Art supplies for the part time painter (EMG Zine November)

Don't have time to go to the art shop? What can you get from your every day supermarket/ grocery store, newsagency or shops that you regularly visit that you can use as tools? Many of you are probably already using these or have heard of the techniques described, but I thought I'd collect a 'shopping list' of supplies!

Of course you are not going to find artist quality paints, or sable paint brushes, but there are plenty of things that you can add to your artist toolbox that are cheap, available from general shops, and can extend out your toolset or allow you to experiment, particularly if you don't have time (or money) to visit the art shop.

Muse, oh muse, where for art thou?

You've got an hour/ day/ week off where you can dedicate time to painting. You sit down in front of your empty sheet of paper/ canvas and ....

Nothing.

After weeks of not being able to paint you FINALLY get the chance, and your muse has gone walkabout. So what can you do when this happens?

1. Relax, it will come back eventually. It's like spilled milk. You can't change the fact so you might as well take a deep breath, recognise that maybe today is not going to be the day for painting, and get over it.

2. If you can't paint, go and do something else. Why waste a couple of hours bashing your head against the proverbial brick wall. Be practical. Do that website update you've been putting off, go watch a movie, do a puzzle. Just stop sitting there hoping that inspiration will magically happen by staring at a blank page. It will frustrate you no end, and at the end of the day if nothing has happened, you may feel worse than when you began.

3. Flip through an old sketch book. If you're feeling uninspired, go back and see if there's a half finished sketch that needs some shading done, or a painting that needs details added. Looking at your old stuff can inspire new stuff.

4. Write out a list of things you'd 'one day' like to paint. It can be anything from illustrating a specific book, to something vague like 'a blue elephant'.

5. Pick a topic you're interested in doing some paintings on and research it. Just because your painting muse has gone walkabout, it doesn't mean that you can't be planning future work. Do a google image search, follow links, look at technique articles. It doesn't matter if you start out researching 'The sleeping beauty' and end up at 'Martian icecaps'.

6. Join in an art challenge. Some great ones are
- 100 Themes Art Challenge - this is about interpretation of a single word
- Illustration Friday - a weekly challenge site-
- Speed painting challenges on most good art forums - particularly useful for digital artists

7. Experiment. Work through a tutorial you've had bookmarked for years. Don't worry if you're copying a painting in order to learn a new technique - this is how many artists learnt their trade. Just focus on keeping your skills up to scratch. This is about doing art stuff, but not letting your brain get in the way.

Your muse may be nice and come back half way through the first 10 minutes of the movie you've switched on. Then again, it might be vindictive and take a holiday in Barbados for three months. The point is, when you force things in art, it doesn't always work. The more you try and make it happen, they more you may dislike what you're producing and get miserable. Artist block happens to the best artists. It doesn't mean you suck, it just means that you aren't necessarily meant to paint at 2pm on Tuesday afternoon! So don't give up, just relax and fill in your time while you're waiting for Muse to come back.

Or fire her, and hire a new one!

Uses for clear post-it notes in the art studio

Ah post-it notes. I love simple office supplies that become near indispensable in the office. When I read this article http://unclutterer.com/2008/05/28/how-to-write-in-books-that-arent-yours/ I got to thinking about some of the uses that an artist could apply this simple technique too. The article talks about the using clear post-it notes for making notes in library books and text books.

The transparent post-it notes are fairly small (normally 4 x 4"), but they do stick to the page without damaging the book. This is great when you're using a library book or a magazine you don't really want to keep, or a text book you want to sell next semester! Unfortunately, these post-it notes can be somewhat difficult to find so I have some alternate techniques listed further down the page.

Uses for artists:

• Make composition notes from other paintings, photos, images
• Highlight phrases of text such as instructions in how-to books while you're working through a technique
  
• Highlight colours from lists of paints that you need to buy
• Try alternate compositions/ costumes/ expressions
  

Alternate solutions:

1. Attach with blue tac a small sheet of the following
   


1. Baking paper/ greaseproof paper (though you may need to use a Sharpie pen with this)
   
2. Tracing paper/ velum and pencil
3. Clear acetate and a whiteboard marker/ Overhead projector marker. This is only a temporary solution as eventually it will wipe off. Plus Acetate can be expensive!
   


2. Photocopy the image and draw directly on the photocopy. Use white-out/ correction fluid and coloured pens/ highlighters to explore different ideas
   
   
3. Take a snapshot/ scan of the image and transfer to the computer. Create a 'trace' layer in your photo editing software and go mad!
   
   
4. Use software such as http://www.qipit.com to "Copy documents, whiteboards and handwritten notes with your camera phone or digital camera to store, fax, email or publish!" (From the site)
   

N.B. make sure you are following copyright laws whenever you trace/ copy/ reproduce anything.

Fighting Artist block 1: Experimentation

Everyone goes through periods where things just don't go right. When you're an artist, it's called artist block. Some artists say their 'muse has flown'. I call it a pain in the neck!

There is nothing more frustrating than needing to paint, and not being able to draw a stick figure, let alone finishing that painting that's half finished. One tool I've found for avoiding the frustration of artist block is experimentation. It's a chance for you to create something that you don't care about, something that doesn't matter if you screw up, and who knows - you may find a technique that works brilliantly.

Have a list of things you'd like to try. Keep them near your art space so that if you feel like doing art, but have the inspiration or technique of a brick on that day, you've got something to try:

• Speedpainting: it's a technique mainly for digital artists, where you force yourself to spend a limited painting time on a single topic. This can be great if you don't have a lot of spare time. Join up with a forum like http://www.conceptart.org/, http://www.cgtalk.com/, or anywhere that has daily/ weekly or monthly challenges if you want a topic. Set a stop watch, and start laying colour.
  

• taking a tool you've never used before and attempting to make as many different lines as possible. Some media you may like to try:
• Conté chalk,
  
• charcoal,
  
• impasto medium,
  
• metallic paint,
  
• ink & nib,
  
• egg tempera (try http://www.alessandrakelley.com/whyegg.html for more information)
• watercolour pencils,
• oil pastels
  
  
• Follow a tutorial. It's even better if they've done all the line work or preparatory files so you don't have to think beyond what the tutorial is teaching you. It doesn't matter what the tutorial is on, sometimes the easier ones are more fun! Try lightning effects in Photoshop, or 'Sepia toning photographs', or tin foil hats. Anything creative is better than nothing at all!
  
  
• Digital artists - trawl through many of the free brush sites and download a whole stack of photoshop brushes, textures, shapes and patterns. Then go wild! Do some photo manipulations, just bring together everything and anything.
  
  
• Make avatars or icons of you art. Follow tutorials, hunt for icon 'stock', and have fun with them. Try and come up with silly slogans, make them gloriously tacky, add sparkles and frames and neon lighting! No one is going to see them but you so it doesn't matter how gorgeous or hideous they turn out.

Hopefully I've given you a few ideas so that the next time you feel stuck, you can still get rid of some of that creative energy.