Wrap up more savings

Paint-maker and artist Robert Gamblin has issued a note of encouragement to artists wanting to squeeze more art out of their art supplies.

“Through the tough times painters still paint, they may paint less, or they may paint smaller, but they still make paintings...this is what we do, we will keep doing it,” he writes. “I want to suggest a few ideas to help you.”

Here are just two of Robert‘s suggestions, to which BINDERS adds our own enhancements:

Save your Paint.
Oil, acrylic, watercolor, alkyd - after every painting session cover your paint with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out for up to a week. The plastic keeps air away from the paint so less is discarded.

You can also use an airtight palette container to safely hold any type of palette -- glass, wood, plastic or paper. An oversized Tupperware cake container works fine too.

For an inexpensive glass palette, buy a 8x10” windowpane at a hardware store for about $2. Tape the edges for safety.

Portrait painter John Howard Sanden recommends a single drop of clove oil to each mound of oil paint to keep it workable for several extra days.

If you expect to stop working for an extended period, place your entire palette in the freezer, double wrapped in plastic or wrapped inside a palette container. This will preserve your colors for several months, possibly longer.

Save on Solvent.
Your health and the environment are key reasons to keep strong solvents out of the artists’ studio. For this reason, hardware store mineral spirits and paint thinners are not a suitable substitute as an artist’s grade solvent. A premium solvent is odorless and evaporates slower. It can be re-used again and again until the solvent will no longer clear.

To make your solvent go further, set up Robert Gamblin’s simple system. After a painting session, let the solvent settle then pour off the clear solvent into a second clean can. If needed, add another settling can and repeat. Keep all cans completely closed. You’ll use a far less of the expensive stuff, and your studio will be a lot safer. Something to think about.

Read more about Studio Safety from Gamblin Artist Colors>>

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