When I was a kid, my parents used to take me with them to some great import shops, like Fremont's, a small crowded compendium of the ports of the world; octopus floating in jars behind the fish counter, bags of cool, scented coffee beans on the floor that I loved running my hands through, little dutch chocolates shaped like wooden shoes that are still the best I've ever had, rice candy wrapped in a melting gelatinous wrap and with a cool miniature toy in each box; and Yonomoto's, a beautiful and spacious Japanese import store with an over-life-size HoiToi statue at the front, whose belly we always rubbed for luck, and where my dad bought me an abacus to help with my poor math skills (turned bead-side down, it made a great speedy rolling toy). To this day, I love import stores, and in addition to groceries I often buy small plates, soy dishes, etc. for props in paintings.
Apropos of this, I've had this problem of my brushes rolling around the palette when I set them down to use another one. It was getting really annoying, they'd get paint on the handles and sometimes fall on the floor. I know a lot of artists just leave them in the thinner jar, but I'd started keeping a lid on the thinner to improve the air quality of the studio-- and leaving brushes point down, as some of you've noticed, tends to ruin the tip.Anyway, I had this idea that popped into my head one day. I went to this great Asian market downtown, Pacific Mercantile, and bought a ceramic chopstick holder. This store has several styles, and I've using this one for close to a year. It keeps the brushes from rolling, and also keeps the brush hairs from touching the palette. I wish it was about twice the size, but other than that it's been a workable solution.
What unexpected tools do YOU use?
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19 comments:
Great post and idea R.! I'll have to use that in my studio!! You're smart to use an old post. There are so many that I have that no one has ever seen! I was probably writing for myself for a long time! LOL!
Great idea with the chopstick holders. I think I'll be making a trip soon to World Market to pick me up one.
My favorite unusual tool of late has been a natural sponge I picked up from a hardware store. I use it to texture my undercoat prior to painting getting some really nice effects, especially when I follow with a palette knife.
What a neat idea! I will definitely pick up a couple of these rests next time I shop at my local Asian market. Thanks!
Alex
I know I'm making a pest of myself, and I am going to respond to your E soon 'cause I have roses to write about which always make me think of you two, But. (new sentence) we use a block of high density foam with some slits cut into it to hold different slender hand-held props. We have it velcroed to a handy crate but it can be glued or weighted. You can cut to size so it accommodates whatever you need. Just a thought.
J-)
Great idea, R. I've got something in the box o' tricks that I haven't gotten around to trying yet, but I'll post when I do.
Brilliant idea! Just had 2 gooey brushes roll off onto the floor just the other day. I've got a couple of those chopstick holders in the kitchen, they're so charming but never get used. They're moving into the studio immediately.
I store used paint rags and paper towels in a stainless steel compost pail with a lid in case of spontaneous combustion.
That's a neat idea. I end up getting a lot of paint on me from my brush accidentally rolling around on my palette, though lately I've just been sitting them on a towel on the top of my work desk so I don't have to deal with it so much. I like that your idea would keep the tips themselves from coming into contact with anything.
i can imagine missing the holder and ending up with sploghes of paint all over my table:)) so for the spatially aware painter a great tool. and i like Don's sponge idea... must try that. my unusual tool these days is probably nott that unusual to most but for me i love using my fingers to put light touches of paint on the canvas, smoothing it so that the ground shines through. r.
Great idea. I will certainly be looking into getting one of these. I use color pencils mostly but I still like to do some watercolor at times.
Agree with Don's tool as well the little natural sea sponges are great especially for tree foliage.
Great post
Great idea. Just yesterday I saw a side tray to hold wet brushes at windriverarts.com. My palette is on a wire cart and try as I might, I can't keep my wet brushes where I want them.
Hi R.,
What a great idea! I have the same problem. With acrylics you usually slip them into water to keep them from hardening.
Super tip!
Take care,
Barbara
Great idea, I'll take a dozen.
I thought my ears were burning. I reuse rinsed out bottle caps when I want to control the amount of medium I want to use and not muck up a bunch of it when I'm using a lot of different colors.
I've started to use butcher paper to line my palette. It has the same make-up of the disposable palettes but so much cheaper.
Well, I'm off to our local Asian market! Thanks for a great solution for what appears to be a common problem.
This is such a great idea, very stylish also :)
The very few times I've painted with oil, I have used an empty jar and put the brushes upside down, so that the hairy tips are in the air and they don't touch each other. Not really nice...
Best regards,
Carolina
What a great post, R!! Oh and regarding butcher paper SHEILA: I've been meaning to get a big roll of it to use as dividers between my works on paper. I'm told it will prevent stickiness from any still soft paint... If I an use it as palette paper too, that gives me another reason to buy some right away!! Woohoo!
Brilliant idea, almost as brilliant as your art work and that's pretty brilliant.
Very clever... by now, I'll bet your little paint brush "stools" are covered in paint!
That is a great idea for keeping brushes from rolling. I like the butcher paper idea too. My idea: use a dish drainer to hold wet painting panels.
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