Art Tips & Tricks

Artist Tips

Paint

To make beautiful, sepia-colored paper for art projects (like cards and tags), soak sheets of plain white card stock in a casserole tray filled with warm, brewed coffee. Set sheets to dry on racks designed to cool baked goods. The cooling rack will leave an attractive design on the sheet -- to keep it plain, line racks with waxed paper. You may also wish to sprinkle sheets with the coffee grounds (to be dusted off later), leaving dark sprinkles of color. Once dry, paper can go through a computer printer or be stamped. This process also works for plain printer paper. - Leah

Present your small canvas paintings in style without buying frames. Paint the edges and display them on small replica easels of the larger style ones. Check out the Van Gogh Table Easel and Monet models offered at Jerry's. You can fit a lot of these on a table; they hold up well in wind of an outdoor market and makes for a classy display anywhere. - Joan, Gull Rock, Hyde County

Grapes and Berries: To paint quick and easy grapes and berries load a round stencil brush with your main paint color (purple for grapes, red for berries, etc), then load white on the outer edge. Place your loaded brush straight down on your painting surface, give it a swirl and lift. Gradate the size of the brush for grape bunches. - C. Bebeau, Princeton, MN

Before adding the finishing touches to your artwork, take a picture with your digital camera using the black and white setting, or change it to black and white on your computer. You'll be able to quickly judge if your values are correct. Also, if you are sending a picture for a non-color publication, put these digitals on your computer screen to decide which ones will look the clearest in black and white. - Michele, Marquette, MI

For left handed artists....turn your spiral bound sketch upside down and work from the back of the book. The spirals will be on the right side and not interfere with your hand. - Alison, New York City, NY

For photographing artwork I use a white sheet pinned to a wall outside. I hang the painting or put it on a shelf that I have on the wall. Mount my camera on a tripod. Then put the sheet over me, the painting and the camera, using the sheet as a giant lightbox. I've been doing it for about 3 years this way & have been able to submit my photos to any show and publication with out problems. Convenient and inexpensive. - Becky Joy, Phoenix, AZ

I like using acrylics on paper, usually Bristol, and I love to create interesting backgrounds with rubber cement. The rubber cement works as a resist allowing layers to be painted down on top of each other but being able to keep certain areas white or in my case apply some rubber cement(let it dry), paint a color(let it dry), apply rubber cement in an interesting pattern(let it dry), apply another color(let it dry), and then using a rubber cement pickup rub across the entire piece seeing what is revealed underneath. The end results look very much like a multiple color print. - Donna, Hilliard, Ohio

Use acrylic medium instead of water (too much water keeps the paint from adhering) - Heather (Staff Member)

Mix your acrylics with pouring medium-pour on plastic and peel off after it dries-then sew it together!

Use a magazine that you have finished reading as a pallette for your acrylic paints. The glossy paper won't absorb the paint and after you are finished your session, just flip over the page. This saves me a ton of time on cleanups and saves washing paint down the sink. Just toss out when all pages are used up. - Monika, Markham, Ontario

like to use old muffin tins to mix separate colors of acrylic paint, and add a bit of retarding medium since it's very dry where I live. Muffin tins let me mix more paint at one time than old film canisters, which I've also used. When I'm done painting for that session, I cover the muffin tin with 2 layers of plastic wrap, and the paint stays wet and workable for quite a long time. It's easy to find old muffin tins at garage sales or thrift shops. - Jodie, Borrego Springs, CA

When I am using acrylics, and I am done for the day, I mist some water over them and then cover them with plastic wrap. I have kept paint in a hot warehouse on a palette over a weekend and still been able to use it on Monday. - Karl, Toccoa, GA

Keep some non-bleeding tissue paper on hand when painting. If you have an area of paint where you wish to change or tone down the color, tear off a piece of tissue paper in the color you wish to add, and just apply over your dry paint with a bit of water. The tissue will stick but can still be torn off. You can gauge the effect of the new shade or tone, and if you don't like it, just pull off the tissue. If you like it, you can paint over or you may enjoy the texture and tone of that tissue paper in your painting and keep it there as a collaged area. - Jillian, Cary, NC

No more wasting paint! Whether you're finished with your paintings or are just half way through you can put your palette of wet acrylic paint in the refrigerator and it will stay fresh up to 2 weeks! - Cara, Phoenix, AZ

When I want to do straight vertical lines for things like sail boat lines I use an expensive pizza cutter - for oils and acrylics. Thin the paint the same way you would for using your liner brush (medium) until it is an ink-like consistency and then roll your pizza cutter through it - then roll it on the canvas. It keeps your 'halyard lines' straight! - Shara , Sandy Hook, VA

When using acrylics, I put them into a mini muffin tin with a wet sponge in one of the tins. Place this into a large plastic food container to keep it air tight and you have a damp environment to keep your paints. Before closing make a wet thumbprint into a mound of paint prior to misting with water. This will maintain the paint for weeks. Store flat and make sure it's sealed well. Working with multiple palettes, as with students, I use the press 'n' seal food wrap, mist the paints, put the wrap tightly across and seal it well. Then, I stack them into a garbage bag on a counter with a wet sponge in the bag. Seal and it will keep for weeks. - Linda, Muscatine, IA

n my many years of teaching acrylics, I always get a dot or two on clothing or the rug. To remove the acrylic, I have found that denatured alcohol with a Q-tip will remove dried paint. Then wash gently with regular soap. - Linda, Houston, TX

Brushes

I have found the best way to store brushes after drying is to to get a nice size block of green florist's foam. Stick the ends in the foam to leave the bristles to stand on their own. You can place them as far apart as you need so that they do not touch each other. This method also makes it super easy to find the brush you are looking for as a quick glance. - Teresa, Clinton, NJ

Keep your brushes longer by making sure they always face up. Try the brush crate.

When painting use an old coffee pot to rinse your brushes. It is a nice size and the handle makes it easy to be able to carry to the sink and change your water. - Aimee, Grass Lake, Michigan

Natural bristle or sable brushes getting scruffy? Inexpensive hair conditioner will bring back some spring to the bristles. If the bristles in your brushes are losing their shape, at the end of your painting session, apply a bit of hair gel after cleaning. This tip works on all types of bristles whether they are made of acrylic or natural hair. - Marilyn, Nashville, TN

When drying your brushes after cleaning, make sure you hang them with the tip pointing down. When you dry with tip upright, it allows moisture to stay in the ferrule, and greatly reduces the life of your brush- Jonella, Spencer, Indiana

After washing the brush, dip the end into some milk or moisten with saliva, then use a small rubber band to make a coil around the brush to form a point. When the brush is dry it will be like new. This works very well for small #1 or #2 brushes that seem to lose their point quickly. It is great for filberts and rounds. - Maryanne

Canvas

Hate staring at that huge white canvas? Prime it with Matisse background colors and get inspired! - Heather (Staff Member)

If you are having a hard time with your foreshortening or perspective, Turn your canvas and the photo you are working from upside down! You will see the correction right away! (this works for drawing as well) - Robin, Palm Harbor, FL

Tone your canvas before use. This gives an immediate midtone to the painting, and you can start adding light and dark values right away. - Linda, CA

White canvas intimidating? Add orange acrylic paint to tint your gesso and you have ready made sunlight ready to shine through your paint layers. - Shelley

To get a perfect sketch on your canvas, print out or pull your page from your sketch pad and shade the entire back of the page lightly with a pencil. Lay the sketch, pencil shaded side down, over your canvas and outline the image. This will give you a nice template to start your canvas. This process works very well in portraits when every small detail matters. For larger canvas' I like to print the image on a few sheets of paper, I then do them one at a time laying them out right next to each other, works like a charm and saves you much time. - Daniel, Lancaster, PA

Are you tired of your canvas or board being rough after gessoing? Let dry thoroughly and sand with an ordinary unprinted brown paper bag to smooth the surface. No scratching of the surface and satin smooth! - Shelley, Middletown, Ohio