Color of the Month
Raw Sienna
A pale golden brown, earth color. The actual color can vary by manufacturer. Some are browner, others almost yellow ochre in hue. This is a good basic color for every palette. I use it as a sand color by adding white. I also is a good beginning for blonde shades of wood such as oak. I always use it when I paint baked goods such as bread, cookies, crackers, even noodles. Use it out the tube as the crust and add white for the untoasted parts. By itself, I find it too beige for flesh tones, but mixed with burnt sienna and white it gives a variety of Caucasian skin tones. Mixed with a little ultramarine blue it makes a nice greenish gray. Play with it, mix it with your other colors. Keep raw sienna handy - it is a good foundation color with many uses.
Tool of the Month
Goof Off
The ultimate remover, if you can believe the label and I do. You can pick it up in many stores - general merchandise or hardware. It is sold by the 1992 Atlanta Sundries Inc. It does work wonders. I use it especially to remove dried paint from brushes beyond soap. Make sure to use it outside or in a very ventilated area. Give it a try, and save a brush.
No More Bad Hair Days
As artists we are all searching for that perfect brush that will magically take the image out of our imaginations and put it onto the canvas. If you find one, let me know - I keep looking every time I go into an art supply shop or open a catalogue. Even though we don't have any magic ones, we still have our favorites. Brushes are not cheap and we want the special ones to last as long as possible. There are ways to make the ones you have work better and last longer, with the easiest way being to give them the proper care. Remember that they are rather fragile things. Most of the bristles, be they natural or synthetic, perform better when you give them a little extra TLC. Try to help them avoid another bad hair day.
When they are brand new, wash them with some gentle soap to remove the sizing that holds their shape when they leave the factory. Then always dampen them slightly before every use; with water for water based paints or solvent for oils. You don't have to get them dripping, just wiping them on a damp rag will help them prepare for their next stroke.
Clean them thoroughly after your session. Wipe off as much paint as you can before the washing process. Then clean them in steps, if the brush is loaded cleaning it gently several times will be less stressful for the brush. After cleaning with solvents, gently wash your brush out with mild soap and water. Some people like to use just vegetable oil to clean out oil paint, but personally I have trouble getting them really clean that way. After cleansing, give your brush a treat with some conditioner, the same stuff you use on your hair, then gently reshape the bristles and lay them flat to dry. If you stand them up, water will sit in the ferrule (the metal part) which can cause problems. After they are dry, store them standing up in a sturdy container.
In spite of your best efforts, when you have a brush or two with dried paint, there is still hope. Some brushes are beyond help, some may be destroyed by this technique - but what do you have to loose? Use a very strong solvent such of 'Goof Off' - wet the brush with it and work it in, then let it sit for at least 20 minutes. Massage the bristles, wiping them off onto a paper towel. Wash with soap and water, rinse and let dry. Repeat as many times as necessary as you need to get all of the paint out. I have rescued many brushes this way. Make sure you do this in a very well ventilated area, the solvents are really strong. If the brush doesn't get cleaned or falls apart, you are no worse off then you were to begin with, but you might just rescue a brush you thought was beyond hope.
Follow these few easy steps and make bad hair days a thing of the past for your brushes. Then maybe, just maybe, they will give you a little magic the next time you use them.
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