Let me know if you will be using any of these art hacks in your own space, and if you have any others to share! Try this video next: 20 FAST Tricks to Transform your Drawing Skills! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Z6ZPq9Q4A0o.html
They all looked good. I’ll give them all a go. I already use my takeaway containers. My local supplier of raw animal food alway has wonderful reusable containers.
I use à silicone utensils Rest I bought from Amazon and I can place 4 paintbrushes at a time. I use my jam jars or mason jars for water. I use plant vases to store my brushes and pencils. Thank you for this video, it was very helpful.
Thanks, Michele! These are all great tips. I made a big scoop years ago of those tiny jam jars when attending a woodturning symposium with my husband. The hotel where everyone stayed served those with breakfast each morning and after the customers left I collected a lot of them-still have quite a few as they are reusable. My tips: (1) In our shared “studio” my hubby and I replaced the unused guest beds with a table for each of us. I covered both of those with clear plastic shower curtain liners for protection of the table tops. We each also have a large nonstick oven liner for a work mat-absolutely nothing sticks to those. They are so easy to just wipe clean. (2) Hubby was throwing away a lot of old worn out sox, so I saved quite a few, washed them, and cut the foot off of each. I wear a cuff on my wrist when painting. Not only does it protect the sleeve of a long-sleeved shirt in cold weather, it provides a very handy spot to wipe or dab off a brush. (3) We have some large sponges for washing cars and windows which can also be covered with the sock tops for a handy, absorbent and washable brush rest. (4) I found a couple of “S” hooks in the kitchen junk drawer and hung them on the cabinet door pulls above the tables, slipped a bulldog clamp on each and use them to hold a variety of things. I hope someone finds these suggestions helpful. I would love to use your take-away box storage idea, but California is phasing them out, which is sad because they are re-usable as you have pointed out and the ones made of styrofoam are simply trash.
My best hack, if you have room for it, is to have two tables. On the other is my projects and mostly used supplies, other is only for cutting paper sheets or fabrics and nothing gets stored on top of it, so Ill always have one surface free of stuff. I saved the silverware tray from an old dishwasher, sprayed it pink (to get rid of that horrid 90s computer gray) and now my colored pencils live there, super handy! My acrylic paints hang on the wall in these little horizontal Cs, they are originally meant for storing spices on a cupboard door. Instead of bin, I have a ceramic bowl I made myself, its heavy, so it doesnt move even when empty and its always in the same place, so I dont need to even look at it when I throw stuff away. And a real lifesaver is to make sure my coffee cup is always on the opposite side of my water buckets.. when you make this a habit, you dont have to drink that nasty paint water ever again :) Edit: I forgot, Ive drilled holes in the ends of my bigger brushes and tied a string in it, easy peasy hanger upper. The very fine detail brushes are too skinny for this, so on them I simply taped a little piece of string. I also marked all my different brushes (oil, watercolor, acrylic, glue, etc..) with different color washi-tapes, so I dont mix them up.
I know it’s not good to stand a brush in a water jar. What I do for temporary soaking a brush is to apply double sided duck tape around the top inside edge of a water jar. It allows me to suspend a brush in water for a short period without bending the bristles.
For color mixing and washes, I use a melamine deviled egg tray to mix. There are about 30 spaces to mix in and it’s also heavy enough to not bump around on your table.
I like to use a white ceramic plate for serving vineyard snails. There are 12 places to mix, it's dishwashing machine compatible and I got it from a 1€ shop. My other tool for mixing is a simple smooth flat white tile (you can easily find those as samples in a DIY store for small money or even free of charge). It's about 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches and works perfect (for acrylic color too!).
Thank you for your informative videos. I have a hack for drying brushes. Take a piece of a pool noodle, cut a slit from top to bottom about an inch deep. Push over the edge of an Ice-cream container. Then cut slips across spaced out evenly and slide your brushes in. Hope my explanation is clear 😊 I'm watching from South Africa. ❤
@Painthacker I use a 2lt rectangle shape over the longest side. The container has water in to wash brushes, then it drips into the container when you slot it in. Will try post a picture. 😉
Okay, I think I’ve got it. You have a rectangular plastic container, sitting flat on your table. You then cut a piece of pool noodle that’s the size that will fit along the side of the container. You cut a slit in the pool noodle from end to end and then slip that cut onto the long side of the container and you cut slits crossways on the top so that your brushes can be pushed into the slits with their brush ends over the container, that has water in it for washing the brushes.
@@21ruevictorhugo thank you for your explanation. I finally got it! Lol. Great idea if you are switching brushes a lot and want to know which ones you used for that project you worked on hours or days ago.
I have an old towel rolled up and secured with a few rubber bands to use as my table easel, it is wider than my board so I can dab my watercolour brush on it if I need to. It doesn't rock, and I can change the height by rolling it more tightly. When it is looking scruffy I just wash it in my washing machine.
Stretched Canvas tip: If you get a canvas, take the plastic wrap off and find that the canvas has a wrinkle in it or is loose (not taut) then you can easily tighten up the canvas and even get rid of the wrinkle. Take water in a misting bottle and lightly spray the back of the canvas. The raw side which doesn't have any gesso on it. Let it dry. You will find that the water tightened up the canvas to the frame.
@@ronnies462 Hi, thanks! Just looked at it again & there's no gesso on it at all (yah, it's cheap, newbie to canvas so it's for practice :) So should I try this anyway, before gessoing?
@@yopestevens1505 if it's a shop bought canvas they are usually already gessoed on the front so you don't need to gesso unless you want to. The back of the canvas is not gessoed and you only need to lightly spray the back with water if the canvas is loose or has a dint in it. Hope that helps.
@@ronnies462 No, I mean seriously there is no gesso at all, not even the front. Might be a factory mess-up or something. Didn't notice so I thought I got a bargain. I would still like to practice on it though, it's perfectly good otherwise, just a tiny bit loose. Thanks for your help, though :)
I cover my work desk with a dog diaper (the kind that goes on the floor). it keeps my surface dry and free of paint and masking fluid, and, its a great way to tap off water from your brush while painting
These were some really great suggestions! Thank you. My little “hack” was to raise my worktable using inexpensive bed risers from Walmart. They raised the table about 8” which makes it MUCH more comfy to stand and work.
One hack I’ve found is to get a cheap rubber soap saver with a bunch of bumps on it from the dollar store and trim it to fit in my water jars to help get all the paint out when I’m rinsing. Very similar concept to the Paint Puck but much less expensive and they can be trimmed to fit any jar. I’ve also seen people use textured plastic tofu or mushroom containers as water dishes, but the texture on those isn’t nearly as pronounced
The dollar stores will often also carry a make-up brush cleaner. I got one of those, cut off the curvy back that it had, and dropped it into my cleaning water. Only problem I've had is that it sometimes likes to travel a bit in the bottom.
Goodwill stores in the US are the best for finding inexpensive containers of all sizes, shapes, and materials. Also, find someone who feeds their baby commercially prepared baby food. Most come in perfect little jars with lids which, after washing, can be used for thousands of uses....
Thank you for these hacks. My hack is for inks. Um not a big drinker anymore so have a number of shot glasses. These work great for inks. I have a dish sponge which I've cut a hole in the middle and sit the glass there. This also works for paint jars. You lean brushes on the edge of the sponge.
When I lived in my 28 square metre apartment with my two cats (they had a catio which gave them a great outside view and fresh air and climbing frames, I also walked them on a harness every day) - I used my bed (queen sized go figure lol) as a work surface. I would cover it over with drop-clothes during the day to put work on to dry or just put all my paints and materials on and take it off at night - I also had an easel and a big table for art which along with the bed pretty much took up the whole space of the apartment. It got frustrating at times because the cats walked all over everything. It was a happy time though :)
Synthetic brushes can be reshapes by using hot water pour the hot water over the bristles and they will return to shape. You can wash and set your natural hair brushes by allowing the brush cleaner to harden on the brush let sit over night or you can coat a natural hair brush in honey and freeze it remove the honey with warm water and the brush should be good to go
I do enjoy your sense of humour! One brush drying hack: a large plastic top from a coffee container. Cut different sized ‘X’ s, then glue to top of tall skinnier container with another lid on the bottom for balance. Then just stick handle up into a cut ‘x’ with brush end down. I got this idea from a RU-vidr named Kimberly. Works great!
A Pringles can would make a great skinny center column for long paint brushes. If you need a heavier option an olive jar would work nicely. Twisting up a rubber band on the paint brush handle will keep the thinnest of detail brushes from sliding through even a well worn X. If you glue the original lid of the can/jar to the underside of the top coffee can lid, you can use it for storage. (Rubber bands, small pot of brush soap, *a textured brush cleaner…) Best of all is decorating it to suit your studio and personal style. Plus it’s free. *I make my own textured brush cleaner from a small lid like a yogurt container, Pringle’s lid, baby food jar lid or tiny sample food lid…) and use hot glue, and create a pattern like squiggles,lines and dots. You can add a second layer of glue to create a more pronounced deeper texture. What a great idea I’m so glad you shared it! Thank you! I can’t wait to make one. I think I’ll make one for my mother and my sister I’ll fill them with cleaning goodies but leave the decorating fun up to them.
Among other creative pursuits I am a multi media artist ,jewlery maker , and a crafter.. I use paper towels to clean my brushes and paper plates to set many of my projects on as I work. I never get rid of my painty paper towels. Once they are full of water colors I separate the 2 ply towels and add them to other scraps to make more paper by tearing into appropriate bits and then gluing down, or incorporate them into other projects. My paper plates are used over and over again. Once completely coated with paints , glues, inks, and sparkley stuff I can make everything from jar lid covers to very unique jewlery with them. Though the plates and towels cost money they are used a great many times and not one scrap of them is ever thrown out.
I also do this. I hold all my towels in waiting (with paint etc on them) in a big bulldog clip nailed up on the wall. My house is small, so I get some funny looks from visitors. 😁
I use a medium butcher's tray (or cake pan, or flat box, pencil pouch, etc) to put the supplies that I am currently using for a project. It's easy to forget what tube of paint you grabbed, which kind of pencil you used, etc, especially if you leave your project for even a few hours.
I absolutely not only loved the hacks but your jolly humor. My takeaways are using T-shirt cotton rather than paper towel, the ring-binder easel, the color charts on smaller cards, the make-up pads, sandpaper to renew pencil points and reminder to keep paper scraps for testing. Thank you!
I use tuna cans with tear off lids for water trays. I flatten the sharp edge by crimping the edge with pliers. Neodymium magnets hold the ti ns onto my galvanized steel drawing board for outdoors.
I created mixing wells on a thrifted plate with hot glue on the low setting. I made a grid with the hot glue, let it cool, and went over the grid a second time. Thanks for all the hacks.
Thank you for the great tips! I store my paint tubes in one of those hanging things that has multiple clear pockets. Like the kind for shoes, but smaller pockets. I have it hanging on the inside of a storage closet door next to my workspace.
I think your talking about a " Hanging Jewelry Organizer" with pockets, you use a regular clothes hanger to hang it. The pockets fit watercolor tubes great.
@@martaescobar7625 Yes, that's it, only the one I have doesn't hang by a clothes hanger, it has four grommets at the top and comes with over the door hooks. I didn't use the hooks, but hung mine on screws to the inside of the door.
Thx Chele, I never knew I was a “neat-nick” until as a single mom, I had to support myself and two little kids working a graphic design job. Efficiently was crucial, and I liked it. Now I’m 70, retired and thrilled to have my studio set up after years of fantasizing. I buy the inexpensive clear shower curtain liners at The Dollar Store to protect work areas and use as drop cloth. I’m obsessed with repurposing rags with great textures, however! my elderly mother-in-law left behind cases of adult diapers and sanitary pads. SUPER absorbent. I fell in love w my light table back in my youth, so I have a large 1/4” thick piece of frosted plexiglass next to my tabletop easel. (Similar to your island table) Easy cleanup, movable, gigantic palette mixing space for oils& acrylics. I save all my glass jars and tins for brush holders. You are so inspiring 💙 from USA
Great video! Old carioca/felt tip pens/fineliners/markers can be made into watercolor inks (break them, remove the plastic coating squeezed the foam/cotton-like material until all the color gets into the water, and use 4 carioca for every 50ml of water). Make a staircase out of pieces of wood to store inks, that way you can see them better. I glued pieces of wood using wood glue and painted them with acrylic. Store pencils based upon color. You can use tea boxes or containers or glass mason jars to store pencils, they look better than plastic ones. When painting with watercolor I use two water bottles for clean and dirty water with regular common pigments, but I use glass test tubes like those Vanilla beans are sold in to rinse more expensive pigments (such as paint made from genuine gemstones) individually, after enough is collected in the test tube you can reuse the pigment by mixing it with watercolor binder. Making your paint is better than buying it - learn how to make watercolor paint and you get better pigment, no fillers and of course a unique palette.
Thanks for sharing info about old felt-tip markers. I have about a hundred that seem all dried up but I've been wondering if I could do anything with them besides throw them in the trash. This is very helpful.
Love all your hacks! I took several wine corks and hot glued them together in a row. Perfect for laying the brushes on, it keeps them perfectly level to dry. I can’t take credit for this genius idea, someone posted a picture of their workspace and I noticed it, and since I do wine cork crafts, I have plenty of corks. 🍷😹
I love your work bench! I buy children’s face cloths from that Swedish place - they’re something like 10 for £4. I use them to clean my makeup off, & have lots of them. When they finally become too stained to use on my face, I used to give them to my partner to clean his bike but now I’ve started using them instead of kitchen towel to dry brushes. They last even longer this way.
some great hacks here. I also cover my work table with a plastic picnic cloth but my latest innovation is to clean it off at the end of each session with hand sanitizer! I have loads of free sanitizer bottles gathered during the pandemic and I find the alcohol content cleans off all the inks and pigments really quickly and the alcohol evaporates so it dries super quickly too.
When you began talking about what to wipe brushes on, i had a really good laugh. When i was in design school, my go to wipe for brushes was my favourite sweatshirt. 😄 I wore it inside out when working & the staining never went through, so i could still wear it out & about right side out.
I have a wooden drafting table. I purchased cup holders ( total 4 - clean and rinse water, drink, and extra brushes in a jar) and wire bins to hold palettes, pencils & pens, paper towels, toilet paper, personal items (hand lotion, lip gloss), paint additives, sponges, erasers, etc. Additionally I also use skid resistant rug pads to keep paper, current palette, hair dryer, etc. on top of my table when working at an angle.
Thank you for all these ideas, Michele! I have a couple I can add. For mixing I use a number of enamelled dishes. They are inexpensive and, though they may chip, they won't break. First time of use, I clean them with toothpaste and rinse so the paint doesn't bead. To get an incline on my board, I use a length of pipe insulation foam cut in half lengthways. It's stable, light and easy to store.
Michelle you’re such a straight shooter. I was about to ask about your background and you started sharing it in the very moment. So you seem like you have had broadcast experience.
I always have two glass jars (that where jam jars before) with clean fresh water on my table. It helps me to start right of. I think they are super practical because I can close the lid and make them „cat save“.
Maybe chop up old cotton t-shirts to re-use as painting rags instead of kitchen roll.?! Nice n absorbent and gives the old faded shirts another life!! Great advice here, Michelle - Thank you very much. Love from Mel in Devon 🍰 🌻
Michelle, I would also like to suggest film archive sleeves for color swatches. The brand I use in my photography work (no compensation to me by this suggestion) is PrintFile and they are made for various film sizes… all the way up to 8x10 sheet film, so you can have good variety here. Also, because they are made for film negatives and slides, they are made with very clear plastic (which is also archival grade) to allow film inspection on a light box. That should make it very nice when color matching to the swatch. I love listening to you and your ideas!
I'm not doing much artwork at the moment because of my husband's health but I have a several tips from my many years of work up to now. (I'm old. 😉) I'm not sure if you have the same thing back home in England as Canada and the US have, ice cream in big plastic buckets? I found the round white plastic lids were great palettes for acrylic paint. The lip on the edge stops runoff and a bit of hot water gets the dried paint off and all clean for next time. Old white plates of your own or from the thrift shops or dollar stores are even better though. Then there are small individual yoghurt pots with lids. They're great for washes but I had to beg those from friends. My best items to stop my acrylics from drying out though were ice cube trays with lids. I had mine for probably 40 years and never found replacements when they finally started to give up the ghost, but, I was recently in our dollar store to buy over door towel rails and found new trays with lids! I was so chuffed and bought some more without a second thought. I bought heavy duty plastic tablecloths to protect my tables when the kids were little - worked great for when the kids were crafting and painting - and later they've worked for me as protective surfaces. I've saved old worn out cloth towels and cut them into smaller sizes for cleaning up and wiping brushes etc. (Still like paper towels best though.) I've used large empty Lysol plastic containers to stash my brushes when they're dry, old cutlery trays to keep the small tools and odds and ends and of course take out containers are just the right size for coloured pencils and markers etc. Chocolate boxes covered in contact paper are pretty durable containers too and work as drawer dividers to keep the tools tidy and shoe boxes the same Larger yoghurt pots are good for your water as they don't have to topped up as often, distracting you. Old plastic kitchen containers that have lost their lids are also useful and I've several of those holding my paints. When I was young and money was scarcer necessity was the mother of invention but I've also bought numerous palettes and brush cleaner containers as well as paints and brushes and all that when I could afford them, but I still find the old things from around the house just as handy and useful as most expensive things they sell as art supplies. I love your tips and everybody else's! 👍👍👍🤗💖
I have converted glass containers that candles come in. Once the candles are burned up, I’ll pop them in the freezer get the rest out and I use it for brushes. Then I’ll use different ceramic, small, spoon, rest type things for resting my brushes flat when painting. Typically they have a lip of some kind and I can put multiple brushes on them at a time.
Another great video Michelle. Would you please do a video about framing watercolours? Any tips about how to do it faster, cheaper, and more aesthetically would be welcome. It’s so expensive to frame my pictures because you need mats, a frame and glass… almost makes me wish I’d gone into acrylic painting instead! (Not really - I love the melting vibrancy of watercolours the best!)
Really all the mats and glass are needed. Unless you wax, I do have a video on Dorland's Wax if you search. I might do one this year on mounting on a wood panel too, I just need to practice a little first.
Great video with lots of clever ideas. I use a clear tackle box (meant for fishing lures) to hold my paint tubes. That way they are organized by colour but all together.
Great tips! I love your table. Lots of space to work on. 😍 ⭐My Brush rest: pre pandemic I found a silicone make up brush rest/holder, with 4 suction cups on the opposite side, at FiveBelow (everthing $5 and below). Now thinking about it, after your video, I could stick it to any flat surface like my window and dry my brushes that way too.💡🤔 ⭐They also had a hand sized silicone make-up brush cleaning pad, that I picked up to clean my paint brushes.🖌️ ⭐My ceramic mixing pallette is from Dollar Tree -> a rectangular white ceramic tray for $1. ⭐My 3 water jars were jam and tomato sauce glasses from my pantry. ⭐At pop shelf (similar to 5below, odds and ends store) I found 2 smallish oval metal buckets that have dividers in it. I think it was intended as a small garden tool holder. I repurposed it as marker storage, took off the handles and turned them on their flat side because some markers needed to be stored horizontally. I stacked them on top of each other. It gave me 12 compartments and it was deep enough to make the markers not fall out. You could keep it upright and keep the handle to make it portable if you don't have a dedicated art space. ⭐Instead of paper towels I use old cotton wash clothes that go in the wash after. ⭐My desktop trash bin (a metal mini planter) was a gift that had originally succulents & soil in it. Unfortunately they were killed by my infamous black thumb 😭. ⭐Desk Top protector: Last week at Jo Ann's (craft store) I found by chance a 18x24inch glass top mat on clearance for $20. Before I had the glass 12x12inch mat from the same brand. Makes cleaning very easy especially paint, ink, super glue etc. Works well also as a mixing surface in a pinch 😜. ⭐Lastly, for my swatches I use a stamp from Waffleflower (Crafts Swatch Stamp $4) and an archival waterproof ink pad. Beside that I draw a large rectangle because the 2 color sections on the stamp are rather small to properly see the full range of the color.
I like the cutlery drawer idea... I have one of those lurking! Instead of the takeaway containers, I have repurposed all my old video cassette boxes!! I use 3 water containers and a black face cloth to rest washed brushes. For brushes in use, I have one of those cheap plastic soap holders with ridges and can place at least 8 brushes.
To clean stained plastic palettes (or even your food processor after carrots!), simply wipe with olive oil and then wash with soapy water. For a simple ceramic palette I use a leftover tile from our bathroom with stick on rubber feet. For storage containers for pencils, pens etc I use cans that have ring pulls as generally they don’t have sharp edges… best cans are also lined line cans of corn. I cut strips of fabric, fold and press top and bottom edge for a neat edge and glue around the can using a glue stick. You can coordinate colours/prints, all the same or everyone different.
I have started using a sponge cloth instead of paper towels or rags - inexpensive & can be rinsed when needed & used & used & used! Thank you Michelle for your videos - I always learn from them.
Thanks for these helpful tips! I purchase my white ceramic dishes for watercolor at thrift stores or charity shops as you say in the UK. I’ve come across a number of really nice ones for only a few dollars each. My best one is probably a dish with 12 oval egg shape spaces (half the egg, of course 😆) in a white dish that was made for deviled eggs. Do you make deviled eggs in the UK? I guess it’s mostly an old American favorite mainly in the southern U.S. If not, these are made from 12 (most often) boiled eggs sliced in half…you remove the egg yolks that you set aside then mash up and season, often with mayo, salt/pepper and other spices, and then put that yummy mixture back into the empty divot in the sliced white yolk where the yolk had originally sat. They’re yummy…at least to Americans of a certain age.
Yeah, my porcelain palette hack consists of a couple of square flat dishes I found in the local thrift shop. Cost me next to nothing. But Ikea stuff is great, my designated art place is an ikea table, and stool. My working ink well is a clear glass candle holder. Ideal size for the ink (where the candle is supposed to go) and a really big base, tipping it over is absolutely impossible. Found in a drawer at home... Could (always) use more storing space, art stuff has a tendency to accumulate....
Love these! And I use a few of them myself (patting myself on the back right now!). I am definitely switching to the fabric pieces in lieu of paper towels (Holy moly do I go through them, this will be a great $ saver) and, from a previous comment, the Terry wristband, such a great idea! A couple of hacks I use: The tops to large laundry soap containers make great water reservoirs and as a bonus, they usually have two small pour spouts on both sides which make great brush rests. I also can't live without a spray bottle full of water. I just thoroughly clean out one from any type of used up spray cleaner/window cleaner, etc or you can pick one up at a dollar store. They are great for adding water to paint pans or spraying on dirty brushes (over water jar or cloth/paper towels) to clean them up. It also can be used to spray directly on your watercolor paper to start a wash or onto your painting as an added "texture"/technique. Thank you again for sharing! I am now heading to the thrift store shortly to look for little white dishes and also for funky picture frames. 😊 Oh, I am loving your sense of humor! Cheers from Pennsylvania!
I’m so glad you mentioned putting ink in a different container- I just got a bunch of inks and hadn’t even thought about how unstable the little containers would be! Great practical video!
Thanks Michelle for all the great tips. One that stood out for me was the little jars for ink, what a great tip. 👍 For watercolour rinsing water,I use the cool and warm colour method but have a 3rd clean water jar. All three jars are on one of those small rectangular serving plates you mentioned, and to keep the glass on glass from moving, I have cut out kitchen supergrip shelf liner (very cheap) to,fit the serving plate. My water is tidy and together and can easily move it around if I wish. Thanks again for all you hard work providing YT content.
Thank you. Another good video Here are some of my hacks I hold all my off cuts of paper together with a bulldog clip Keeps them easily available I use 2 white face flannels , one to dab my brush and the other folded beside my working area to rest my brushes on They often look really pretty after a few weeks with all the dabs of paint in them 😊 I have just made a stay wet palette for acrylic and gouache. I used a cheap plastic butchers tray from Hobbycraft (£2.50) put a flat kitchen sponge in the bottom , poured water over and then covered with baking paper. Works a treat I am very short so I use a chair from IKEA designed for children when they are sitting at the table. It is quite a bit taller. It keeps me at a perfect position I had my kitchen done up last year and I had a white melamine door left over. I put this on my table and it keeps my table lovely and clean. I can also rotate it if me paper is taped to it I use birthday candles for wax resist as they make some lovely fine lines Whoops sorry I’ll stop there 😅
Thanks for all the great tips! I always enjoy your videos. I use empty yogurt containers for making large amounts of paint. To keep my surface clean I use a vinyl picnic table cloth. I like it because I can put it in the washing machine (double check instructions before you buy one to make sure you can put it in the washing machine), This next hack isn't really inexpensive. I have a small space to paint in and sometimes have to move to another room to paint. I use a three tier cart with wheels that I found at a hobby store. I can move it around and it's a great place to store supplies if you have a small space.
Thanks for your great videos! I'm trying to figure out cutting up say large sheets of Arches paper and have it cheaper than the pads. That would change my life!
Michele you are awesome and the information you give out is a great help. Im in london and would love to attend one of your demonstrations classes. Thanks a million
Thanks Michele, these are all excellent tips. I particularly liked the cutlery tidier idea, as I'm painting in a small spare bedroom with limited drawer and surface space.
I found a microwave dish with a ridged edge in a thrift store here on Vancouver Island and painted the bottom white for a palette. I have a row of beautiful and unique vases and my mother's silver trophy cup from the 1920s to store my brushes for all different mediums. Looks lovely on the shelf.
I use an ashtray to set my paintbrushes, pens & markers down. they fit perfect on the grooves of the ashtray! and i will definitely try some of your hacks! i need you to help me organize my whole art life! lol My space looks like an art store exploded!
I’m so happy I’ve found your channel:) in addition your delightful accent that is enjoyable and easy to listen to, your tips have helped me to exponentially improve my own artwork. I’ve always shied away from watercolor, but now I absolutely love watercolor. It’s much less messy and easy to clean up. Thank you, THANK YOU for following your own instincts and ignoring the negativity. You rock!
Wonderful color swatch idea! Adding a new color always annoyed me too - and ended up in many, many new color charts. I share a large table with my paints and fabric cutting too; always annoying to have to clear painting project to work on a sewing project. I'm lazy, so I do leave my cutting mat on the table. When I paint I cover the table with an old shower curtain (the plastic shower liners from the dollar store). It keeps paint smears off my table and also I can push my fabric project to the end of the table, under the plastic, and paint on the other end of the table on top of the plastic shower liner if needed. Easy to pull the plastic liner off the table and fold it up to put on a shelf with my paints until I need it again.
If l need to transport water l use clear plastic pop (soda) bottles they are very strong and if they get dirty they are easy to replace. Cut down bottles can be used for jars if you are in the field and weight is, a factor.
I don’t wear much makeup anymore so I repurposed my clear plastic makeup organizers for my art supplies. They are great for holding my brushes, pencils, erasers, sponges, tubes of paint, etc.
Such great ideas! I have two swatch comments. I use a business card folding Rolodex, it has 12 see-thru pages, each holding 4 cards on each side, thus 96 cards, which I’ve cut from watercolor paper and painted with my colors, and then organized from lights to dark. I slide a card out to check the lightfastness, and other info on the back. Printed tape with name us on the front of each card. Only drawback is when I add a new color, I have to resort the cards, but one could leaves blank spaces for that instance. Great for traveling. Other is a new product, I believe, called a “Painter’s Color Diary”, 100% cotton, 9 x 12”, 140#, by Watercolor. Contains 10 sheets, separated by glassine spacers. Each sheet allows 35 separately spaced swatch sections with two lines below for relevant info.
I love all of these tips. Thank you for sharing them with us. ❤ I keep all my scraps of paper, even after they are used because they are great for using as collage pieces after they have scribbles or tested paint on them.
I took a coffee can with a lid. I cut small X in the lid. Push the handle through the X from the underside of the lid. Apply the lid to the can. Any drips land in the can.
Great tips! I was using 2 water containers, but was using the small one for clean water and a big one for the first rinse. Switched them around and boom, much more cleaner water always available! BTW, best finger nail polish on youtube! haha.
I managed to get some mini mason jars with handles, when I bought then it was because they were cheap and cute (50p each) there are perfect for washes as they have a screw lid and the little handle makes them easier to hold while painting
My latest find was a store going out of business at least in my town. Rubber spoon holder with space for about 4 spoons and a shallow tray built in for drips. The other hack isn't mine. Want to stretch paper and start painting soon afterward then find a board like foam insulation that can hold a paper staple. Wet the paper and let is grow. Then staple around the edges to the board. Start painting when the paper is as dry as you want. Can place the staples within one cm of the edge or 3/8 inch. Haven't finished this hack. Want to have a light weight pein-air oil or acrylic pallet that can be sealed. Steel nonstick cookie sheet is shallow enough to not have a lot of air space. The lid is a thin gauge aluminum sheet with adhesive backed flexible rubber magnet strips stuck to the aluminum to make contact with the rim of the cookie sheet. That I know works. To seal the pallet apply silicone rubber to fill the gaps and give some flex when the magnet force pulls the parts together. Silicone rubber is flexible. Paint manufactures make test panels, dozens that have to have the same paint thickness. The trick uniform thickness is to use a threaded rod that I would spray with a cooking oil and wipe the excess off so the rubber doesn't stick to the rod. Then roll it against the rubber magnet pushing the excess in front of the rod. Many need to dull the magnet face with sand paper. What goes through the teeth is a fixed area so a uniform thickness. Like paint the rubber will flow out to a uniform coating thickness. Finish with some rubber bands as a secondary clamp. Magnets can be used to hold pallet paper and a paper towel strip for creating vapor of your solvent of choice to slow or prevent drying. Magnet can be used to hold the cookie sheet to an easel. May need to bond a clamping feature to the magnet(s). The same aluminum sheet metal can be bent to create a tray to hold stuff and again a magnet could be use to prevent the tray from sliding off.
Here it is February 9, 2024, and my little trash bin is a round-gallon water jug with the top cut off and a produce market bag inside. I toss the refuse in and when it is full I pull the bag out, tie it up, and toss it. I took four coffee creamer (like Coffee Mate) empty clean bottles, cut off the curve leaving about 4 inches of the bottom, then used E-6000 glue to glue them together. I keep my pencils, pens, etc. in the four sections which allows me to sit them in a very small space and easily see what I need. It sits on a tray with an eraser and pencil sharpener. It can easily be moved where I need it.
Thank you Michelle for so many wonderful tips! Soon as you mentioned cleaning brushes on a plate with bumps I realized I had a rubber makeup brush cleaner from the DOLLAR STORE that slips over your fingers and has nubs all over one side. It'll be perfect for my watercolor brushes as well. Again, thanks!
Thanks for this video! Such great tips! One thing I personally like for wiping my brushes, especially if I'm not at home, is a terrycloth tennis wristband. It means one less bit of "thing" trailing about when I'm not in my studio, and it's very convenient to just reach over and wipe my brush on my wrist. Very absorbent, and washable, and often come in multipacks for a very reasonable price. 😊 Dollar store/pound shop slip-on wrist supports also work.
Back again....I commented enthusiastically before watching the entire video...fabulous, effective, cost-efficient...just brilliant. I'll be using many of these hacks. One of my own....if there is a spot of paint on my paper, I don't want...after water-lifting as much as possible and thoroughly drying....I'll gently remove the spot with the finest grit of sandpaper....I use a small piece and work slowly... spot of paint is gone, and no mark on the paper. Thanks again, Michelle--the gift that keeps on giving~!!
Thank you! We used to do something similar in the print workshop with a scalpel. Hold it horizontal to the paper and rub gently, then burnish the surface again with an eraser.
I cut up Mr Clean Magic Erasers to use for correcting small watercolor mishaps. These kitchen cleaning "erasers" are made of a very lightly abrasive foam, and after first repeatedly dobbing off the area as much as I can with clean water, the "erasers" are then quite good at getting the paper back to nearly white.
I just replaced my old worn out tea towels for my kitchen so the old ones, instead of being thrown out, just for relegated to the studio for blotting off brushes. Love the chopstick holders idea for brushes.
Lynn Bauer suggested keeping a cheap squeeze bottle (like restaurants use for condiments like ketchup) filled with water on your art table. When you need a small amount of water to start a wash or wake up dry paint it’s there ready to go. The one I have by OXO brand has a flip top so it won’t leak when I knock it over 😊. I use it every time I paint.
For paint swatches I put a hole in a piece of watercolour paper and then when I have put the paint on plus other information I put it on a ring that opens in half easy to add new colours and you can take the colour out when you are painting with it
when water colouring (here in Ontario, Canada).... I have a roll of toilet paper taped shut with one strip of masking tape all the way around the middle....and you can put brushes in the hole of the role....but I use it to take off excess water and paint.....last for years.....been using the same roll for three years....dries quickly and stands stable on your work table..... FYI...in Canada we call them thrift stores.....it is not just a USA thing.....please don't forget your Canadian followers....
Love your videos and truely apppreciate your down to earth use of tools that are not specifically designed for artists. One of the firt things I purchased at a thrift (or charity) store was a set of white ceramic dessert plates to use as pallets. (and keep toosing in your ocmments - love the idea of a cuttlery tray from outer space!) Thanks so much for all that you share with us.
My brus drying hack - I went out side and found sticks about 1 1.2 - 2 inches thick and screwed clip cloths pins into it, put a string on both ends fo the stick and it hangs near the sink where I wash brushes. (clothes pons were found in a house we move into - palstic with holes at the top that the screws fit in beautifully!) Made one for each of my children's families - I plan a watercolor project or 2 each time we visit. Fun. (Much more than you wanted or needed to know, I'll try to control myself next time.
