Making the Most of Art Supplies

Making the most of supplies is crucial, considering the cost, but it can also be a step to furthering creative exploration. When I have paint left on the pallet after finishing a painting I use it. I keep stacks of small sheets of thicker than usual (110# acid free) paper on hand to create "waste pages". This paper will warp if too wet so with acrylics it's best to move quickly with big strokes to cover the sheet for future background use. If there's still paint left over I grab another sheet and have at it. It's freeing to feel so wasteful, using up sheet after sheet in a careless way. It's also a great way to unwind after working on a serious project that maybe required concentration; it takes painting back to a fun place. This can be continued until the watered down paint is only a wrinkling stain on the page if desired. Then, the real bonus comes in the treasure trove of potential art that can be discovered in those waste pages; backgrounds for smaller paintings, ACEO, book markers, collage and scrapbooking material, postcards, paper mosaic, etc. I've even had that pallet mud brown -- you know the color when all colors are muddied together -- turn out to make a terrific wood grain when torn into strips for a collage painting.

Image 1

 Here is an example of one of my waste pages in action. I'd finished working with Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics. I brush scribbled a general abstract pattern onto the paper using the colors I had leftover, (see image 1).



Quite some time later I wanted to paint the antique tea roses that grow outside my studio and found this waste page to be an amazing match for a composition that was already sitting in a vase on the dining table! The resulting painting, titled Tea Roses in Little Vase, has a greater depth and spontaneity than it would have been able to achieve if I'd started with blank white paper. I really enjoyed the ease of having a background already prepared too.

Image 2


Buckled pages can be smoothed later by flipping over onto a smooth table top and wetting. Use a 1" to 2" wet brush and start from the center. Don't stroke back and forth too much or the paper will stretch out of shape. Just wet it evenly until the paper lays smooth and flat onto the table. Place one or two sheets of an inexpensive thinner paper like a 30% post-consumer recycled copier paper on top and weight it all down with heavy books for a day or two. Once the paper is dry it should lay flat for use as a painting or drawing background, sitting flat inside a frame later.



Image 3



Another bonus to using up extra supplies comes in the challenge of only using the leftover colors at hand. In this little self portrait (see image 3) I had a lot of blues left on the pallet and a half dried chunk of white not wanting to be wasted. Glancing in the studio mirror I quickly grabbed some lines with the loaded brush.

 Because the main goal is to use up the paint my brush was allowed more freedom than usual. The resulting image was a good deal more moody than I felt at the time, and more stylised than I'd perhaps have expected, but that's what adds to the fun.

So hold on to your pencil nubs and scrape the pallet clean for creative ways to gets the most out of your art supplies and get the most from them!

*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use.

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Shells , Scales and Smooth

 Shells , Scales and Smooth is the title of a new ArtFire collection curated by member artisan, CactusCroneCreations, filled with the beauty of amphibians and reptiles. Personally, I love turtles and salamander, I think frogs are great, and snakes are lovely; All of these creatures are lovely in life, but this collection of art and jewelry adds an extra spark to Nature's work! I'm very pleased to have an original ACEO painting taking part in this group too... "Salamander Moon".
 I often pull my inspirations from myths and legends, putting pieces together to make my own puzzle. The salamander is considered to be a Fire Elemental within many cultures, and a Native American name for the August Full Moon is "The Red Moon", so in my world that moon is red because an Elemental has curled upon it for the season, adding heat to the moon's cool night.

Shells , Scales and Smooth

Curated By: CactusCroneCr...

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Photography

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Influences; A Painting on Paper

Influences is a multi-media painting on paper by Tree Pruitt.

I found myself awakened in the middle of the night and unable to drift back to sleep right away, so I decided to let my pencil wander through a bit of relaxed drawing; the little painting in this entry is the end result. I didn't seem to have anything in particular in mind but shapes and forms began to flow alright. By the time the paper seemed to have a composition to the group of images I was able to pleasantly drift back to sleep. The next day I worked the color and forms to a more refined level with Holbein water color paint, Derwent watercolor pencils, Prismacolor pencils, some acid free collage papers, and acrylic paint thinned with acrylic gloss varnish. I've included a couple of close-up views here, (though Blogger seems to show my images a bit darker than they should).
Clicking on an image will open a larger version, for a better look; you may need to click the page back to return here from viewing the image.

I had a good time and enjoyed working with the high key colors. The vibrant blue and pink are both created from Holbein brand water color paint. The 'Opera' creates a super hot pink and rich warm orange tones. The 'Peacock Blue' is probably my favorite blue of any brand or paint medium! These colors really "pop" more so than my camera and Blogger will pick-up. The butterfly and giant thumbprint are pre-printed collage paper I adhered with PVA glue, as well as the areas of artist tissue paper to the right side of the piece and over the moon like shape. The black dots are created with acrylic painted and gloss varnish that I allowed to thicken by drying slightly. I later added highlights to the dots in areas by pressing the painting onto another piece of paper, which when pulled away left small amounts of paper fiber stuck to the highest points of the dots. I personally think the differences in texture, layer and color are pleasing.

It wasn't until my husband walked by the studio table and remarked on the piece that I realized it was a self portrait - which seems silly now, in hindsight, that I hadn't noticed before! There are several metaphysical symbols within the painting that relate to myself, my eyes are green, and the inclusion of the nose ring on the same side as my own should have been a give-away! Now that my eyes are more open, I've enjoyed looking at the painting to interpret what my subconscious was leaking onto the paper, (and still chuckling at myself for not having been more aware). So, I've aptly title the piece as "Influences", and leave it up to the viewer to decide what each element may represent. ;)

*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

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Latest in Dance with Moon ACEO Series

The figures in my playful Dance with the Moon ACEO Series are created spontaneously through free movement of the media; I let the images happen in the moment, without an under-drawing. Thick paint strokes make up the first two in the series, but for the third card I allowed Prisamcolor Pencils to have some of the fun. Card #3 is a tree filled landscape scene created from wild lines and vivid colors.

Visit an earlier post here to learn more about the series, including what inspired them. See all of the available cards in my new Artfire Studio. Each Dance with the Moon ACEO painting will remain OOAK, having no reproductions made now or in the future, and includes an acid free Strathmore paper envelope with a clear sleeve protector.

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*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

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