amount we spend on them and makes it easier to create quality pieces of art.
In order to keep your brushes in top condition, the most important tip you can have is to clean your brushes immediately after use. Allowing paint to dry on a brush not only means bristles can degrade, but the physical stress of removing dried paint can also damage and break bristle fibres.
Protect brushes while you’re working, by storing idle brushes in water or solvent, depending on the type of bristle.
If you’re working with acrylics, you can just clean your brushes with water, but oil painting takes a bit more maintenance.
Be sure to wipe brushes down of excess paint, before placing the head of the brush in solvent to remove the remaining paint. Use brush soap on the bristles to remove any solvent and rinse with warm water, before drying thoroughly. Ensure your brushes dry horizontally to avoid damaging bristle glue.
Natural bristle brushes will also benefit from the occasional condition.
Don’t forget your painting palette
As with brushes we should clean our painting palette after each session, especially if you use a wood palette. As Topic Drawing reminds us, “it will be a disaster to clean, as the paint will penetrate the wood pores”.
If maintaining brushes and a wood palette is too much for you, there is always the option of using a disposable one or switching to plastic for acrylic painting. Some artists even use parchment paper over the top, so they can throw that away instead of cleaning.
Wooden palettes are the best option for oil paint, however, you can purchase palettes that come with cover overs, so you can use the paint for more than one session. Not only does this save on cleaning, but you can also save money on products, by reusing paint. Just be sure to leave the oil paint in an airtight container, for the best results.
With these tips, you will no doubt be able to maintain your art supplies as best you can!
No Comments