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Paint cleanliness
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Message
Posted
I keep reading and being told that clean paint is vital etc etc yet everytime I see an artists paint box the paints are so dirty and cross contaminated that they are almost unidentifiable. Even the box shown in Artist magazine May 2015, page 33, as an example of good things, are filthy.
Could some please explain what's going on?
D
Posted
I think this is one of the rules more often broken than observed. I paint in watercolour and my tray is a real mess and mix of colours - I end up transferring pigment from one pan to the other and make great use of the bits of mud in the corners of the mixing wells. I don't seem to have any problems and I guess it's all down to how the individual works.
Posted
Should have added that it's the same for water - there are many who advocate two jars: one for washing brushes and one for mixing. I only use one jar which is usually a glorious shade of muck by the time I have finished but again it doesn't cause me any problems - I still manage to get reasonably clean sparkling washes etc (or at least I think I do!)..
Posted
Michael's right (well, when is he not?) - if you look at Steve Cronin's painting demos on YouTube, his palette is the muckiest I've ever seen - but he still gets good results (though not everyone agrees with me there).
So long as you have a clean bit of palette, well, plate, whatever to mix your washes on, that's really all that matters; paintboxes do get cross-contaminated, but a quick wipe around the edges with a bit of kitchen roll usually resolves that. Paint water - I do like to have clean water to work with; although that's just a preference of mine, really, because it seems to make so little difference to the painting whether your water is crystal clear or as mucky as a stagnant pool.
Even so - given a choice, I do like a clean palette, and I do usually wipe my paint box surface down when using watercolour before putting it away. And of course I always clean my brushes very conscientiously, because if there's one thing that will ruin your painting experience it's a brush that's out of shape with its bristles all dried up, splitting and horrible because it's not been properly rinsed out. So if I were you, I would start with good habits and clean up before and after - always aware that, as with most of us, bad habits will surely follow.
Posted
A little thing watercoloring ,,,when I am painting a building,, a bridge ,or a church ,,,,, say a norfolk church
they usually are a warm yellow .with an ageing colour here and there of a warm colour .....
a bridge has the same with aged stones in colours . now friends I don't advocate artists on here do do the same
because they are cleverer than me . but when I am adding the aged look ,I use gentle clean weak patches ..and .I always say to a class "use a clean colour" for this character adding ,never a mix,
so in the warm mellow yellow norfolk church , the clean colour for patches ,means a single clean weak touch of light red .. or a weak clean wash of w x
umber ,,but do not take my tip as made in stone . I in no way do I want to influence anyone
mind you J F Watson who did this,, influenced me. if you can get your head around what i am trying to say ,your better than me
dunga din..
Edited
by alanowen
Posted
I think the difference is KNOWING what's on your palette.
If you find x of this plus y of that with a dab of z = that really vibrant yet also subtle shade of green you;ve been looking for - you tend to leave it on the palette rather than wash it off and try to mix some more (can of worms, you can never get just that right amount of x)
That's why they all look scruffy - 'cos they're in use! even when left to dry, they're still in use; only when you know you have finished for a decently long time will you wash it all off clean... and maybe not even then!
Haha! I'm GLAD I do ink.
All I have to think about is how much water to wash, whether to do it wetty wet and drop ink or just damp and swipe ink.
And a new ink gets tested on scrap paper to see if it separates into colours or remains pure.
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