BUILDING A PRACTICE

"Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you."

-> CHUCK CLOSE

i have been working as a professional artist for sixteen years. Ever since I was a little girl, I have been interested in art, taking classes in oil, watercolor, and acrylic mediums. I have tested and worked with various brands and products.

On the following pages, I share how I set up my workspace and which basic studio materials and tools that I always keep handy. Most, if not all, are affordable and easy to find, either locally or online. Supplies and brands can vary greatly in price, yet less expensive brands can be of similar quality to more expensive alternatives. For example, I normally find little difference among paint brands, especially acrylics and watercolors. Oils, on the other hand, are made with pigments that can be rare, such as cadmium, which can increase their cost significantly. If you limit your paint choices to just the water-based varieties, you can keep the cost of your materials at an affordable level.

preparing yourworkspace

i prefer to stand rather than sit when I paint and create. I enjoy the freedom of movement it permits. Acrylics, watercolors, and inks all dry fairly rapidly, so it is helpful to be able to move quickly and easily around a piece as you work.

While standing, I can easily step back and observe my progress from a distance. I can walk around a piece and view it from different angles and perspectives. It is important to consider your work in its entirety and not to focus solely on one area. Overall balance should be a priority as you create.

I work on the floor and use a waist-high work table, which allows me to stand as I draw. On the table, I keep drawing supplies within reach as I work. These include, but are not limited to, pencils, erasers, markers, and some inks. I keep the majority of my paint supplies separate in an effort to keep one area of the studio clean and paint-free.

Drop cloths are an inexpensive way to protect your floor and table and are found at most home improvement stores. I often stand on cut-up cardboard boxes. A bonus is that after they have become messy and covered in paint, they can be folded up and recycled.

Always work in a well-ventilated area or move your process outdoors, if possible. Not only does working outdoors cut down on paint fumes, it also provides natural light, which is the best lighting for painting. Lamps or fluorescent lighting can visually alter the colors in a painting, making them seem yellow, flat, or as if they have a blueish hue. If you have to work under artificial light, periodically view your progress in natural sunlight before making any big changes or decisions in terms of color.

materials

This is a basic overview of all the materials I use in my studio. Standard Materials (see at right) are the ones you will need to create the exercises in this book. The items in Specialty and Unconventional Materials (see page 17) are those I generally use and recommend, but are not necessary to complete any of the exercises. All of the materials can be found at most art supply stores, home improvement stores, online, and at your local grocery store (e.g., coffee, salt, tea, straws, and so on).

standard paints and inks

Acrylic paints and inks are the mediums I use most often in my work because they are versatile, fairly inexpensive, and less toxic than oils. They also come in many different shades and colors. As they are both water-based, they can technically be used together, but because of the difference in their viscosity, they are not interchangeable. I normally use one or the other, or if using both, I layer them as opposed to mixing them. Because inks dry faster than acrylics, they soak into paper more quickly. Acrylic paints allow for more time to be manipulated before the water begins to evaporate from them, leaving just the pigment behind.

-> INDIA INKS provide a strong, vibrant color and can be diluted and softened with water. They are permanent and adhere to nearly all surfaces. The colored inks are transparent, similar to watercolors, but the black is opaque and useful for drawing.

-> WATERCOLORS are water soluble and come in tubes or pans. Similar to inks, most watercolors are transparent, but less concentrated in pigment. There are some subtle differences between tubes and pans, but ultimately, it comes down to personal preference. The tube paints can be slightly more vibrant, but they also generally cost more. Pan paints are also more portable.

-> ACRYLIC PAINTS are also water soluble and come in a large variety of shades and colors. They can be purchased in tubes or bottles. The brands range from craft paints, typically found in bottles, to more art-specific brands normally found in tubes. I use both in my work, which allows for a larger variety of color choices. Also, I have noticed that there is no issue combining the two. The tube paints have a thicker, creamier consistency, which is something to consider if adding texture is one of your goals.

-> CONCENTRATED LIQUID WATERCOLORS are tinted, concentrated paints with rich color. I use these often because I love how the colors stay so vibrant and saturated when painting. Watercolors in general tend to soften into more pastel-like hues when water is added to them. (The concentrated liquid variety can be found online at discount school supply companies.)

standard paintbrushes

Artist paintbrushes come in various sizes and shapes. I prefer to use synthetic hair brushes, which are softer than natural hair brushes and much less expensive. They can be used easily with watercolor, inks, and acrylics so that it is not necessary to purchase separate sets of brushes for each medium. I paint most often with either round or flat brushes.

-> FLAT, SOFT-HAIR S YNTHETIC BRUSHES, 1" to ." (2.5 to 10 cm) in size. Flat brushes are suitable for filling large areas with color and making bold strokes. The edges are great for straight lines.

-> ROUND, SOFT-HAIR SYNTHETIC BRUSHES, sizes 6, 10, and 12. Round brushes have pointed ends and can be used for more detailed work, filling in smaller areas, and making lines that vary in thickness and curved lines.

-> FILBERT BRUSH, size 6. This brush is a combination of both round and flat. The hairs curve in on the side, forming an oval shape. This brush is perfect for blending and is what I use to make soft organic lines and shapes.

-> FLAT BRISTLE BRUSHES (ALSO CALLED " CHIP" BRUSHES), 2" and 3" (5 and 7.5 cm) in size....