Jacqueline Brewer Notes From The Studio

                                            "Blank Canvas- Coffee Talk"

Blank Canvas

8x8

$200

(Just Kidding!) : )

Why the blank canvas today you might ask?

I was actually just getting ready to pull out my brushes and paint tubes to start another piece when my phone rang. It was my husband calling from the office to tell me that someone had stopped by on their way through town and wanted to speak with me. (He also added that I would never guess who it was) he was right about that. It was my long lost best friend from childhood that I hadn't seen in over 10 years! I was shocked to say the least..first because we live in a very small town and people usually don't pass through the middle of nowhere and second because my friend and I hadn't spoken in years! So of course I dropped everything and beat feat down the mountain for a long overdue visit. It was great to see her and catch up. 

Soooo... I thought since I was busy and out of town over Mother's Day weekend (hope you all had a good one) that I should at least grab a cup of coffee and hop on the blog to let you know I'm still here!

I've decided today I would share a few tips and tricks for all of you artists out there that I have found to be cool and useful. 

Tip #1.  how to clean your PAINT BRUSHES.

I learned this cool trick from one of the fellow artists at a recent workshop I attended. It is not necessary to use toxic stinky chemicals to clean your brushes. Instead you can use any old cheap brand of cooking oil! As I am painting if I am done with a brush I just stick it in the jar of oil. If I need to leave it for a while, (not that I would know anyone who would leave their brushes messy overnight) ;) no big deal because the oil conditions the bristles. Then when I want to use the brush again I just take a paper towel and a bar of soap to the sink. I run some warm water and rub the brush on the bar of soap to get the rest of the paint residue. It only takes a few seconds to clean each brush and there is no stinky smell to deal with! In case you are wondering I use Dove soap..it's really soft on your hands.  : )

Tip #2. How to preserve your PAINT.

If you are anything like me..or most "starving" artists for that matter you cringe at the thought of wasting a single precious squirt of oil paint! You try to work with that little blob as it hardens, poking at it and flipping it over to get every last bit of wet paint possible. Don't laugh you know we all do it. Well except for Dreama Tolle Perry who paints like she has an endless supply delivered to her door by Dick Blick every day..just scraping away piles of paint as everyone looking on gasps at the horror of it all! 

So..if you are like me and feel the need to save every last drop, there are these nifty little thingys called paint savers. You put them right over the top of your little blobs and they suction right to your palette! No more hard crusty piles..YAY! 

You can find these little gems at  www.paintsavers.org 

Tip #3 CHEAP & EASY EASEL for small works on panels.

This was also a great idea I learned at the workshop. When you are working on a small painting sometimes (well all the time) it is difficult to get your paint on the bottom edge of your panel when it is stuck in that little groove of your easel. One very affordable solution requires only 1 regular clip board, 2 paint sticks and 4 large clips. 

You simply lay the paint sticks across the front of the clip board spaced according to the size of the piece you are working on. You put a clip on each end to hold the paint sticks in place. Slide your painting panel in between the paint sticks on the clipboard and then place the clipboard on your easel. Viola' you are now ready to complete your masterpiece!

Hopefully you found at least one of these ideas to be useful and if anything you will save a few bucks that you can apply towards filling up your gas tank!

I will get to work on that blank canvas now and post it here when I am done. Until next time...

Have a Great Evening!

P. S. If you have any great tips you would like to share please post them in the comment section below.