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The Tools of the Trade












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All About the Tools

























As I said, I enjoy working with a lot of different media. I've done pottery, drawing using silverpoint, pencils, charcoals, crayons, conte crayons or just about anything else that will make a line on a piece of paper. I've painted with just about every type of paint you can use as well. My favourite happens to be watercolours, but I have also used acrylics, oils and (God help me) enamels. I think if there is something that you can get creative with, I have fiddled with it.

But I'm anal. When it comes right down to it, you can blow tons of money on pencils with various gradiants of hardness, and I can't help but love an ordinary no.2 pencil with the little rubber eraser at the end. On the other end of the spectrum, you can buy brushes for a very economical cost if you want, but I spent what amounted to a lifes savings in order to get a set of pure Kolinsky Sables for my watercolours. It's worth the extra money. If anyone else tells you differently, don't listen.

The most important thing for an artist to do is to take care of their tools and supplies, regardless of expense. Use what feels best to you. Be willing to spend the money where it counts.






The first Tool of the Trade that I will go into is those much talked about and highly vaunted Kolinsky Sables. Trust me, for as much as you pay for these things, you treat them better than you would your children!

kolinskysables.jpg

Proper care for a Kolinsky Sable Brush:
Don't ever use them for Oil or Acrylic painting. The potential to ruin a brush is too high to warrant using these.
Wash them out IMMEDIATELY after use with a mild soap and warm water.
If you want to be especially good to them, rub some hair conditioner into the bristles occasionally. Of course, this goeas with any natural hair brush.
NEVER EVER store them bristles down.
By not being lazy and following these simple guidelines, you can be assured your brushes last longer than you do. They will also continue to provide the excellent point, paint retention and snap that makes them such an investment for an artist to have.

























This past October, my mother's house burned. The cause? Well, let's just say that faulty wiring in electric baseboard heat and xylene do not mix. Or they do. With Explosive results. It all depends on how you want to look at it. As a result, I lost over 80% of my art supplies. There is a lesson in all of this, of course. Being an Artist means that you will be playing with some highly dangerous stuff, from solvents to pigments and on down the line. It's part of the nature of the beast, and don't think that you'll get around it. But be careful. Make sure all supplies conform to ASTM-D4236. Be aware of what you are using and makes sure you store hazerdous materials properly. I.E. DO NOT KEEP XYLENE NEXT TO ANCIENT BASEBOARD HEATERS. I'm saying this stuff relatively tongue in cheek, but it's deadly serious. Want proof? Just swing by my mother's place.