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Watercolourists
When using masking fluid place a few drops of glycerine into your jar of water that you are using to dip your brush into, it seems to slow the drying of the masking fluid and there is less chance of it setting on your brush)
Check out Winsor & Newton's new mediums they are incredible, call in and ask for a brochure. The most popular is the iridescent medium which gives a pearlescent or glitter effect.
Protect your valuable brush by placing a drinking straw over the hairs, it's cheap and much safer than trying to use the narrow plastic tube that comes with the brush.
Want to know how to stretch your watercolour paper? Download a help sheet; affinity only
Oil painters
Keep a vegamite sized jar of vegetable oil handy (canola works for us). Wipe your brush clean then drop it into the oil, so while you are working all your brushes (except the one in your hand) will be in the vegetable oil. This simple device will stop any residual paint on your brush from hardening & will actually clean your brush. At the end of your session it's a simple matter of wiping the vegetable oil from the brushes then cleaning with a little turps. Your brushes will last much longer, so you can afford to buy the interlocked hog hair brushes which don't frazzle or shed like the cheapies.
Acrylic painters
Find a piece of marble (or thick glass) to use for your palette, it's cooler so your paint doesn't dry so quickly, it cleans easily, and it doubles up as a headstone if you shoot yourself in frustration.
Is your acrylic drying too quick? Then you are using the wrong brand. Try Atelier Interactive and atelier A/M it will stay as wet as long as you want it to.
Want to paint wet on wet like the oil painters do? It's easy just switch to the Atelier Interactive acrylic.
Do yourself a favour and check out the acrylic mediums, they change the character of the paint and increase it's versatility.
The popular colourfix pastel paper can be modified by a light sand to make the surface more subtle. Sand with wet and dry (fine grade) or a damp kitchen scourer.
Scuffs and unwanted marks can sometimes be removed by using a damp cloth and a patting action.
Printers
Createx monotype is now in stock, it's a simple no mess method which allows you to be more creative with your monoprints. E.G. paint your image onto your surface, let it dry, scratch back into it, (or paint another colour beside/over it) wet your paper and press onto image. Try the black, it's really intense!
Tried H20 oils? They have a superb colour range, do not smell and easily clean up with water, great for lino/mono/etching/ and more.
Printmaking Methods explained
http://www.acay.com.au/~severn/methods.htm
Stencilling? Try using an oilstick, no mess no drips, paint dosen't bleed under the stencil.
Bet you didn't know that the disposable camera can be refilled, well it can it uses a 35mm film cartridge 400asa 27 exp film.
This cheapskate of the month tip comes from Tony Hills.
Have a gander at www.photosecrets.com/links.tips.html
For black & white efficionados Greek style www.artzone.gr
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Ready made matts
Ever thought about using a ready made matt? It's easy at Art 'N' Such as we make a range of conservation quality matts. Tape your painting to the back then simply insert into a ready made frame, instant framing. Our matts feature a liner (they are double matts) and are affordably priced. Ideal for painters on a tight budget, or for those who like to present their work for sale in a mounted format. Just cut a back to size, sandwich your work between the two then cover in clear plastic. (Hint print out info on yourself & the painting and stick this to the back, gives it a professional look). If you sell prints of your work this is a great way to present them, we can supply you with a custom made matt for volume orders.
How to hang heavy works
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Heavy works should be hung from two vertical chains (wire or strong chord) attached close to the top of frame. these chains may be short (so you can't see them) and they can be non vertical (but not too much). For really heavy works loop the chains and attach both ends to two seperate points on each side of the frame. Some frames (those with glass especially) may need additional support to prevent the bottom moulding from bowing and sagging (pre 1960 women know all about this problem), attach strong chord from one chain hanger and run in a vee shape to another hanger mounted at the centre of the bottom moulding and then up to the other chain hanger, make sure you tie it with plenty of tension on the chord. |
How much of my painting should I show in the mount window?
For works on paper carefully work out the dimensions of the image that you want to see in the window by experimenting. 4 long scrap pieces of card are useful here to mask out the unwanted parts, place one to each side of your image and move them in and out until you are satisfied with the results. (an old window mount cut across the diagonal to form two L shaped pieces is brilliant for this) Try many different positions as many works can be improved by careful cropping.
Once you are satisfied, check that the scrap pieces are parallel and check for square by measuring the diagonals then adjust and re-check. Now mark your cropmarks (in light pencil and in the margins, and remember to erase them as you mount the work).You should now calculate the width of the mount and add double that (there's a mount on both sides of the image isn't there?) to the image dimensions and you have the frame size.
Cutting & joining your own frame.
This is perhaps the hardest part for DIY and the part that lets you down if it's not done properly. We at Art 'N' Such cut the frame moulding on very sophisticated machines so it's not difficult to get an exact size. For DIY we suggest you attack the most difficult part first (cutting & joining the moulding) so that minor errors in the frame size can be allowed for in your mounts and when you discover how difficult it is you will not have wasted so much time before you wise up and bring it to us.
First you need to make sure that the opposite sides of cut mouldings are EXACTLY the same size. (if they are different lengths the corners will not meet properly giving you the impression that the joins are not at 45 degrees)
Hint cut the longest sides first so if you stuff it up you may be able to cut them down for the shorter ones and only have to buy half as much material to fix up your mistakes..
Second the cuts need to be EXACTLY 45 degrees (if one is 45.5 and the other 44.5 the frame will join but the moulding will look as if it is two different widths)
Third the cuts need to be vertical (no gaps and the total surface of the cut wood touching the other side to give a firm bond) When there are gaps it will look very amateurish and be prone to break; let's hope that when it breaks the painting falls on your mother in laws head so it's not a total loss. If you are concerned about the finished appearance Bunnings sell timber filler in 44 gallon drums, most DIY will need a couple of these per frame.
Joining Now here's the easy part, with a well cut frame joining is easy, glue the ends and clamp the 4 pieces together then wait for it to dry, simple! Yeah right even better wait until your spouse is away then go round to Art 'n' Such and get them to make you the frame; if you ask nicely we will leave our identification off it to save face.
You can nail the corners with finishing nails (remember to putty the holes afterwards) or better still dowel/biscuit join the mouldings together if you have the gear. Forget about driving v nails into the moulding that's a job for someone with specialized machinery or you could buy one of the hand held hammer in v nail tools that we sell. They are fantastic for teaching your children new swearwords and making your thumb swell when you miss.
Hint use good glue & get good results, furniture has survived for many centuries glued together.
Standardise your sizes
It makes good commercial sense if you make your works the same size, they are easier to display, easier to store, freight, easy to update & swap around unsold works.
Have more than one size of course (sml, med, large or some other system that suits your style)
Hint some sizes are more cost effective due to the standardised sizes of most framing materials, talk to us and we will advise you how to use standard sizes and get a better price for framing.
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Put it on the web and have your work seen by millions
OR
Why not consign your work to one of the auction houses? Over $90,000,000 of fine art was sold last year at auction.
The major difference between a good painter and a bad painter is the amount of work the good one throws away.
DISCRIMINATE,
GOOD PAINTERS DO BAD WORKS, THEY JUST DON'T SHOW THEM!
Don't skimp on the framing! PRESENTATION MATTERS
Sell the sizzle with the sausage!
A clever artist statement can be a major selling tool.
a title that helps explain the piece,
Current C.V.
Cred (A.B.N. business cards, letterheads, the right address, and other creative Bull***t)
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Read our mag....Our specials....Workshop dates....What's on.....Competitions....Links to Arty sites.... help sheets.............Home |
